COLUMBUS, Ohio –– If Cleveland State gave Ohio State problems without E.J. Liddell, however surprising that was to see, the opening of Big Ten play might be worrisome for head coach Chris Holtmann and the Buckeyes.
Ohio State dives into its first conference matchup Wednesday, a meeting with Purdue on the road, and as Liddell –– the sophomore forward and team leader in points and rebounds –– continues to miss time with mono, Holtmann expects to see a trial by fire in the Buckeye front court.
“There’s no question I think that’s a significant challenge for us, particularly with a man down,” Holtmann said Tuesday. “The depth across our front line –– we’ll learn a lot.”
What the Buckeyes learned from their first game without Liddell, last Sunday’s 67-61 win over Cleveland State, was that it’s not quite as easy to replace the star forward as they may have thought.
But the Vikings didn’t have a 7-foot-3, 285-pound center like Purdue’s Zach Edey, a freshman who’s leading the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game despite playing less than 16 minutes per game.
Not to mention, Purdue’s second-leading scorer is a 6-foot-9, 270-pound big in junior Trevion Williams, and he alone will have close to 50 pounds on Ohio State senior forward Kyle Young –– the man that starts the game as the Buckeyes’ “center.”
Even with 6-foot-7 power forward Liddell on the floor, the Buckeyes entered this season undermanned in the size department, and it wasn’t a promising sign that Young scored zero points and scooped up just two rebounds in his absence on Sunday.
Redshirt junior forward Justice Sueing, second to Liddell in scoring average entering Sunday, had his worst performance of the year with Liddell out, shooting just 2-for-8 as he slid to the four spot in the starting lineup.
“He’s gotta play with more force and more physicality. He’s gotta raise up his level of assertiveness for us for sure, with E.J. out,” Holtmann said. “There’s no question. He had a game where he struggled, it’s not the first time or last time that’s gonna happen this year, he’s still, I think, adjusting to some of the physicality. That’ll get ratcheted up this week.”
If there was one positive sign in the Ohio State front court without Liddell, it was freshman forward Zed Key, who came off the bench to put up 12 points and 10 boards.
At 245 pounds, Key may have the most weight to throw around among Ohio State’s regular rotational big men, but standing just 6-foot-8, he’s still a bit undersized compared to the bigs he’ll see in the Big Ten.
Against Notre Dame, which boasts a 6-foot-10 forward and a 6-foot-11 center in its starting lineup, Key played a season-low two minutes, as Holtmann cited tough matchups for the freshman.
Holtmann won’t have the flexibility to leave Key on the bench that long without Liddell, and he knows that whatever lineup he is playing, it will be giving something up in the size department.
“I think we’re really gonna have to stay out of foul trouble, I think we’re gonna have to be really smart about that. We’re gonna have to deal with them making some shots over us, because that’s what they do,” Holtmann said. “We’re gonna have to live with some of that, for sure.”
The Buckeyes and Boilermakers tip off at 7 p.m. in West Lafayette, and the battle inside will likely be a major storyline shortly thereafter.
