Chris Holtmann concedes 'mistake' in playing Zed Key too long upon return
COLUMBUS — It was up to Zed Key if he felt confident enough in his left shoulder to play Thursday night against Minnesota. That’s what Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann said on the Buckeyes’ pregame radio show.
Key wore a compression sleeve over his left shoulder after suffering a sprain the week prior while jostling for a rebound with 7-foot-4 Purdue center Zach Edey and then missing the Maryland game.
With Ohio State on a two-game skid, Key gave it a go. Actually, he did more than just that. Even though the junior five man — who started the first 14 games of the season — came off the bench, he subbed in about three minutes after tip and rounded out the night with 30 minutes played.
Holtmann conceded postgame that he shouldn’t have kept Key out there for that duration.
“We obviously had a little bit of lack of continuity,” Holtmann said of the Buckeyes’ season-worst 40.0% shooting performance. “Zed wasn’t able to practice the last couple of days. Looking back on it, I think I made a mistake playing him too long.
“I should not have played him as long as I did.”
Key hadn’t been on the court in a game that long since he recorded 32 minutes at Madison Square Garden in a CBS Sports Classic loss to North Carolina, but that matchup bled into overtime.
Thursday’s contest almost needed an extra frame, too, except a foul call on Bruce Thornton, which the Big Ten has since admitted was incorrect, cut the Buckeyes’ comeback bid short against a Golden Gophers team that was previously winless in Big Ten competition.
Key finished the night with 10 points, four of which came on tip-ins, and eight rebounds. That said, he also committed a team-high four turnovers. And he accounted for only one defensive stop, whereas freshman center Felix Okpara notched three in just seven minutes of action.
Defense was a team-wide issue for Ohio State against Minnesota. The Buckeyes allowed 70 points to the Gophers, who came in averaging a league-low 64.3 points per game. Minnesota hit the 70-point mark without a single field goal in the final five minutes and change.
Ohio State has dropped to 98th nationally in KenPom defensive adjusted efficiency.
