Ohio State basketball: Buckeyes have to survive without Zed Key

Injuries are never something easy to deal with. The Ohio State basketball team has had to deal with a myriad of them over the past few years. Against Alabama A&M and Purdue, they came into the game fully healthy for the first time in a very long time. That didn’t last long.

That’s because Zed Key got hurt early in the first half of that Purdue game. He essentially missed that entire game and then missed today’s game against Maryland. Key is one of Ohio State’s best players. Losing him for an extended period of time would be a problem.

Key suffered a shoulder sprain in that game. It was the same shoulder that Key felt discomfort in while they were in Maui. It’s unclear how long he’s going to be out. What is clear is that the Buckeyes have to find a way to survive without Key on the floor.

We got our first glimpse at that today and the results were not promising. Ohio State lost to Maryland 80-73 and blew a second-half lead. What’s worse is that Chris Holtmann only trusted to play Key’s replacement, freshman Felix Okpara, just 12 minutes.

In those 12 minutes, Okpara was almost invisible. He had just two points on 1-2 shooting and picked up three fouls. Simply put, he was a non-factor in this game. That’s a problem for a team that struggles to close games as we’ve seen multiple times this season.

How Holtmann navigates this time without Key in the lineup will determine how things shape up at the end of the year for this Ohio State basketball team. They have the talent to compete for a Big Ten championship. Holtmann just has to put the pieces together correctly.

Hopefully, Key doesn’t miss an extended period of time and he can get back on the field soon.