PITTSBURGH – The status for two of Ohio State’s critical pieces for a potential deep NCAA Tournament run is still a mystery heading into Friday.

Ohio State will not know whether or not starting forwards Kyle Young and Zed Key will be able to play in the Buckeyes’ first-round game against Loyola Chicago until the last minute.

“We're getting healthier,” Buckeyes coach Chris Holtmann said on Thursday. “We'll know more on Kyle and Zed here tomorrow, but they are getting healthier. The final decision will be made tomorrow.”

The two starting big men have missed essentially the past four games for the Buckeyes. Young played eight minutes before going down with a concussion March 1 against Nebraska, and Key played six minutes against Michigan on March 6 before realizing his ankle was not healthy enough to continue playing.

The two have continued to make progress, Holtmann says, and each of them were active during Thursday’s 30-minute practice window open to the media in Pittsburgh. But neither of them participated in full-court drills, only partaking in warmups. They each remain a game-time decision for Friday.

“We have seen them do a little more, but it's not like they've been able to do full practices,” Holtmann said. “But they have been able to do a little more, which has been encouraging to see despite not being able to do full practices.”

Holtmann has continued to provide updates over the last two weeks on both, but there hasn’t been much substance to say. Their injuries are all about time, patience and the recovery process going smoothly. Holtmann and Co. are hopeful that playing the waiting game on each to get back to full strength will result in getting them back on the court and back to where they left off.

It feels odd to pinpoint so much of a basketball team’s success on a pair of players who average a combined 16.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.

In the box score, that doesn’t seem like substantial-enough production to be the type of thing that a make-or-break NCAA Tournament run hinges on.

And yet, that’s exactly where Ohio State finds itself. Without Young and Key, a second consecutive first-round exit for the Buckeyes is much more likely. If both are back at full strength – or close to it – then wins over No. 10 seed Loyola Chicago and No. 2 Villanova and a run to the Sweet 16 feels within the Buckeyes’ grasp.

Even though Young (8.2 points, 5.3 rebounds) and Key (8.1 points, 4.9 boards) don’t fill up the stat sheet, each of their absences have been crucial in the Buckeyes’ late-season swoon. That’s in stark contrast to a January-February bloom in which Ohio State won eight of 11 games during a stretch that saw it rise into a potential Big Ten regular-season champion and a top-three seed in March Madness.

Why?

With Key, it’s all about being a big-bodied presence for a squad that only has one other true big man in the rotation in 6-foot-11 center Joey Brunk.

“Zed Key, he just carves out so much space and is a killer on the offensive glass,” Ramblers coach Drew Valentine said.

For Young, it comes down to the chess piece he can be on the court – with Valentine making note of the forward’s ability to stretch the floor with his shooting ability and be a playmaking facilitator with the ball in his hands.

But the Buckeyes miss him on defense just as badly, and they need the veteran presence and experience he brings to the table.

“Kyle is not a super vocal guy, but we've missed his leadership kind of on the floor and his steadiness on the floor,” Holtmann said. “I think his activity for one [is what makes him effective on defense]. He's really active. And it’s versatility. It's activity and versatility, and then he helps our rebounding a lot, too.

“I think those two things. He's also gotten smarter as he's gotten older in how to defend and play. You know, just the versatility that he provides. I feel like I've banged that drum for months now. I feel like that's really important. But his activity is pretty good, too, when he's playing like Kyle.”

The Ramblers are assuming that both Young and Key will suit up – and that if they do will return to their normally productive ways.

“The way our coaches prepare, we prepare like they're going to play,” Uguak said. “They've been involved in the scout, Key and Young. We're preparing like they're going to play, and if they don't, then I think we'll be fine.”

Loyola Chicago might be fine if neither one plays or if both sit. But Ohio State almost certainly won’t be.