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LGHL We’ll talk about this later: 23 years later and we’re still talking about Tom Brady’s combine
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We’ll talk about this later: 23 years later and we’re still talking about Tom Brady’s combine
Meredith Hein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
Your dose of lighthearted takes from this week’s happenings.
Each week, we’ll break down something that happened during the Ohio State game (and occasionally other games and events) that we’ll be talking about for a while—you know, the silly sideline interactions, the awful announcing and the weird storylines that stick with us for years to come. We’ll also compare each of these happenings to memorable moments in pop culture, because who doesn’t love a good Office reference?
The NFL Combine is keeping football fans clinging to something entertaining until the NFL Draft and the long drought that will follow until the preseason begins. For Ohio State fans, there’s intrigue in watching much of their offense in the week’s events, including quarterback C.J. Stroud, wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and offensive tackles Paris Johnson Jr. and Dawand Jones.
In reality, there is little excitement in watching the top athletes in the draft class competing on objective measures of athleticism. It is exciting to see the occasional defensive lineman run a bananas 40-yard dash time or see amazing feats of strength from prospective quarterbacks. Then there was the time John Ross III, the undersized receiver from the University of Washington, ran a 4.22-second 40-yard dash time.
What’s far more entertaining about the combine, though, is what we gain from hindsight. To paraphrase Michael Scott, “He [the NFL Combine] is like the ugly girl in the movie who takes off her glasses and she’s hot! And you realize she was always hot, she was just wearing glasses. And you were the blind one.” Misogyny aside, it’s exactly what we see from the combine. The image of Tom Brady at the 2000 combine lives rent free in my head.
His performance in the events themselves didn’t inspire much confidence (a 5.28-second 40-yard dash, for instance). But that’s the fun of it, right? Because it is so absurd that the GOAT was so, so bad at all the measurables which are predictors of NFL success.
Given his success throughout his career, as Ohio State fans,we have to hang on to the memory we can count on of Brady being at his worst.
Continue reading...
Meredith Hein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports
Your dose of lighthearted takes from this week’s happenings.
Each week, we’ll break down something that happened during the Ohio State game (and occasionally other games and events) that we’ll be talking about for a while—you know, the silly sideline interactions, the awful announcing and the weird storylines that stick with us for years to come. We’ll also compare each of these happenings to memorable moments in pop culture, because who doesn’t love a good Office reference?
The NFL Combine is keeping football fans clinging to something entertaining until the NFL Draft and the long drought that will follow until the preseason begins. For Ohio State fans, there’s intrigue in watching much of their offense in the week’s events, including quarterback C.J. Stroud, wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and offensive tackles Paris Johnson Jr. and Dawand Jones.
In reality, there is little excitement in watching the top athletes in the draft class competing on objective measures of athleticism. It is exciting to see the occasional defensive lineman run a bananas 40-yard dash time or see amazing feats of strength from prospective quarterbacks. Then there was the time John Ross III, the undersized receiver from the University of Washington, ran a 4.22-second 40-yard dash time.
What’s far more entertaining about the combine, though, is what we gain from hindsight. To paraphrase Michael Scott, “He [the NFL Combine] is like the ugly girl in the movie who takes off her glasses and she’s hot! And you realize she was always hot, she was just wearing glasses. And you were the blind one.” Misogyny aside, it’s exactly what we see from the combine. The image of Tom Brady at the 2000 combine lives rent free in my head.
His performance in the events themselves didn’t inspire much confidence (a 5.28-second 40-yard dash, for instance). But that’s the fun of it, right? Because it is so absurd that the GOAT was so, so bad at all the measurables which are predictors of NFL success.
Given his success throughout his career, as Ohio State fans,we have to hang on to the memory we can count on of Brady being at his worst.
Continue reading...
LGHL LGHL Uncut Podcast: Thornton reaffirms Ohio State is where he wants to be following Illinois win
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LGHL Uncut Podcast: Thornton reaffirms Ohio State is where he wants to be following Illinois win
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
A victory press conference? Boy, that’s different.
