With nine seniors on the roster, experience is supposed to be a strength for the Buckeyes. That’s not the case when it comes to the NCAA Tournament.
Only two Ohio State players have appeared in more than one NCAA Tournament game, and four of the Buckeyes’ seniors – including all three of its first-year grad transfer additions – have never played in the tournament at all. With 39 minutes played against Oral Roberts, E.J. Liddell is Ohio State’s most experienced NCAA Tournament veteran, and 13 players on the Buckeyes’ 15-man roster have never played in a tournament win.
In No. 10 seed Loyola, Ohio State will be taking on a team that returns eight players that saw time in last year’s three-game run to the Sweet 16. Six Ramblers logged more minutes in the 2021 tournament alone than any Buckeye ever has in the Big Dance.
“Because of the COVID year that didn’t happen for us, we don't have a lot of guys that have played in the tournament,” Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann said on 97.1 The Fan Monday. “We're gonna be playing a Loyola team that has much more guys that have actually played in extended games. So I think there is gonna be an excitement level, certainly there’s gonna be some nerves that go along with it. We tried to explain what the week would look like, even broke it down in terms of the prep (Sunday) night for our guys. But again, I think you celebrate it.”
Fifth-year Loyola guard Lucas Williamson, who also played in the Ramblers’ Final Four run as a freshman in 2017-18, has been on the court for 178 more minutes in the NCAA Tournament than any Buckeye has. He has played in six more tournament games than any Ohio State player.
| TEAM | PLAYER | POSITION | GAMES | MIN | WINS | POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOYOLA | LUCAS WILLIAMSON | G | 8 | 217 | 6 | 68 |
| OHIO STATE | E.J. LIDDELL | F | 1 | 39 | 0 | 23 |
Williamson, the two-time reigning MVC Defensive Player of the Year, has the most postseason experience on the roster, but he’s not the only Rambler that has played 100-plus minutes in the NCAA Tournament. Seven Loyola players have seen time in at least three NCAA Tournament games in their career, which means all of them have played in more than any Ohio State player has.
“They’re very good. An experienced team, a team that’s had success, a lot of guys on their roster that have had postseason success and played in the NCAA Tournament and advanced in the NCAA Tournament,” Ohio State assistant coach Ryan Pedon said on 97.1 The Fan. “Of course they played Illinois last year and beat them in convincing fashion, which was impressive. It’s gonna be a great challenge for us.”
Ohio State senior captains Kyle Young and Justin Ahrens are the only two Buckeyes with multiple games of NCAA Tournament experience. And before last year’s Oral Roberts loss, Ahrens had just one minute of playing time in the tournament, logged in a 2019 second-round loss to Houston. Young hasn’t played in the tournament since 2019, as he missed the end of last season due to a concussion. Young’s status for Friday’s tournament opener remains up in the air, as he is concussion protocol once again.
Ohio State brought in Jamari Wheeler (Penn State), Cedric Russell (Louisiana) and Joey Brunk (Indiana) from the transfer portal this offseason to bolster the team’s depth with a veteran presence, but none of the three have played in an NCAA Tournament game before.
| PLAYER | POSITION | YEAR | TOTAL GAMES PLAYED |
|---|---|---|---|
| MALAKI BRANHAM | G | FRESHMAN | 30 |
| JAMARI WHEELER | G | GRAD TRANSFER (FIFTH) | 156 |
| CEDRIC RUSSELL | G | GRAD TRANSFER (FIFTH) | 152 |
| MEECHIE JOHNSON | G | FRESHMAN | 41 |
| JOEY BRUNK | C | GRAD TRANSFER (SIXTH) | 119 |
| HARRISON HOOKFIN | F | SENIOR | 19 |
| KALEN ETZLER | F | FRESHMAN | N/A (REDSHIRT) |
The same could be said for Seth Towns and Justice Sueing ahead of last year’s matchup with Oral Roberts, but neither will even be able to draw on that experience this season, with both veterans sidelined for the Buckeyes’ 2022 postseason run.
“I do know we have some young guys that haven’t been there, we also have some older guys that have come from other places who haven’t experienced it yet,” Holtmann said. “So we’ll lean on those guys, I know they’ll lean on those guys that have played in the tournament before, and I know they’re excited about it.”
If any Buckeye lacking postseason experience is curious what it’s like playing under the lights of college basketball’s brightest stage, they need only turn to assistant coach Tony Skinn, who helped lead George Mason all the way to the Final Four during an improbable run as a No. 11 seed in 2006. Skinn said he took multiple players aside on Sunday to let them know how special it is to reach this point, and to make the most of it before the opportunity has passed.
“That was my first thought, just when you think about the NCAA Tournament, how many disappointed teams on Selection Sunday that’s out there. Their season is completely over, and so it’s very, very hard to make the NCAA Tournament,” Skinn said Monday. “For some of the guys that have not made it, I pulled a couple guys to the side and just reminded them of how much of a blessing it really is. The Ced Russells and some of the guys that came to Ohio State because they wanted an opportunity to play in the postseason. So I reminded them yesterday after they called us out.”
There’s still plenty of room left for disappointment for the Buckeyes should they lose their first-round matchup. Such an outcome would mean Ohio State lost five of its final six games of the year, didn’t win a single postseason contest and failed to improve upon last season’s opening-round upset at the hands of No. 15 seed Oral Roberts.
A win over Loyola would at least give Liddell and almost all of the other Buckeyes their first NCAA Tournament win, and perhaps the confidence to defy expectations and make a relatively deep run in tournament play. But in order to do that, Ohio State will first have to get past a Rambler team that, if nothing else, has the experience advantage in spades when it comes to handling itself in the madness that only March can bring.
