Breaking down No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 10 Loyola

No. 7 Ohio State vs. No. 10 Loyola Chicago

12:15 p.m. Friday, PPG Paints Arena

TV: CBS

Winner plays: Winner of No. 2 Villanova/No. 15 Delaware in second round Sunday

Series history: Ohio State leads 4-0

Ohio State Buckeyes (19-11, 12-8 Big Ten)

Coach: Chris Holtmann

How they got here: Ohio State earned an at-large bid after losing to Penn State in second round of Big Ten tournament.

Last NCAA appearance: 2021, lost to No. 15 Oral Roberts in first round

Leading scorer: E.J. Liddell (19.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.6 bpg)

Probable starting lineup

No., Player, Pos., Ht., Cl., PPG

10, Justin Ahrens, F, 6-6, Sr., 5.2

22, Malaki Branham, G, 6-5, Fr., 13.3

32, E.J. Liddell, F, 6-7, Jr., 19.6

50, Joey Brunk, C, 6-11, Gr., 2.5

55, Jamari Wheeler, G, 6-1, Gr., 7.4

Notable: Junior forward E.J. Liddell is among the top players in college basketball and a finalist for the Wooden Award. He averages nearly 20 points per game and shoots nearly 40% from behind the arc. He has been in double-figures in each of the last 41 games. … Freshman guard Malaki Branham (13.3 ppg) is expected to be an NBA draft pick. … Kyle Young (concussion) and Zed Key (ankle) are battling injuries and not expected to play. … Coach Chris Holtmann has led the Buckeyes to the NCAA Tournament four straight seasons. He also led Butler to the tournament the previous three years before being hired at Ohio State. … The Buckeyes were a No. 2 seed last year and were upset by No. 15 Oral Roberts in the first round. … Ohio State has lost four of its past five games but did post wins over Duke, Seton Hall and Wisconsin this season. … Ohio State played in the first Final Four in 1939. … This is Ohio State’s 31st trip to the NCAA Tournament, going 51-29 with one title (1960).

Quotable: “It’s an experienced group. They have a lot of guys who have played in the NCAA Tournament, won a lot of tournament games. They have a collective group effort, so we’ve got to — we know they’re going to come out and play really, really hard. Got to match their intensity.”

— Ohio State’s E.J. Liddell on Loyola

Loyola Ramblers (25-7, 13-5 Missouri Valley)

Coach: Drew Valentine

How they got here: Loyola won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament to earn an automatic bid.

Last NCAA appearance: 2021, reached Sweet 16 before falling to Oregon State, 65-58

Leading scorer: Lucas Williamson (14.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg)

Probable starting lineup

No., Player, Pos., Ht., Cl., PPG

1, Lucas Williamson, G, 6-4, Gr., 14.0

4, Braden Norris, G, 6-0, R-Jr., 10.3

23, Chris Knight, F, 6-7, Sr., 7.7

24, Tate Hall, G/F, 6-6, Gr., 5.7

30, Aher Uguak, F, 6-7, Gr., 9.1

Notable: Loyola is in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last five seasons. … The Ramblers reached the Final Four as the No. 11 seed in 2018. They advanced to the Sweet 16 last season as an eighth seed. … Lucas Williamson is one of the top two-way guards in the nation, averaging 14 points, 5 rebounds while shooting 40% from behind the arc. He also is a two-time MVC Defensive Player of the Year. … Junior guard Braden Norris is averaging 7.0 points over the last 10 games. … Drew Valentine, 30, is the youngest coach to lead a team to the NCAA Tournament since Jeff Capel guided VCU to the dance at age 29. … The Ramblers finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference at 13-5.

Quotable: “I think it’s huge whenever you’re playing in this tournament. … This is my second time. Everything feels different. There’s a different type of pressure, a different type of intensity. … I think you’ve just got to embrace and enjoy every opportunity, and I think our experience, experiencing that, these guys have been to a Final Four, and then most of our guys have been to a Sweet 16. That’s super valuable experience, and you can’t really do anything to replace that experience.”

— Loyola’s Braden Norris