WATCH: EJ Liddell gets steal followed by assist against Minnesota
What’s prettier than a coast-to-coast basket? One that’s followed up with an alley-oop.
Senior Minnesota forward Charlie Daniels’s inside pass was stolen by Buckeye star EJ Liddell, who took the ball up the court and found Malaki Branham cutting in on the right for the alley-oop finish. While it wasn’t your usual catch and flush highlight, it was a pretty play that helped get the Buckeyes going early against a formidable Gophers team.
Liddell leads Ohio State in points per outing with 19.4 to go with his 7.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks.
He recently notched a new career high (34) against Northwestern, torching the nets early and he rode that all the way to a career-high of 34 points. His hot shooting was a big reason the Buckeyes were able to come out on top against Northwestern, 95-87 on Jan. 9.
Northwestern continued to leave Liddell open for much of the early part of the game, despite him not missing any shots. He made them pay dearly for it. He scored 17 points in the first five minutes of the game–with 15 of those coming from five threes. The Belleville, Illinois native connected on all of his first five shots from beyond-the-arc.
Not only did he score 34 points, but Liddell also blocked five shots. He became the first Division I player with 30 points, five blocks, and five threes in any game over the last 15 years.
He’s one of the best players in college basketball and he proves it on the floor on a nightly basis.
Liddell briefly flirted with the NBA waters last spring. He entered his name into the draft and participated in the NBA G League Elite Camp. The 6-foot-7 forward decided to come back to school. NBA scouts told him they wanted him to continue to work on his shot and his defensive versatility to improve his stock.
Ohio State currently leads Minnesota 32-30 at halftime. Liddell and Branham have combined for 20 points and 13 rebounds by themselves. Catch the second half live on ESPN right now.