Ohio State leading scorer Brice Sensabaugh will miss the remainder of the postseason with a knee injury he suffered early in the Big Ten Tournament, putting a damper on the Buckeyes' fairy tale run in Chicago as they try to steal a bid for the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
The Buckeyes made history as the only No. 13 seed to ever advance to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals after sneaking past Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan State with three wins in three days. Sensebaugh exited the Iowa game in the final minutes due to knee pain and did not play in the Big Ten quarters, marking his first missed game all season, while he underwent further testing.
"Brice has had an outstanding freshman season and played very well down the stretch," said coach Chris Holtmann. "I know how badly he wanted to play, and we are disappointed for him. We are proud of his continued development as a player and I know he's looking forward to supporting his teammates again today."
The 6-foot-5 Sensabaugh enrolled at Ohio State as the No. 65 overall player in the 2022 class, yet immediately made his presence felt by blossoming into a potential one-and-done candidate. In 33 games, he averaged 16.3 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, pacing the team in both scoring and in 3-point shooting while hitting 40.5% of his attempts from beyond the arc.
Without Sensabaugh, Ohio State snuck past No. 4 seed Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals as a 6.5-point underdog thanks to terrific performances from Bruce Thornton. Roddie Gayle Jr. and Justice Sueing, who combined for 50 points, but the semifinals presents an even stiffer challenge. Standing in the way is No. 1 seed Purdue, which swept the Buckeyes in the regular season and beat them by 17 points less than a month ago. Purdue opened as a 7-point favorite in the game, and the line has ticked up to make the Boilermakers an 8-point favorite just ahead of tip.