Throughout the season, Land-Grant Holy Land will be bringing you uncut audio primarily from Ohio State press conferences, but also from individual interview sessions.
After Ohio State’s 72-60 victory over Illinois on Sunday (open the fridges!), we spoke with Chris Holtmann, Brad Underwood, Justice Sueing, and Bruce Thornton about the win, which snapped a nine-game losing streak.
Thornton reaffirmed that this is where he wants to be — which should settle down any talk or cynical rumblings of Ohio State’s freshman point guard transferring. He also said that when you “stack good days” wins are eventually going to come, even if they have not been lately.
Underwood was as surly as you’d expect after losing to the 13th-place team in the Big Ten. He said that the loss had nothing to do with Ohio State’s defense and everything with his team’s shot selection. Underwood also said that he’s getting close to just telling some of his guys to stop shooting three-pointers, at all costs.
Holtmann gave a lot of credit to Sueing, Thornton, and Gene Brown during his time. He said players win games, not coaches, and those three especially carried the team. He also mentioned that he wants Thornton to slim down a few pounds this offseason, but that having a big body at guard is helpful.
Connect with Connor:
Twitter: @lemons_connor
Continue reading...
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
A victory press conference? Boy, that’s different.
Throughout the season, Land-Grant Holy Land will be bringing you uncut audio primarily from Ohio State press conferences, but also from individual interview sessions.
Listen to the episode and subscribe:
Subscribe: RSS | Apple | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
After Ohio State’s 72-60 victory over Illinois on Sunday (open the fridges!), we spoke with Chris Holtmann, Brad Underwood, Justice Sueing, and Bruce Thornton about the win, which snapped a nine-game losing streak.
Thornton reaffirmed that this is where he wants to be — which should settle down any talk or cynical rumblings of Ohio State’s freshman point guard transferring. He also said that when you “stack good days” wins are eventually going to come, even if they have not been lately.
Underwood was as surly as you’d expect after losing to the 13th-place team in the Big Ten. He said that the loss had nothing to do with Ohio State’s defense and everything with his team’s shot selection. Underwood also said that he’s getting close to just telling some of his guys to stop shooting three-pointers, at all costs.
Holtmann gave a lot of credit to Sueing, Thornton, and Gene Brown during his time. He said players win games, not coaches, and those three especially carried the team. He also mentioned that he wants Thornton to slim down a few pounds this offseason, but that having a big body at guard is helpful.
Connect with Connor:
Twitter: @lemons_connor
Theme music provided by www.bensound.com
Continue reading...
LGHL How difficult is it to overcome an ACL tear? A sit down with Ohio State softball’s Kennedy Kay
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How difficult is it to overcome an ACL tear? A sit down with Ohio State softball’s Kennedy Kay
meganhusslein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
To make matters even worse, she tore it entering her freshman season.
As an athlete, one of the things you fear most is an injury. Especially an injury that can keep you out for the entirety of the season, like a torn ACL. Then, there’s the matter of whether you can play at the same ability as you did pre-injury.
I sat down with Ohio State redshirt-freshman pitcher Kennedy Kay to discuss her knee injury that made her miss her entire freshman season.
“I’ve loved playing softball my whole life, but once you don’t have it for a whole year, you’re like wow, I shouldn’t have taken that one tournament I didn’t want to go to for granted,” Kay said.
She remembers the injury like it was yesterday. It happened during the first game and the first tournament of the summer entering her freshman year at Ohio State.
She was pitching on wet turf and her cleat got stuck, causing her to fall down. She got back up, tried to pitch again and fell over once again. That’s when she realized that something was definitely wrong with her knee.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24461420/Screen_Shot_2023_02_25_at_6.06.30_PM.png)
@birdk45 Instagram
Initially, her team doctor just thought it was going to be a meniscus tear, which would only result in her missing six weeks. That would’ve been best case scenario, as Kay said she would’ve obviously been able to pitch for Ohio State, as it was just the beginning of summer. However, her MRI results hadn’t come in yet.
