Sooner or later, both starting shooting guards in Friday’s first-round NCAA Tournament matchup between Ohio State and Loyola are headed to the NBA.
Buckeye freshman Malaki Branham and fifth-year Loyola senior Lucas Williamson are at different stages in their development, but both may soon find themselves playing at the highest level. Before that, though, the pair will go head-to-head in Pittsburgh in an individual matchup that will go a long way in determining whether the Buckeyes or Ramblers advance past their opening game in the Big Dance.
The contrasts are clear. While Branham is entering his first-ever NCAA Tournament game, Williamson has already played in eight, having gone to the Final Four with Loyola in 2018 before last season’s Sweet 16 run. Branham has made a splash on the national level as an individual performer in much less time, winning Big Ten Freshman of the Year and earning third-team all-conference honors. But Williamson, the MVC’s two-time reigning Defensive Player of the Year, has had four more years to polish his craft on both sides of the ball.
“He’s terrific on both ends. He’s a terrific player, I think there’s no question he’s an NBA player,” Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann said Wednesday. “He’s got great versatility, has been really productive for a really long time. I think he played on their Final Four team, and played an important role on their Final Four team. So he’s a terrific talent. Older kid. They’re all older, to be honest with you. They’re a very old, strong, physical team, and that’s why I think they’ve had so much success.”
Given Williamson’s defensive credentials and Branham’s silky smooth offensive game, the perimeter battle when the Buckeyes have the ball should be a box-office attraction on Friday. Branham has averaged 13.3 points per game this season, including an average of 16.3 points per game against conference opponents, and shot 52.3 percent from the floor in those contests. In the final eight games before the NCAA Tournament, Branham’s scoring average ballooned to 20.6 points per game.
Williamson and the Ramblers have taken note of Branham’s rapid ascension through the second half of the season, and are preparing accordingly ahead of Friday’s contest.
“Obviously he's a really good player. He's a really good young player. Yeah, he's got everything that a scout would look for,” Williamson said Thursday. “He's got the size. He's got the shooting ability. He can shoot, pass and dribble. I'm really looking forward to getting out there and competing against him and just seeing what happens tomorrow.”
As for Branham, the excitement for his first NCAA Tournament appearance is palpable, and a matchup with the caliber of defense that Williamson possesses makes it all the more mouth-watering.
“I’m very excited. I come from St. Vincent-St. Mary, winning is kind of all we’ve known,” Branham said. “So I’m just excited to help this team out and hopefully we can put some games together to win. … (Williamson)’s a two-time defender of the year, so it’s definitely gonna be a good matchup I would say. They’re probably gonna put him on me, but it’s a team thing, so we’re just trying to get the W, that’s it.”
Branham scored at least 20 points in four of the Buckeyes’ final eight games before Selection Sunday, and Ohio State went 3-1 in those contests. The Buckeyes lost the other four games in which he failed to hit the 20-point mark.
In Ohio State’s Big Ten Tournament loss to Penn State last week, Branham appeared to be dealing with an ankle injury, and even came out of the came to pedal on an exercise bike on the sideline for a few minutes before re-entering the game. But Branham says he’s fine now, and with eight days between games, the 6-foot-5 wing might put his best foot forward in his NCAA Tournament debut.
Williamson can give Branham plenty of problems as a defender, though. As Loyola’s leading scorer, Williams has averaged 14 points per game, shooting better than 45 percent from the floor and nearly 40 percent from 3-point range this season. The first-team All-MVC performer from Chicago has put up 16.8 points per game in his last 12 games and has scored at least 20 points on six occasions this year.
Holtmann said Williamson’s physicality could cause problems for Branham.
“He’s an 18-year-old, so he’s learning. He’s an 18-year-old going against a – I don’t know how old Williamson is (23) – so I do think there’s a strength and physicality factor that’s gonna be a challenge for Malaki,” Holtmann said. “He’s a kid that just wants to continue to improve. And he’s done that throughout the year. Defensively, he needs to. He needs to continue to get better with that. Some of that’s a strength issue, some of the times he gets offensively in trouble is a strength issue as well. Not a lot you can do about that. But I know he’s got great respect for Williamson.”
Branham knows he must improve on defense, and Williamson could test how much he’s evolved on that end over the course of his first season.
“On the defensive side I’m still working, still trying to get better at aspects, especially my off-the-ball awareness,” Branham said. “My on-the-ball defense has gotten a little better, I still gotta improve on that, but I feel like I just gotta keep working in practice every day and I’ll be good.”
As for whether he could go pro after this season, Branham said he’s “not thinking about that right now,” and said winning in his lone focus until the season ends. In order to help ensure Ohio State’s season doesn’t end in the first round of the tournament for the second year in a row, Branham may very well have to get the better of the matchup between him and Williamson, a player he might see again soon at the next level.
