Zed Key leaves Ohio State vs. Iowa after aggravating shoulder injury
At the first media timeout of the second half of Thursday’s game against Iowa, Ohio State saw forward Zed Key head to the locker room. He appeared to aggravate the shoulder injury he suffered against Purdue earlier this season.
Key went up to defend Iowa forward Filip Rebraca and reached for his shoulder shortly after. He hit the hardwood and proceeded to head to the locker room shortly thereafter.
Key initially suffered the injury Jan. 5 against Purdue, and has been playing through it ever since. He entered Thursday’s matchup third on the Ohio State roster with 11.1 points per game and a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game this season.
Ohio State is trying to snap a six-game losing streak, but Iowa saw its lead grow to 20 points with 13 minutes to play.
Chris Holtmann previously said Zed Key will only be shut down if his shoulder injury is ‘significant’
While Key has clearly been inhibited by the bum shoulder, he has stayed in the lineup for the Buckeyes, who don’t have much depth behind Key. Chris Holtmann addressed the severity of the injury and said it’d take something even more significant for Key to be shut down for any period of time.
“I think the only way we’d shut it down is if he had another significant injury, or multiple significant injuries with it,” Holtmann told reporters after Ohio State’s loss to Michigan State. “I think right now, it’s at the point where it’s strong enough, as determined by our medical team, for him to continue playing. I think sometimes, when he extends it or when he gets hit, it’s painful for him. I give him a lot of credit for fighting through it. Clearly he’s not at his best. But, I think he’s fighting through that particular injury.”