Until they did.
“One day I was just driving around and I saw I got a notification on my phone. It was my MRI results and it said ‘fully torn ACL and meniscus.” I pulled over and thought ‘this can’t be right.’ There was a lot of big words and I’m like ‘I don’t know what any of this means,’ so I’m freaking myself out. My trainer confirmed the results, and I didn’t even know what to think.”
I called coach [Kelly Kovach Schoenly] and told her and obviously I’m a mess, like a head case in my car. Then I was like, you know what, I’m going to go to Bath & Body Works. That was the biggest check I ever dropped at Bath & Body Works in my life. I went there and then Chick-Fil-A just sobbing the entire time,” Kay said.
The pitcher credits Schoenly and her teammates, specifically her two roommates at the time — Kami Kortokrax and Reagan Milliken — for getting her through the injury, especially after her surgery. She said they would put her socks on for her, get her ice in the middle of the night and overall did their best to ensure Kay’s spirits stayed high.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24461421/Screen_Shot_2023_02_25_at_6.07.18_PM.png)
@birdk45 Instagram
“That in itself was super important because you think it’s a very personal injury, but the people you surround yourself is how you get through it. If I hadn’t had anyone it would’ve been a completely different drive and determination to get back to where I am now,” Kay said.
Getting through that first month post-surgery was rough, but she said once she made it through that period, she adopted a more positive mindset. Seeing her teammates work hard at practice every day inspired her to put that same effort into her rehab, so she could get back on the field as soon as possible.
This did not go without setbacks, however. Four months after her surgery in July, she started to pitch again as part of the rehab process. She threw a pitch and her knee popped, and she said she knew exactly what it was. Kay walked straight out of the bullpen and into the Schumaker Complex to get her knee checked out without saying a word to anyone.
One MRI later revealed that she re-tore her meniscus.
“That was a very hard obstacle because the first surgery, yeah it was hard, but there was still slight hope that I would’ve been able to play that season. But after my second surgery, it was hard because it was like ‘what am I working for?’ Like it was hard to flip that switch and realize I am working for something, it’s just not going to be an immediate result,” Kay said.
Once she started reminding herself of the bigger picture and realizing how badly she wanted to play with her teammates, she started to kick the rehab process into high gear. She credits the injury for helping her mature a lot and making her a better person and teammate, even stating that she wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Kay also remembered how blessed she was to be in the position that she was in at Ohio State, and refused to let the injury to keep her down.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24461416/Screen_Shot_2023_02_25_at_6.05.09_PM.png)
@birdk45 Instagram
15 months after her second surgery, she was named the opening day starter for the 2023 season.
“Honestly, I did not expect my name to be called. I was like, coach, you got a lot of trust in me! The way everyone reacted, they were just so excited and I was too, but I was like ‘I gotta act like I’ve been here before,’ Showing that the coaches and my team had trust in me to start the first game of the season against a ranked opponent (Georgia), a very good team, it just showed they had confidence in me and I need to have confidence in me to be successful,” Kay said.
Kay pitched 1.1 innings in her season debut. She has steadily been building up her innings since that first game on Feb. 10, and is looking better and better each time she steps in the circle. Who doesn’t love a good comeback story?
We are all rooting for you, Kennedy!
Continue reading...
meganhusslein via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
To make matters even worse, she tore it entering her freshman season.
As an athlete, one of the things you fear most is an injury. Especially an injury that can keep you out for the entirety of the season, like a torn ACL. Then, there’s the matter of whether you can play at the same ability as you did pre-injury.
I sat down with Ohio State redshirt-freshman pitcher Kennedy Kay to discuss her knee injury that made her miss her entire freshman season.
“I’ve loved playing softball my whole life, but once you don’t have it for a whole year, you’re like wow, I shouldn’t have taken that one tournament I didn’t want to go to for granted,” Kay said.
She remembers the injury like it was yesterday. It happened during the first game and the first tournament of the summer entering her freshman year at Ohio State.
