Ohio State will be without Kyle Young once again for Sunday's Big Ten Tournament final.
After Saturday's semifinal win over Michigan, which Young missed after suffering a concussion in Friday's quarterfinal win over Purdue, Chris Holtmann said Young will be evaluated on a “day-to-day” basis but that he does not expect Young to be available on Sunday.
“I don’t anticipate him being available tomorrow,” Holtmann said. “As far as beyond that, it’s very much he’s being evaluated day-to-day.”
Ohio State confirmed Sunday morning that Young will not be available to play in Sunday afternoon's game against Illinois.
Kyle Young of @OhioStateHoops will not be available for the 2021 Big Ten Tournament Championship Game vs. Illinois today (3:30 p.m./CBS).
— Dan Wallenberg (@OSUADAthComm) March 14, 2021
While Young was unable to attend Saturday's game because of his concussion, Ohio State still did what it could to ensure he felt like was a part of the game, which the Buckeyes won 68-67. Holtmann said the Buckeyes FaceTimed Young “right after the game,” and that there were reminders of how important Young is to the team around the locker room before the game.
“He was in great spirits, as you’d expect,” Holtmann said of the call with Young. “We had his jersey hanging in the locker room, and our social media team did an unbelievable job. They put the jersey that got ripped last year in the hallway out here, they put it up on the screen, a picture of it. So it was a constant reminder of a guy who really does care about this rivalry.”
Despite the absence of Young, who tied a career-high with 18 points in Friday's win over Purdue before taking an elbow to the head early in the second half, Ohio State was able to grind out a win and avenge its regular-season rivalry game loss on Saturday. The Buckeyes will probably have to play without him again on Sunday, when they'll face another tough matchup in the paint against Illinois' Kofi Cockburn.
They'll certainly hope to have him available in time for the NCAA Tournament, but that will all depend on how his recovery goes over the next week.
