The Ohio State Buckeyes have been playing their best basketball of the season down the stretch and pulled off two victories to start the Big Ten tournament, giving them an outside shot at winning the tournament and clinching an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. But those slim chances were hit with a brutal blow just before Friday’s Big Ten tournament quarterfinal game against the Michigan State Spartans.
According to a report from Griffin Strom of Eleven Warriors, Ohio State leading scorer Brice Sensabaugh has been ruled out of Friday afternoon’s game due to knee soreness.
“OSU leading scorer Brice Sensabaugh (knee soreness) is unavailable for this afternoon’s Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal matchup with Michigan State. Big blow for the Buckeyes,” Strom said in a tweet on Friday afternoon.
OSU leading scorer Brice Sensabaugh (knee soreness) is unavailable for this afternoon's Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal matchup with Michigan State.
Big blow for the Buckeyes.
— Griffin Strom (@GriffinStrom3) March 10, 2023
Sansabaugh has been Ohio State’s top scorer all season, averaging 16.3 points per game. The freshman has emerged as a legitimate star for the Buckeyes this season and is projected to be a first-round pick in the upcoming 2023 NBA Draft if he chooses to declare for the draft following the season.
His absence is a big blow for the Buckeyes, and the college basketball world had a lot to say about it on Twitter.
Wowww. Hope he’s OK but Big news for the good guys https://t.co/j7oc2hs2dY
— DK (@SpartanHoops_DK) March 10, 2023
scheduled Izzo luck https://t.co/z4UZ45Sq05
— Hoodie Maybin (@HoodieMaybin) March 10, 2023
Huge loss for Ohio State. Hate to see this. https://t.co/tMfQHzmeib
— Ben Dickson (@bendickson__) March 10, 2023
you gotta give a better reason than “knee soreness” in a Must Win game. Gotta be like, knee has fallen off https://t.co/UcLj3Wm4qO
— Ohio’s Tate (@BarstoolTate) March 10, 2023
Well, that's significant. The freshman scored 21 in the last meeting vs. MSU, was 7-for-15 and 3-for-6 from three. https://t.co/wyVrHexPJV
— Matt Charboneau (@mattcharboneau) March 10, 2023
If the Buckeyes fall to the Spartans, there’s a very real chance that Sensabaugh has played his final game for the Buckeyes.