She was pitching on wet turf and her cleat got stuck, causing her to fall down. She got back up, tried to pitch again and fell over once again. That’s when she realized that something was definitely wrong with her knee.
Initially, her team doctor just thought it was going to be a meniscus tear, which would only result in her missing six weeks. That would’ve been best case scenario, as Kay said she would’ve obviously been able to pitch for Ohio State, as it was just the beginning of summer. However, her MRI results hadn’t come in yet.
Until they did.
“One day I was just driving around and I saw I got a notification on my phone. It was my MRI results and it said ‘fully torn ACL and meniscus.” I pulled over and thought ‘this can’t be right.’ There was a lot of big words and I’m like ‘I don’t know what any of this means,’ so I’m freaking myself out. My trainer confirmed the results, and I didn’t even know what to think.”
I called coach [Kelly Kovach Schoenly] and told her and obviously I’m a mess, like a head case in my car. Then I was like, you know what, I’m going to go to Bath & Body Works. That was the biggest check I ever dropped at Bath & Body Works in my life. I went there and then Chick-Fil-A just sobbing the entire time,” Kay said.
The pitcher credits Schoenly and her teammates, specifically her two roommates at the time — Kami Kortokrax and Reagan Milliken — for getting her through the injury, especially after her surgery. She said they would put her socks on for her, get her ice in the middle of the night and overall did their best to ensure Kay’s spirits stayed high.
“That in itself was super important because you think it’s a very personal injury, but the people you surround yourself is how you get through it. If I hadn’t had anyone it would’ve been a completely different drive and determination to get back to where I am now,” Kay said.
Getting through that first month post-surgery was rough, but she said once she made it through that period, she adopted a more positive mindset. Seeing her teammates work hard at practice every day inspired her to put that same effort into her rehab, so she could get back on the field as soon as possible.
This did not go without setbacks, however. Four months after her surgery in July, she started to pitch again as part of the rehab process. She threw a pitch and her knee popped, and she said she knew exactly what it was. Kay walked straight out of the bullpen and into the Schumaker Complex to get her knee checked out without saying a word to anyone.
One MRI later revealed that she re-tore her meniscus.
“That was a very hard obstacle because the first surgery, yeah it was hard, but there was still slight hope that I would’ve been able to play that season. But after my second surgery, it was hard because it was like ‘what am I working for?’ Like it was hard to flip that switch and realize I am working for something, it’s just not going to be an immediate result,” Kay said.
Once she started reminding herself of the bigger picture and realizing how badly she wanted to play with her teammates, she started to kick the rehab process into high gear. She credits the injury for helping her mature a lot and making her a better person and teammate, even stating that she wouldn’t have had it any other way.
Kay also remembered how blessed she was to be in the position that she was in at Ohio State, and refused to let the injury to keep her down.
15 months after her second surgery, she was named the opening day starter for the 2023 season.
“Honestly, I did not expect my name to be called. I was like, coach, you got a lot of trust in me! The way everyone reacted, they were just so excited and I was too, but I was like ‘I gotta act like I’ve been here before,’ Showing that the coaches and my team had trust in me to start the first game of the season against a ranked opponent (Georgia), a very good team, it just showed they had confidence in me and I need to have confidence in me to be successful,” Kay said.
Kay pitched 1.1 innings in her season debut. She has steadily been building up her innings since that first game on Feb. 10, and is looking better and better each time she steps in the circle. Who doesn’t love a good comeback story?
We are all rooting for you, Kennedy!
Continue reading...
LGHL Ohio State rides hot first half to big win over the Illini, 72-60
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Ohio State rides hot first half to big win over the Illini, 72-60
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
For the first time in forever, the Buckeyes were faced with adversity and battled back to secure a win over a quality opponent.
Firmly and clearly outside of NCAA Tournament consideration with their brutal record in 2023, Ohio State (12-17, 4-14) found themselves once again in the spoiler role Sunday afternoon against an Illinois team (19-10, 10-8) fighting for a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament.
