Ohio State's season-scoring leader came off the bench for the second straight game on Thursday.
Brice Sensabaugh didn't enter the contest until the 12:28 mark of the first half and wound up playing just 16 minutes in the 69-63 loss to Northwestern at the Schottenstein Center. Sensabaugh hadn't logged fewer minutes in a game since Nov. 30 and shot just 1-for-8 from the floor to finish with four points – tying his lowest-scoring game of the season.
Sensabaugh also played 16 minutes against Wisconsin last week, but that was a game in which he fouled out with nearly half of the second period still to play. Removed from the starting lineup against Michigan the following game, Chris Holtmann said the freshman star would continue to play starter minutes whether he was coming off the bench or not.
But Sensabaugh has now shot just 5-for-22 (22.7%) in the past two games, which is a far cry from the 50.6% he shot in the 21 games prior. After Thursday's loss, Holtmann said Sensabaugh's reduced role wasn't because of anything out of the ordinary.
“It just was the rotation. … Brice is a freshman. He's being guarded by the best player, guys,” Holtmann said. “Like, this is not an easy thing for a kid. he wasn't guarded always by the best player early in the year. He's being guarded by the best player now. Freshmen have moments, we'll help him the best we can. The young man's fighting hard, give him credit. He's allowed to have an off shooting night, we'll find ways to put him in better positions.”
Before Holtmann's interview session, Justice Sueing and Bruce Thornton both spoke with reporters about Ohio State's latest loss. You can check out everything Holtmann said in the video above, and watch Sueing and Thornton's joint interview in the video below.
