Ohio State Buckeyes surging into college basketball season’s home stretch

Here’s a closer look at coach Chris Holtmann’s team with a month to go until the NCAA Tournament:

1. They could be a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance.

Ohio State’s rise has been swift. The Buckeyes are up to No. 7 in the nation in KenPom ratings. They are fourth in adjusted offensive rating and 61st on defense while playing the nation’s No. 13 schedule.

This has all made them popular with various bracketologists — and the selection committee itself.

The Buckeyes joined Gonzaga, Baylor and Michigan as the No. 1 seeds in a bracket preview released Saturday by the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee.

“Ohio State is a terrific team — there’s a reason they have climbed the ladder the way they have,” Indiana coach Archie Miller said after his Hoosiers lost 78-59 to Ohio State on Saturday. “They’ve got tremendous balance and by far and away coming into the game I knew this was going to be our challenge was the physicality of the game. The way that their guys compete in terms of the backboard and the post, how they defend, they can really really ruffle you.”

The path to No. 1 is a little clearer this year than most as blue bloods Kentucky, Duke and North Carolina are all having down seasons.

2. They have a long way to go.

Ohio State is hot, but the Buckeyes face multiple potential potholes on the road to Indianapolis, which will host both the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments next month.

Ohio State is scheduled to play at unranked Penn State, a frequent thorn in the side of the Buckeyes the past few seasons regardless of their ranking, at 8 p.m. on Thursday and return home to play No. 3 Michigan at 1 p.m. Sunday.

“We have a couple of days here that we’ll get our legs under us and then prepare for a Penn State team that I think everybody’s well aware of how good they are and what they did to us here at our place,” Holtmann said Saturday.

After taking on unranked and disappointing Michigan State on Feb. 25, Ohio State closes out the regular season at home against No. 11 Iowa on Feb. 28 and No. 5 Illinois on March 6.

3. A sophomore is leading the way.

E.J. Liddell was not the highest-rated member of the ballyhooed 2019 recruiting class, but he was a four-star prospect whose profile grew as his career at Belleville West High School in Illinois drew to a close.

The 6-foot-7, 240-pound power forward has shown why this season as he ranks 10th in the Big Ten in scoring (15.1 points per game), 12th in rebounding (6.7) and seventh in field goal percentage (49.7).

3. Veterans have grown into roles.

Junior guard Dwayne Washington Jr. leads the Big Ten with 2.7 three-pointers per game and is the team’s No. 2 scorer (14.6 points per game) while fifth-year senior C.J. Walker has pitched in 8.5 points per contest. The backcourt-mates have combined to hand out 132 assists against 80 turnovers.

Senior Kyle Young has provided support to Liddell in the front court by chipping in 8.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. He’s also shooting 56.5 percent from the floor.

Then there’s the local guy…

4. Justin Ahrens is having a breakout season

The junior from Versailles played in 51 games in his first two seasons at Ohio State, scoring 155 points and making 42 of 106 three-pointers (41.5 percent).

He entered the starting lineup in the middle of January and has been one of the top outside shooters in the Big Ten. The 6-6 wing is 46 of 98 from 3-point range (46.9 percent) and averaging 7.1 points per game.

Ahrens made only one of four shots against the Hoosiers, but Holtmann said he still made an impact on the game.

“Justin, while he may not have had great numbers, what he did was create great space on the floor because of the threat that he is,” Holtmann said.

5. Several newcomers are helping a lot.

Justice Sueing, a transfer from Cal, is third on the team in scoring at 10.7 points per game. He’s third in rebounds (5.8) and leads the way with 22 steals as a versatile wing.

Another transfer — Columbus native Seth Towns, who has a degree from Harvard already under his belt — has had his moments as well and is averaging 4.6 points per game while hitting 11 of 29 treys.

Freshman big man Zed Key has provided some key minutes and presence in the paint while point guard Meechie Johnson has provided another ball-handler after graduating early from high school and joining the team this winter.

6. Chris Holtmann’s still got it.

The Buckeyes started the new year by getting hammered by Minnesota 77-60 on Jan. 3.

Their third loss in six games dropped the Buckeyes out of the top 25 and led to questions about just how far their fourth-year head coach can take them.

Holtmann was named Big Ten Coach of the Year after leading the Buckeyes to a surprise second place finish his first season in Columbus, hinting he could provide the lift the program needed after stagnating in the second half of Thad Matta’s overall successful tenure as coach of the Scarlet and Gray.

The Buckeyes went just 19-21 over the next two seasons in the Big Ten, however, and saw two members of the ’19 recruiting class transfer, including head-liner D.J. Carton.

He may not have a traditional Big Ten roster — there is no true center or dominant point guard — but the Buckeyes have excelled playing a team-oriented game with a lineup of players able to do multiple things.

“I think (we have) versatile and gifted offensive players, which you have to have in today’s college basketball and today’s NBA for that matter,” Holtmann said, “and then they bought into playing together.”

THURSDAY’S GAME

Ohio State at Penn State, 8 p.m., BTN, 1410