It’s not a secret that the Ohio State Buckeyes have struggled on the basketball court as late with the team losing eight of their last nine games and falling to just 11-11 on the season, on pace to likely miss the NCAA Tournament for the first time under head coach Chris Holtmann. It’s clear that the Buckeyes needed to make some changes to turn their season around, but the decision the team made had many scratching their heads.
Freshman sensation Brice Sensabaugh has been without a doubt the team’s top player this season, emerging as the team’s top scorer with 17.1 points per game. He’s also inserted himself into the NBA Draft conversation as he’s likely to be a one-and-done player this season with first-round projections.
But ahead of Sunday afternoon’s game against the rival Michigan Wolverines, head coach Chris Holtmann made quite a surprising coaching move, putting Brice Sensabaugh on the bench to start the game.
“Brice Sensabaugh will come off the bench today for Ohio State. Thornton, McNeil, Likekele, Sueing and Zey are Ohio State’s five starters against Michigan,” Ohio State basketball reporter Griffin Strom of Eleven Warriors said in a tweet.
It’s certainly a wild move, and the college basketball world blasted it.
To be fair, Ohio State is 6-2 in games when Sensabaugh comes off the bench. But it’s still quite a shocking move not to start the best player on the roster.
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