While the Buckeyes have shifted to “just play the young guys” mode, the Fighting Illini are trying to turn on the jets for a strong late-season push. Illinois senior guard Terrence Shannon Jr. will be a big help in that regard, as he returned this week after missing two games with a concussion he suffered in Illinois’ loss to Penn State on February 14.
With Shannon back in tow, Illinois head coach Brad Underwood rolled with a starting lineup of the aforementioned senior guard, as well as Jayden Epps, Matthew Mayer, Coleman Hawkins, and Dain Dainja.
Chris Holtmann went with a youthful starting five of Bruce Thornton, Roddy Gayle, Brice Sensabaugh, Felix Okpara, and Justice Sueing — who will be honored this Wednesday night at Ohio State’s senior night.
Fortunately, Ohio State fans didn’t have to wait for senior night for another victory, as the Buckeyes carried a tremendous first-half into a big home victory Sunday afternoon, 72-60. Thornton led Ohio State with 20 points on 8-11 shooting over 34 minutes, and also five rebounds and two assists. Sensabaugh and Sueing each had 14 points as well, with Sueing also racking up a double-double with 11 rebounds. Hawkins led four double-digit scorers on the Illini side with 14 points to go with seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Epps, Shannon, and Mayer all scored in double digits as well.
As a team, Ohio State shot 53.6% from the floor, despite going just 3-14 from three-point range. They out-rebounded Illinois 40-28, and the Buckeye bench outscored Illinois’ bench 18-15. Illinois shot 36.1% overall, and knocked down 6 of their 29 three-pointers (20.7%).
Illinois jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the first minute, but Ohio State answered with an 8-0 run of their own and held a slim 10-8 lead at the first media timeout 5:31 into the game. Thornton was playing heads-up basketball early, either scoring or assisting on four of Ohio State’s first five buckets. The freshman guard scored six of the Buckeyes’ first 10 points of the day.
The Buckeyes extended that early run and took a 26-16 lead into the under-eight media timeout with 6:40 remaining in the opening 20. Thornton continued to play flawless basketball running point, and Gene Brown also contributed five early points to tie his season-high just in the first half (Brown would later set his season-high in the second half with nine total points). Illinois’ first-half offensive plan seemed a bit peculiar, as the 12th-best three-point shooting team in the B1G took 12 threes over the first 13 minutes of this game, hitting just three of them.
By the time the halftime horn sounded, Ohio State held a 41-29 lead, having played their best all-around half of basketball in nearly two months. Thornton led the Buckeyes with 13 first-half points on 6-7 shooting over 17 minutes. He also had three rebounds and an assist, with no turnovers. Sensabaugh, Sueing, Sean McNeil, and Brown each had five or more points for the Buckeyes in the first half as well.
Illinois was led in the first half by Hawkins, who had 10 points in the opening stanza. Mayer had nine points as well, all on threes, on 3-7 shooting from beyond the arc.
The two squads went back and forth over the first few minutes of the second half, with the Illini cutting Ohio State’s lead to 45-35 by the first media timeout of the second half at the 15:33 mark. The two teams combined to hit 5 of their 18 shots over the first four minutes of the second half, as offenses stalled and things became a bit more discombobulated on both ends.
Illinois, powered by Shannon, cut the lead down to four with 7:23 remaining in the game. The Illini did a better job keeping Thornton in check in the second half, meanwhile Shannon awoke from his first-half slumber — not too much unlike Jalen Pickett did the other night. The combo of Thornton being held in check and Sensabaugh only hitting 3 of his nine shots to this point made it tough for the Buckeyes to keep up the offense they had in the first half. Regardless, they clung to a small lead at the under-eight timeout.
Ohio State pushed the lead to 10 points with 2:16 after a Sueing steal and bucket, and were ultimately able to hang on and break the long losing streak with an impressive win over a tournament-bound Illinois team.
