The bench stepped up in Ohio State basketball's upset over No. 2 Purdue
By Jacob Rhymer
In the first game since Chris Holtmann was fired as head coach of the Ohio State basketball team, the Buckeyes went on and picked up their biggest win of the season upsetting No. 2 Purdue. Two of Ohio State's leaders, Bruce Thornton and Jamison Battle, powered the Buckeyes to a big-time victory. However, the supporting cast of the Ohio State basketball team also provided a huge lift in the win.
Interim Head Coach Jake Diebler made it a point early in this game that he was going to utilize this team's depth. Within the first few minutes, he subbed in Dale Bonner for Roddy Gayle Jr. Zed Key came in for Felix Okpara, who was in foul trouble and brought a lot of energy off the bench in the 21 minutes he was on the floor. Diebler even gave all four freshmen on the Ohio State basketball team minutes in this game.
The Ohio State basketball team received 26 combined points from the bench today, which is the most they have gotten from the bench so far in Big Ten play. Zed Key led the bench scoring with nine points, and Dale Bonner followed with seven points all coming in the second half.
The Buckeyes also gained contributions from three of the four freshmen who got minutes in this game. Devin Royal added five points and Scotty Middleton was right behind him with three points. Austin Parks even chipped in with two points that came in the first half.
In order to upset one of the top teams in college basketball it takes a full team effort, especially when that team has Zach Edey. Zed Key had the best defensive game of his entire Ohio State career today with five steals, and he stripped the reigning National Player of the Year twice on crucial defensive moments.
This Ohio State basketball team has great depth when it's used like it is today. Everyone off the bench took advantage of their opportunity by impacting the game in different ways. Coach Diebler did an excellent job rotating guys in and out to keep everyone fresh, and that strategy showed it was effective during winning time.
Next. Names to watch as the next head coach for the Ohio State basketball program. Names to watch as the next head coach for the Ohio State basketball program. dark
This is an awesome win for the Buckeyes and it could not have come at a better time. The new era of Ohio State basketball is off to a tremendous start.