Brice Sensabaugh earns third straight Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor
COLUMBUS — Ohio State forward Brice Sensabaugh got the starting nod against Rutgers in the Big Ten opener, because of Isaac Likekele‘s absence, and the freshman forward ran with it.
He’s now made five starts, averaging 18.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game in that span, during which he’s earned a trio of Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors.
Sensabaugh’s latest recognition from the league came Tuesday, following his 18-point outing at Northwestern over the weekend: a performance that saw him score 16 points in the second half and round out the night with eight rebounds and a pair of blocks.
Sensabaugh extinguished any threat of a Wildcats comeback in the second half, when he corralled a loose ball rebound and drilled a mid-range jumper moments after Northwestern 7-footer Matthew Nicholson blocked Likekele. The next possession, Sensabaugh crossed up Wildcats forward Robbie Beran and knocked down a 3-pointer in one fluid motion.
Those two shots turned Ohio State’s 14-point lead into a 19-point advantage with two minutes left in Welsh-Ryan Arena. That was more than enough of a cushion for the Buckeyes to comfortably close out a road win and move to 2-0 in Big Ten competition.
Sensabaugh led Ohio State in scoring in a decisive win over Alabama A&M last week as well. He finished with 21 points and six rebounds, converting 9-of-14 attempts in a game that was close at halftime before the Buckeyes rolled to a 90-59 victory with a strong second period.
Sensabaugh’s 15.9 points per game is third nationally among all freshmen right now.
He has led the Buckeyes in scoring in five of the last six games, and the Orlando native has finished outside of double figures only once this season (Nov. 30 at Duke, where he fouled out with just four points).
Sensabaugh is the third Ohio State player to receive three straight Big Ten Freshman of the Week accolades. The others are Jared Sullinger, a big man won it six consecutive weeks at one point of the 2010-11 campaign and then three consecutive weeks at another, and guard D’Angelo Russell, who collected the honor four weeks in a row amid the 2014-15 season.
That’s some good company for Sensabaugh.
Both Sullinger and Russell were first-round NBA Draft picks.
