Big Ten Basketball: Illinois rises, Iowa falls in latest power rankings
. 8-2 (2-0). . Buckeyes . 2. team. 490
When Duane Washington left for the NBA Draft, there was a big question as to how the Buckeyes were going to replace him in the backcourt. They landed a transfer guard in Cedric Russell from Louisiana, but he’s averaging fewer than 10 mpg. Penn State transfer Jamari Wheeler was never known as a scorer but does lead the team with 4.4 apg and 1.5 spg.
Freshman guards Meechie Johnson Jr. and Malaki Branham have shown promise early on but neither are scoring more than 6.6 ppg and shooting over 40% from the field, so their progression will be slow rather than immediately dominating on the court. And making matters worse, double-digit scoring wing Justice Sueing has been out for the past month due to an injury, depriving the team of another capable scoring.
The good news is that Ohio State still has E.J. Liddell, currently leading the team with 20.6 ppg and 7.2 rpg. He’s made a case for being the best non-Purdue player in Big Ten Basketball and has become one of the nation’s best shot-blockers as well, going for 3.0 a game. The frontcourt is the Buckeye’s big strength, as forwards Zed Key and Kyle Young are the team’s second and third-best scorers as well, combining for 20.4 ppg and 12.1 ppg.
As long as the frontcourt continues to produce at such a high rate, the backcourt issues (outside of sharpshooter Justin Ahrens 8.7 ppg on 43% 3PT) can be negated. And if either Johnson Jr. or Branham breaks out in the next couple of months, Ohio State could end up as the best team in the Big Ten overall.