INDIANAPOLIS –– The importance of senior forward Kyle Young was never more apparent for Ohio State than it was in Friday’s Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal.
With Young on the floor, the Buckeyes took an 18-point halftime lead over Purdue with the help of a career-high 18 points from Young himself in the opening 20 minutes.
Without Young, who left the game in the second half after taking a blow to the head, the Buckeyes nearly coughed up that lead entirely, requiring an overtime period to put away the Boilermakers.
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Ohio State advanced to the tournament semifinals with the 87-78 win, but now the Buckeyes face the possibility of playing top-seeded Michigan without a starting forward who was peaking at the perfect time.
“It was a tough one without Kyle, because he was unbelievable in the first half,” head coach Chris Holtmann said after the game. “I don't have an update on him right now. I'm waiting to meet with the doctors.”
In a 90-second stretch in the first half against Purdue, Young nailed not one, not two, but three-straight 3-pointers for the Buckeyes, giving Ohio State an early advantage against a team that already holds two wins over the Scarlet and Gray this year.
Although Young didn’t get a heat check thereafter, he proved his 3-point barrage had not yet finished on the final Buckeye shot attempt of the first half.
With just four seconds left in the opening period, Young drilled his fourth 3 on a catch-and-shoot look from the corner, putting the Buckeyes’ up 49-31 right before the halftime horn.
“Before we came into the arena I told him, I said, ‘Hey, you gotta put some in for us today. I’m gonna be looking for you,’” Ohio State junior guard Duane Washington said. “I tried to find him a couple times and he put them up and they were good. We needed that spark, that lift brought a lot of energy to us. We needed it.”
Young went 4-for-4 from 3, a new career-high for made attempts, and 7-for-9 shooting overall in the first half. Even if Young had only scored a single point in the second half, he would’ve had a new career-high in scoring as well, but that chance was taken from him just a few minutes in.
Helping defend one of First Team All-Big Ten Purdue forward Trevion Williams’ many second half post looks, Young caught an elbow to the head, which he subsequently held in his hands for quite some time in obvious pain.
Back on Feb. 21, Young suffered a concussion late in the second half against Michigan, and sat out the next Ohio State game against Michigan State on Feb. 25.
Holtmann didn’t pull Young for another minute and change on Friday, but once he came out, he did not return. Young went behind the bench to receive medical attention, briefly came back to the bench, and then went back to the locker room with a towel over his head.
“We pulled him initially out of an abundance of caution. I think he said he wanted to play and gave us the indication that he was OK," Holtmann said. "Perhaps, looking back on it, I could’ve pulled him, and maybe should have done that. But in that moment I just kind of looked and trusted what he said.”
The loss of Young would be particularly significant for Ohio State in Saturday’s matchup with Michigan, given that the Wolverine roster includes 7-foot Big Ten Freshman of the Year and First Team All-Big Ten center Hunter Dickinson, who scored 22 points in a 92-87 win over the Buckeyes in the first matchup this season.
Without Young on Friday, Ohio State sophomore forward E.J. Liddell fouled out of the game in overtime after spending much of the second half in foul trouble, leaving redshirt junior forward Seth Towns to guard Williams for a stretch.
While Holtmann gave no definitive word on Young's status moving forward, Ohio State may very well be without the 6-foot-8 senior for Saturday's 1 p.m. tip-off.
