Ohio State basketball: Kyle Young and Zed Key availability for Loyola-Chicago game

The Ohio State basketball team got some huge news about an hour before tip-off of their first-round matchup against Loyola Chicago.

The Ohio State basketball team is taking on Loyola-Chicago very soon in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. March Madness has already seen a few upsets, including two 12-seeds beating a 5-seed and Kentucky falling to 15-seeded Saint Peters.

Ohio State is trying to avoid being upset as well. They are a 7-seed taking on 10-seeded Loyola Chicago. Right before tip-off, we have great news for them. Both Kyle Young and Zed Key will be available for the game today. That’s big news right before the game starts.

I didn’t think that Young would play. He hasn’t played since March 1st because of a concussion, and we’d had no indication of his status changing anytime soon. I was pretty confident that Key would play because Chris Holtmann had said he was available for the Penn State game if they really needed him.

Having these two play in this game changes the entire dynamic of this game. Young’s defensive versatility gives the Buckeyes a stronger defense in the post. They need that because their perimeter defense is still in really bad shape. Young and Key both help defensively in the post.

Young playing might even be enough for me to change my pick on who wins this game. I think Ohio State might be able to win this game in a close one now. I had picked Loyola before, but I think Young gives them enough of a boost both defensively and offensively to win now.

Hopefully, that’s the case. We’ll find out in just a short amount of time!