If you weren’t around Sunday afternoon to see the Buckeyes send Illinois packing, here area few key moments and runs that helped lead Ohio State to their second win in the last 55 days:
Illinois got a quick three from Mayer and a layup from Hawkins to go up 5-0 early, but Thornton authored an 8-0 run for Ohio State to quickly pull the home team ahead. He scored three buckets and assisted on another to get the Buckeyes back in front 8-5 early on, and looked as locked in as he has all season long.
After going up 10-8 at the first media timeout, Ohio State continued to pressure Illinois into bad shots while also getting easy looks on the offensive end. Thornton continued to attack, even on the potential B1G Defensive Player of the Year, Shannon. The Buckeyes outscored Illinois 7-1 over a 2:34 span, causing Underwood to take a timeout with his team trailing 17-9. The Buckeyes knocked down 9 of their first 14 shots against an Illinois defense that’s rated No. 26 in the country according to KenPom.
Ohio State dominated Illinois on the glass in the first half, out-rebounding Illinois 23-9 over the first 20 minutes. The Illini — the second-best rebounding team in the B1G — didn’t have a ton of chances for rebounds with Ohio State hitting 60.7% of their shots over the first 20 minutes. Illinois shot just 36.7% during the opening stanza, however, leading to plenty of chances for defensive rebounds for the home team. Ohio State out-rebounded Illinois 40-28 overall by the time the final buzzer sounded.
Already up a dozen, the Buckeyes opened the second half with an alley-oop slam from Sueing to Okpara to push the lead out to 43-29 just 17 seconds into the half. On the ensuing Illinois possession, Dainja was met at the rim by Okpara, who swatted his layup to the corner where Sueing was able to grab it and run back up the court. Okpara ended the game with four points over eight total minutes.
Trailing 45-35 with about 16 minutes remaining in the game, Shannon dropped in layups on back-to-back possessions and was fouled on both, completing the three-point play each time. This quickly pulled Illinois back within four points, 45-41. Shannon only scored two in the first half, but quickly pulled it together in the second half and was causing a ton of problems for Ohio State. Shannon finished the game with 10 points on 3-12 shooting over 29 minutes. He had four rebounds and two assists, but also had four turnovers.
Illinois had cut the Ohio State lead to just three points with just over six minutes remaining, but Sensabaugh quickly gave his team some breathing room with a highlight reel dunk.
Hawkins turned the ball over below Illinois’ basket and Sueing collected it and found a streaking Sensabaugh headed down the court. He slammed it down over the head of Mayer, and then stood over Illinois’ senior forward and let out a scream. Sensabaugh scored on the next possession as well to put Ohio State up 59-52 with 5:24 remaining.
Sensabaugh had a tough start to the game, hitting three of his first nine shots, but finished by hitting his final two shots and finished with 14 points over 28 minutes. He also had six rebounds, two assists, one block, and three turnovers.
With 3:00 remaining and Ohio State up 64-56, Likekele was double-teamed below the basket and turned it over. Ty Rodgers tore up the court and got the ball to Mayer, but Sueing picked his pocket at the last second and stole it, followed by a behind-the-back pass to Sensabaugh to keep it inbounds below the Illinois basket. Sueing then scored at the other end to give Ohio State a 10-point lead once again, 66-56, with just over two minutes remaining.
Sueing recorded his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds over 37 minutes. He also had two assists, a block, and a steal. He did not turn the ball over.
Ohio State (12-17, 4-14) will honor their seniors Wednesday night against Maryland (20-9, 11-7) — the final home game of the season. While Ohio State is almost certainly locked in to the 13-seed in the Big Ten Tournament, the Terrapins are still fighting for a top-four seed and the coveted double-bye, so they have quite a bit to play for. Ohio State’s game with Maryland tips off at 7:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on BTN.
Continue reading...
Connor Lemons via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports
For the first time in forever, the Buckeyes were faced with adversity and battled back to secure a win over a quality opponent.
Firmly and clearly outside of NCAA Tournament consideration with their brutal record in 2023, Ohio State (12-17, 4-14) found themselves once again in the spoiler role Sunday afternoon against an Illinois team (19-10, 10-8) fighting for a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament.
