Coming off an upset victory against Maryland, the Ohio State men’s basketball team (18-9, 8-8) travels to Nebraska (7-20, 2-14) for a road showdown.
The Buckeyes beat the Cornhuskers 80-68 at Value City Arena in Columbus on Jan. 14, so Fred Hoiber’g squad will be looking for revenge at home.
Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann spoke to members of the media the day before the Big Ten matchup in Lincoln, Neb.
- We’re hard at work preparing for Nebraska on the road. They are without one of their leading scorers and still played well against Illinois. They are playing really well.
- Fred does an amazing job with scheming. His team has been shooting very well. They shot very well here in the second half on Jan. 14.
- Junior forward Kyle Young is day-to-day and continues to be evaluated. He will make the trip to Nebraska and will be a shootaround decision.
- I feel about the same about Kyle’s injury as when it initially happened. It’s an unfortunate thing; he’s had a go of it. He and our team has had a go of it when it comes to injuries.
- If Kyle can’t play, we’re going to have to take a serious look at our lineups, including the three-guard lineup used in the second half against Maryland.
- In a way it’s exciting because it could be an opportunity for other guys to help out.
- I think freshman forward Alonzo Gaffney can give us some minutes. He had a knee sprain, then some flu issues that kept him out of stuff. But he’s better now and can help us.
- I don’t think playing only six guys is feasible for the long-term. It’s not sustainable.
- We are very limited in practice with evening the teams out and going Scarlet vs. Gray scrimmage stuff. It’s hard to do that right now with junior wings Musa Jallow and Justice Sueing on scooters, and Kyle out now.
- We can go 5 on 5 at times. Assistant coach Jake Diebler has entered the practice lineup. he’s been helping out with Kyle injured and Luther missing some time.
- We are going to experience great adversity on the road tomorrow. Every game they’ve played at Nebraska, they’ve battled until the end, with close games against tough teams.
- We’re down one of our captains (Young), but some of our older guys have to step up like the Wessons and junior guard C.J. Walker.
- Our team understands, whether it was how Nebraska outscored us in the second half here or how they took Maryland to the final whistle at Maryland.
- When threes aren’t falling, what do you have to do? We have to be better defensively. We have to find ways to score, whether on the drive or post ups.
- I continue to take issue with the way Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon characterized Kaleb Wesson’s play. I think it’s inappropriate. I’ve never seen this much conversation after a game. No one is scrutinized more when it comes to officiating than Kaleb Wesson. And he’s had to adjust. He’s a big guy, so he’s difficult to officiate. With the hours of film he watched in trying to improve and avoid foul trouble, I think he deserves some credit. I have respect for Mark, but I thought those comments were out of line.
- Freshman guard DJ Carton is not back with the team. It’s very exciting to have him back on campus. He’s been going through the medical process of everything that goes into it.
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