Zed Key was expected to play a crucial role in Ohio State’s game against Purdue on Thursday night. Instead, Key left the game before the first TV timeout.
While defending Purdue’s 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey in the post, Key grabbed for his shoulder and went immediately back to the locker room after play was stopped. He was ruled out for the remainder of the game later in the half after the injury was determined to be a shoulder sprain.
Zed Key suffered a shoulder sprain and will not return to the game this evening
— Gary Petit (@GPetitOSU) January 6, 2023
Key was expected to be Ohio State’s primary defender against Edey, the Big Ten’s leader in both scoring (21.7 points per game) and rebounding (13.4 per game), but the Buckeyes had to rely primarily on freshman center Felix Okpara to defend Edey for the remainder of the game.
With Key out, Ohio State lost the game 71-69.
Chris Holtmann said after the game that he did not have any update on Key’s status, saying he would know more on Friday.
If Key has to miss any extended period of time, it would be a big loss for the Buckeyes, as he entered Thursday night’s game as Ohio State’s leading rebounder (8.4 per game) and third-leading scorer (13.4 per game) this season.
Ohio State guard Sean McNeil also went back to the locker room briefly in the first half after he landed on a Purdue player’s foot and appeared to roll his ankle, but he was able to return to the game later in the first half.