While the Buckeyes have shifted to “just play the young guys” mode, the Fighting Illini are trying to turn on the jets for a strong late-season push. Illinois senior guard Terrence Shannon Jr. will be a big help in that regard, as he returned this week after missing two games with a concussion he suffered in Illinois’ loss to Penn State on February 14.
With Shannon back in tow, Illinois head coach Brad Underwood rolled with a starting lineup of the aforementioned senior guard, as well as Jayden Epps, Matthew Mayer, Coleman Hawkins, and Dain Dainja.
Chris Holtmann went with a youthful starting five of Bruce Thornton, Roddy Gayle, Brice Sensabaugh, Felix Okpara, and Justice Sueing — who will be honored this Wednesday night at Ohio State’s senior night.
Fortunately, Ohio State fans didn’t have to wait for senior night for another victory, as the Buckeyes carried a tremendous first-half into a big home victory Sunday afternoon, 72-60. Thornton led Ohio State with 20 points on 8-11 shooting over 34 minutes, and also five rebounds and two assists. Sensabaugh and Sueing each had 14 points as well, with Sueing also racking up a double-double with 11 rebounds. Hawkins led four double-digit scorers on the Illini side with 14 points to go with seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Epps, Shannon, and Mayer all scored in double digits as well.
As a team, Ohio State shot 53.6% from the floor, despite going just 3-14 from three-point range. They out-rebounded Illinois 40-28, and the Buckeye bench outscored Illinois’ bench 18-15. Illinois shot 36.1% overall, and knocked down 6 of their 29 three-pointers (20.7%).
Illinois jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the first minute, but Ohio State answered with an 8-0 run of their own and held a slim 10-8 lead at the first media timeout 5:31 into the game. Thornton was playing heads-up basketball early, either scoring or assisting on four of Ohio State’s first five buckets. The freshman guard scored six of the Buckeyes’ first 10 points of the day.
The Buckeyes extended that early run and took a 26-16 lead into the under-eight media timeout with 6:40 remaining in the opening 20. Thornton continued to play flawless basketball running point, and Gene Brown also contributed five early points to tie his season-high just in the first half (Brown would later set his season-high in the second half with nine total points). Illinois’ first-half offensive plan seemed a bit peculiar, as the 12th-best three-point shooting team in the B1G took 12 threes over the first 13 minutes of this game, hitting just three of them.
By the time the halftime horn sounded, Ohio State held a 41-29 lead, having played their best all-around half of basketball in nearly two months. Thornton led the Buckeyes with 13 first-half points on 6-7 shooting over 17 minutes. He also had three rebounds and an assist, with no turnovers. Sensabaugh, Sueing, Sean McNeil, and Brown each had five or more points for the Buckeyes in the first half as well.
Illinois was led in the first half by Hawkins, who had 10 points in the opening stanza. Mayer had nine points as well, all on threes, on 3-7 shooting from beyond the arc.
The two squads went back and forth over the first few minutes of the second half, with the Illini cutting Ohio State’s lead to 45-35 by the first media timeout of the second half at the 15:33 mark. The two teams combined to hit 5 of their 18 shots over the first four minutes of the second half, as offenses stalled and things became a bit more discombobulated on both ends.
Illinois, powered by Shannon, cut the lead down to four with 7:23 remaining in the game. The Illini did a better job keeping Thornton in check in the second half, meanwhile Shannon awoke from his first-half slumber — not too much unlike Jalen Pickett did the other night. The combo of Thornton being held in check and Sensabaugh only hitting 3 of his nine shots to this point made it tough for the Buckeyes to keep up the offense they had in the first half. Regardless, they clung to a small lead at the under-eight timeout.
Ohio State pushed the lead to 10 points with 2:16 after a Sueing steal and bucket, and were ultimately able to hang on and break the long losing streak with an impressive win over a tournament-bound Illinois team.
