The Buckeyes will have two key big men back on Friday.
Just a day after both players were limited in Ohio State's open practice session at PPG Paints Arena, Kyle Young (concussion) and Zed Key (ankle) have both been cleared to play in Ohio State's NCAA Tournament opener against No. 10 seed Loyola.
Young is the Buckeyes' third-leading scorer, averaging 8.2 points per game, and his 4.9 rebounds are third only to E.J. Liddell and Key, who is putting up 8.1 points and 5.4 boards on average. Key has started 23 games this season while Young has come off the bench in all but two of his 25 appearances.
Young missed the past three games after sustaining a blow to the head against Nebraska on March 1 and entering concussion protocol thereafter. Young suffered two concussions in the final month of the 2020-21 season and missed Ohio State's last NCAA Tournament game against Oral Roberts.
Key turned an ankle in the second half against Maryland on Feb. 27, and missed the next two games before returning against Michigan on March 6. But Key played just seven minutes against the Wolverines, and Holtmann said afterwards that he may have been better served sitting out. Key was then sidelined for Ohio State's most recent game against Penn State.
The seventh-seeded Buckeyes tip off against Loyola at 12:15 p.m. Friday in Pittsburgh on CBS.
