Owen Spencer is a walk-on no more.
Following Ohio State's 93-77 win over Iowa on Saturday – a win that snapped a five-game losing streak for the Buckeyes – Chris Holtmann and his team celebrated their victory with their typical abbreviated rendition of the "Buckeye Battle Cry."
However, there was a little more to celebrate inside the locker room at the Schottenstein Center, as Holtmann and his staff awarded Spencer with a scholarship in his first year with the program.
Feels good to be singing again
— Ohio State Hoops (@OhioStateHoops) January 21, 2023
Celebrating a win AND a scholarship for @owenspencer23, pretty good! pic.twitter.com/fDzANscrvh
Blessed to be in this family! https://t.co/T9z1OGbNvR
— owen spencer (@owenspencer23) January 21, 2023
Spencer, a Cincinnati native who transferred to Ohio State after spending the past two seasons at the Citadel, has played sparingly this year for the Buckeyes, appearing in five of the team's 19 games. He has made one of his six shot attempts and one of two free throws to total three points and has added seven rebounds and one assist on the season.
Despite his lack of playing time, the 6-foot-9, 215-pound forward has still provided plenty of value to Ohio State's program because of his size and rebounding in practice, offering Zed Key and Felix Okpara someone to battle on the inside in between games.
In his two seasons at the Citadel, Spencer scored 20 points and collected 41 rebounds while amassing 175 minutes in 23 games. Last season, he averaged 0.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in 7.3 minutes while appearing in 12 games as the Bulldogs went 13-18. A graduate of Turpin High School, Spencer averaged 11.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks as a senior and was named first-team all-conference and third-team all-district.