If you weren’t around Sunday afternoon to see the Buckeyes send Illinois packing, here area few key moments and runs that helped lead Ohio State to their second win in the last 55 days:
Ohio State answers Illinois’ 5-0 run with an 8-0 run of their own
Illinois got a quick three from Mayer and a layup from Hawkins to go up 5-0 early, but Thornton authored an 8-0 run for Ohio State to quickly pull the home team ahead. He scored three buckets and assisted on another to get the Buckeyes back in front 8-5 early on, and looked as locked in as he has all season long.
Buckeyes extend run, force Underwood to call a timeout
After going up 10-8 at the first media timeout, Ohio State continued to pressure Illinois into bad shots while also getting easy looks on the offensive end. Thornton continued to attack, even on the potential B1G Defensive Player of the Year, Shannon. The Buckeyes outscored Illinois 7-1 over a 2:34 span, causing Underwood to take a timeout with his team trailing 17-9. The Buckeyes knocked down 9 of their first 14 shots against an Illinois defense that’s rated No. 26 in the country according to KenPom.
Buckeyes crush the boards, go into halftime up a dozen
Ohio State dominated Illinois on the glass in the first half, out-rebounding Illinois 23-9 over the first 20 minutes. The Illini — the second-best rebounding team in the B1G — didn’t have a ton of chances for rebounds with Ohio State hitting 60.7% of their shots over the first 20 minutes. Illinois shot just 36.7% during the opening stanza, however, leading to plenty of chances for defensive rebounds for the home team. Ohio State out-rebounded Illinois 40-28 overall by the time the final buzzer sounded.
Okpara does it on both ends to start the second half
Already up a dozen, the Buckeyes opened the second half with an alley-oop slam from Sueing to Okpara to push the lead out to 43-29 just 17 seconds into the half. On the ensuing Illinois possession, Dainja was met at the rim by Okpara, who swatted his layup to the corner where Sueing was able to grab it and run back up the court. Okpara ended the game with four points over eight total minutes.
Shannon cuts the lead to four
Trailing 45-35 with about 16 minutes remaining in the game, Shannon dropped in layups on back-to-back possessions and was fouled on both, completing the three-point play each time. This quickly pulled Illinois back within four points, 45-41. Shannon only scored two in the first half, but quickly pulled it together in the second half and was causing a ton of problems for Ohio State. Shannon finished the game with 10 points on 3-12 shooting over 29 minutes. He had four rebounds and two assists, but also had four turnovers.
Sensabaugh baptizes Mayer, gives Ohio State some breathing room
Illinois had cut the Ohio State lead to just three points with just over six minutes remaining, but Sensabaugh quickly gave his team some breathing room with a highlight reel dunk.
Hawkins turned the ball over below Illinois’ basket and Sueing collected it and found a streaking Sensabaugh headed down the court. He slammed it down over the head of Mayer, and then stood over Illinois’ senior forward and let out a scream. Sensabaugh scored on the next possession as well to put Ohio State up 59-52 with 5:24 remaining.
Sensabaugh had a tough start to the game, hitting three of his first nine shots, but finished by hitting his final two shots and finished with 14 points over 28 minutes. He also had six rebounds, two assists, one block, and three turnovers.
Sueing with the steal, bucket to ice it
With 3:00 remaining and Ohio State up 64-56, Likekele was double-teamed below the basket and turned it over. Ty Rodgers tore up the court and got the ball to Mayer, but Sueing picked his pocket at the last second and stole it, followed by a behind-the-back pass to Sensabaugh to keep it inbounds below the Illinois basket. Sueing then scored at the other end to give Ohio State a 10-point lead once again, 66-56, with just over two minutes remaining.
Sueing recorded his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds over 37 minutes. He also had two assists, a block, and a steal. He did not turn the ball over.
Up Next:
Ohio State (12-17, 4-14) will honor their seniors Wednesday night against Maryland (20-9, 11-7) — the final home game of the season. While Ohio State is almost certainly locked in to the 13-seed in the Big Ten Tournament, the Terrapins are still fighting for a top-four seed and the coveted double-bye, so they have quite a bit to play for. Ohio State’s game with Maryland tips off at 7:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on BTN.
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