COLUMBUS, Ohio — Chris Holtmann had held out hope.

It’s not something he could have planned for, really, losing two of his top eight players in his rotation for the majority of the 2021-22 season. Ohio State has adapted.

But the head coach confirmed Tuesday that Seth Towns’ door of possibly returning had been completely shut.

The redshirt senior forward, Holtmann said, will continue to rehab his back injury, doing everything he can to return to full health, but miss the remainder of the season.

Up until the updates he heard from team doctors early this week telling Towns he should be shut down and focused on rehab, Holtmann expected Towns to be able to return in 2021-22.

“I’m disappointed for Seth. I know he’s had a go of rough injuries,” Holtmann said. “He’s a terrific young man and has really worked at this thing.”

And Ohio State really needed Towns back too.

Coming off the bench, the forward averaged 10.8 minutes per game in 2020-21, an average that was increased late in the season, playing more than 20 minutes in the final three games of the Big Ten Tournament.

In those games against Purdue, Michigan and Illinois, Towns brought in 15 rebounds, adding four blocks against the Wolverines with his 6-foot-8 frame, making five of his 13 attempts from the field.

Without Towns in conference play, Ohio State has found a bit of a paint presence, with five of its top six players in terms of minutes averaging more than four rebounds per game, including a team-high 7.8 from junior forward E.J. Liddell.

But Towns’ loss is only heightened more by the fact that Justice Sueing continues to not be available.

The redshirt senior forward, Ohio State’s starter at the wing during the 2020-21 season, is still working his way back from an abdominal injury. Holtmann confirmed there has not been a decision made about Sueing’s status for the remainder of this season

Sueing, who averaged 5.5 rebounds per game and 10.7 points per game, shooting a career-high 49.1% from the floor last season, and Towns were two key players Holtmann was planning around ahead of the 2021-22 season, and that the loss of both is really something he’s never really had to deal with in his coaching career.

“You just stay in the moment and you really throw yourself into your guys. I think, unfortunately, that’s what happens in athletics. You really feel for these two kids that have both played,” Holtmann said. “Your focus then has to be on your team and what your rotations are going to look like, really investing in those guys that are going to be available.”

Of the players that have been available, Eugene Brown III has seemingly taken over Towns’ spot on the bench, averaging 12.1 minutes per game, shooting 48.6% from the field, while providing a bit of defensive versatility with his 6-6 frame as a guard.

However, Brown’s status in the near future is in question, coming into Wednesday’s road game against Rutgers as a game-time decision with a foot injury.

In place of Sueing, freshman guard Malaki Branham has found a consistent starting spot at the wing, while the Buckeyes have gone with balancing two more guards in the starting lineup recently — Jamari Wheeler and Meechie Johnson Jr. — with the recent shooting struggles of Justin Ahrens, which he seemed to break through Sunday against Maryland with four 3-point makes on seven tries.

While Sueing is continuing to work his way back, Holtmann needed more from both he and Towns in 2021-22. He was planning around them, vital pieces of veteran leadership for an older team.

But Holtmann and his staff will continue to be forced to put the puzzle pieces together in their absence, especially without Towns for the rest of the year.

“I think it’s a real thing for him to put on a Buckeye uniform, to represent it. It matters to him, he said that when he committed. It was true when he committed, it’s been true every day since,” Holtmann said. “He really meant it, it’s important for him to represent this university.”

“He’s a Columbus kid. I’m optimistic that his days in a Buckeye uniform aren’t over, I really am. For him, it’s disappointing. He didn’t get a chance to get out there with his teammates this year to perform because he worked all summer for that.”