COLUMBUS, Ohio — Justice Sueing didn’t arrive to the Schottenstein Center until halftime, taking a seat in between the coaching staff and the end of Ohio State’s bench

The redshirt senior forward, according to Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann, had been in Cleveland, seeing a specialist about a lower-body injury that had been lingering since March.

While the head coach didn’t know the immediate status of Sueing moving forward or what his time table would be for a return, Holtmann wasn’t celebrating his team’s blowout of Bowling Green, the Buckeyes’ first large win of the season.

“I don’t know right now that it’s season ending,” Holtmann said. ”I think it is significant. I don’t know what to make of it.”

Holtmann said that Sueing’s lower-body injury had improved as Ohio State prepared for the 2021-22 season, saying it was “almost to 100%” according to Sueing.

But right before the Buckeyes’ scrimmage against Ole Miss Oct. 24, Holtmann said Sueing began to feel some of the same issues again and had been managing it since that point.

Sueing played in each of Ohio State’s first two games of the season, struggling mightily against Akron for two points on one-for-seven shooting.

The redshirt senior forward boosted up the numbers a bit against Niagara, recording 10 points, four rebounds and a steal against the Purple Eagles.

But Holtmann expected him back. The head coach said his game plan for the season revolved around Sueing’s versatility.

“I’m not going to minimize the importance of Justice or Justice’s health to this team. We certainly anticipated a healthy Justice to start the season and, I think, planned around all that he could give us,” Holtmann said. “He’s unique because there’s not another Justice-type player on our roster that has the ability, at his size, to play downhill and play multiple positions.”

Against the Falcons, Ohio State was still able to perform without Sueing in its rotation.

The Buckeyes shot 51.4% from the floor with five double-digit scorers: forward E.J. Liddell (13), guard Meechie Johnson Jr. (13), forward Zed Key (12), guard Eugene Brown III (12) and senior forward Justin Ahrens (11). Ohio State moved the ball extremely well, recording 27 assists compared to 12 turnovers.

Holtmann had a chance to lengthen his rotation against Bowling Green, playing 10 of the 12 players that touched the floor Monday night more than 10 minutes.

Especially with Sueing's status up in the air, Holtmann said it was something he was looking to do.

“You have to move forward,” Holtmann said. “You have guys who are more than capable. We’re going to coach those guys, get them ready, we’re going to move forward and we’re going to hope that our medical staff gets Justice ready to go as soon as he’s ready.”

Holtmann said that redshirt senior Kyle Young is fully healthy, but still working to shake the rust off in terms of on-court play. However, the head coach said he will play Young “30 minutes” if he needs to against Xavier.

While he's not set to return for awhile, Holtmann also said he has a timetable for the return of redshirt senior forward Seth Towns, who is still recovering from back surgery, expecting to see him back in December.

But Sueing's status is still up in the air, and Holtmann doesn't seem to know when or if the redshirt senior will return.

Through all those uncertainties and questions, the disappointment still showed after Ohio State's 39-point win against Bowling Green.

Holtmann said he’s disappointed for Sueing. He’s disappointed for his team to not be able to play with Sueing in the rotation for the time being, even while he keeps a hopeful mentality.

“It’s going to be hard to reach our potential without certainly one of our best players,” Holtmann said. “But, again… I believe he’s going to return. I just don’t know when that is.”

There are questions still to be answered. But even though Holtmann may not know the severity of Sueing's injury or a timetable for his return, the head coach seems to know that Ohio State suffered a major blow.

It was like Ohio State suffered a loss in its biggest win of the season.

“To say it’s not a significant hit, I wouldn’t be honest,” Holtmann said. “It is.”