Ohio State basketball likely without most valuable player vs. Loyola Chicago

The Ohio State basketball team will likely be without its most valuable member when they take on Loyola Chicago on Friday.

The Ohio State basketball team has struggled with health all year long. It’s been a big storyline with this squad and is a big reason why they are only a 7-seed in the NCAA Tournament.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that’s going to get any better before Friday.

Chris Holtmann said that both Kyle Young and Zed Key will be game-time decisions on Friday. I’m sure he’s saying that so that Loyola Chicago won’t know what they are doing, but it’s pretty easy to read between the lines there. The Buckeyes will likely be without their most valuable player for that game.

That player is Young. Young has been out with a concussion for a while. He hasn’t played since March 1st against Nebraska when he left in the first half after suffering that concussion. Ohio State went on to lose that game and lost two of the next three games without him.

I think Key will play. He would have been available if the Buckeyes really wanted to force it against Penn State. His ankle is well enough for him to play on it on Friday, so I would expect to see him out there. I’d rather have Young healthy than Key if I were picking which was going to play though.

I’d be very surprised if Young ended up playing on Friday. At this point, I’m just expecting him to be out until I actually see him warming up on the floor. That’s bad news for Ohio State against the Ramblers. They need him badly out there to win this game.

If Young does play, it increases Ohio State’s chances of winning the game immensely. If he doesn’t I think they lose. It’s pretty much that simple.