Ohio State basketball: Jamari Wheeler will make or break Loyola matchup

The Ohio State basketball team is on the brink of another disappointing end to the season with a matchup against Loyola Chicago on Friday afternoon. Following the loss to Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament opener, Chris Holtmann hopes to rebound for a surprising run in Pittsburgh this weekend. A win over the mid-major program would give the Buckeyes a fifth consecutive 20-win season and their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2019.

According to ESPN, Ohio State has a 51.8% chance to win.

Jamari Wheeler struggled against his former school last week as Ohio State fell 71-68 despite leading for the majority of the game. The former Penn State point guard finished with eight points and two assists on 3/9 shooting from the field and 2/7 from 3-point range.

If the Buckeyes were completely healthy then Wheeler’s production wouldn’t be nearly as important but as it stands, he needs to score and consistently create good shots for others in order to advance.

After four years with the Nittany Lions, Wheeler has a lot of experience with 156 career games but he’s never played in the NCAA Tournament. When the 6’1 guard plays at a high level, the Buckeyes become a much more dangerous team. He can have a lot of success in stretches but also tends to settle for bad shots and overdribble at times. Wheeler is Ohio State’s fifth-leading scorer, averaging 7.4 points and a team-high 3.0 assists in 29.4 minutes per game.

Since Zed Key and Kyle Young got hurt, EJ Liddell has been carrying so much of the offensive responsibility that he seems to be running out of gas in the second half of recent games. Even if both big men are able to play against the Ramblers, Wheeler will need to keep the offense running smoothly and limit turnovers. Ohio State is 7-2 this year when the senior guard dishes out 4+ assists including a 73-55 win over Wisconsin.

Key and Young will be game-time decisions for the first round.

Malaki Branham has done his best to become a high-impact player but the Buckeyes desperately need a third scorer to step up against Loyola. The Missouri Valley champions went 25-7 and will lean on senior wing Lucas Williamson and point guard Braden Norris, who seemingly always looks to make the right play. In order for the Buckeyes to have a chance to move onto the second round, Wheeler will need to match Norris at the very least.