AP Poll: Ohio State basketball drops three spots to No. 23
Following a 67-60 loss to Purdue and a 77-70 win over UCLA, the Ohio State basketball team dropped three spots, from No. 20 to No. 23, in this week’s AP Poll.
The Buckeyes week consisted of two hard-fought games against both UCLA and Purdue, coming out victorious in one of them. The Buckeyes fell on Wednesday against Purdue in a defensive battle, with both teams shooting under 50% from the field and the Buckeyes only shooting 25% from three the entire game.
Purdue was led by Trevion Williams and Eric Hunter Jr., who combined for 31 of Purdue’s 67 points.
Ohio State was missing one of their top players, E.J Liddell, who missed his second straight game due to a non-COVID-19 related illness. Liddell, arguably the Buckeyes best scorer, came into the night averaging 15.5 points and 7.5 rebounds.
On Saturday, the Buckeyes came out on top against a solid UCLA team, 77-70. E.J. Liddell was able to return to the Ohio State lineup, scoring nine points and grabbing two rebounds. Duane Washington Jr. led the Buckeyes offensive attack, scoring 14 points to go along with five rebounds and three assists. Zed Key provided a huge boost off the Buckeyes bench, scoring 11 points and grabbing six rebounds.
Buckeyes coach, Chris Holtman said, “When you get a player the caliber of E.J. back, it certainly helps you, I thought this was our best performance of the year against a quality UCLA team that will either be near the top or win the Pac-12.”
Ohio State was initially supposed to play No. 22 North Carolina, while UCLA was scheduled to play against Kentucky. The matchups were changed Wednesday to align the opponents with the most similar COVID-19 testing protocols.
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THIS WEEK
The Ohio State basketball team has two huge games this week, facing 11th ranked Rutgers at home on Wednesday before traveling to Illinois to play a tough Northwestern team, who beat Michigan State by 14 points just last night.