Ohio State basketball: Zed Key dominates in thrilling win vs Rutgers
By Jacob Rhymer
The Ohio State basketball team defeated Rutgers in an all-out Big Ten battle last night. The main story was Tanner Holden’s buzzer-beater that lifted the Buckeyes to a 1-0 start in conference play. There is another story that can’t be ignored, and that is how dominant Zed Key was for Ohio State in the early season conference win over the Scarlet Knights.
Zed Key did everything he needed to do to lead the Buckeyes to a victory last night. The junior big man went for a career-high 22 points and he also pulled down 14 rebounds. This was Key’s fourth double-double of the season. That’s already twice as many double-doubles as he’s had in his first two seasons at Ohio State.
Key was determined to be more effective on the glass on both ends of the floor coming into season. Last night he pulled down seven offensive rebounds, and that is huge for the Buckeyes to get second-chance opportunities in big games like last night.
His rebounding averages have increased each year as he’s now at 8.7 rebounds per game, which leads the whole Buckeye basketball team. For how aggressive Key has been on the boards this season I wouldn’t be surprised if he finished the season averaging double figures in rebounding.
There are a lot of elite big men in college basketball this season, and the majority of them are in the Big Ten. Last night was a clash of two of the Big Ten’s best big men that are trying to put themselves in the same category as the other bigs on the top tier level of the conference.
Key won the war down low against Rutgers junior center Clifford Omoruyi. One of the main keys to victory last night was containing Omoruyi, and Key did just that last night en route to the Buckeyes’ thrilling win.
The first thought of the game last night will be Tanner Holden’s miraculous shot to win it for the Buckeyes. However, if it weren’t for Zed Key Ohio State might not have been in that position to win the game because of his dominant play on both ends of the floor. He’s the best player on the floor in Scarlet and Gray each night. The Buckeyes will go this season as long as Key goes.
Next. Tanner Holden wins it at the buzzer vs Rutgers. dark
Key will have his hands full again in the Buckeyes’ next game against North Carolina and their big man Armando Bacot. Injuries have affected Bacot’s play for the Tar Heels so far, but coming into the season he was pegged as one of the best bigs in the country. I’m looking forward to seeing how Key does in this matchup with the Tar Heels’ elite big man.