Ohio State Basketball: Liddell playing with extra motivation

The Ohio State basketball team got another dominant performance from E.J. Liddell against Minnesota this past Thursday. Liddell was highly motivated for this game as this performance could’ve come from a statement a well-known Big Ten college basketball analyst made a few days ago.

On Wednesday Andy Katz, a college basketball analyst for the Big Ten Network came out with his Midseason 1st-Team All-Big Ten selection. Liddell was left off his list.

Katz picked Johnny Davis of Wisconsin, Jaden Ivey of Purdue, Keegan Murray of Iowa, Trayce Jackson-Davis of Indiana, and Kofi Cockburn of Illinois to his Midseason1st-Team All-Big Ten.

The Big Ten Network’s Twitter page tweeted out Katz’s selection on Wednesday and Liddell responded to the tweet with just one word:

Following his tweet, Liddell responded by pouring in 23 points while shooting 64.3% from the field and 66.7% from three, grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds, dished out 5 assists, and lead the Buckeyes to their first win against the Gophers in The Barn since 2014.

Liddell became the first Ohio State basketball player in the last 25 seasons to record at least 20 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 assists in a game. He became the third Big Ten men’s basketball player since 2010 to post a 20-15-5 game. Liddell also eclipsed 1,000 career points at Ohio State becoming the 60th player to join the 1K club.

Liddell is the best player on the floor in almost every game, and he played like it against Minnesota. We all know Liddell is an extremely hard worker, is going to give it his all once he steps on the hardwood, and he is a player that will find anything to get him motivated. Katz not selecting him to his Midseason 1st-Team All-Big Ten team was that little thing to make him flip a switch.

It was obvious that Liddell was playing with a massive chip on his shoulder. It seems like he’s had that chip on his shoulder his whole career at Ohio State for how underrated he is perceived in college basketball. If he continues to play at this level there’s no doubt he will change not just Andy Katz’s mind, but all of the analysts’ minds by the end of the season.

Liddell is looking to lead the Buckeyes into Purdue for a heavyweight clash in the Big Ten. If Liddell continues to play with that same chip on his shoulder I think the Buckeyes will have a great shot at knocking off the Boilermakers.