Brice Sensabaugh climbs OSU freshman scoring list, passes Greg Oden
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Saturday afternoon did not start out as a game to remember for Brice Sensabaugh.
Playing at Michigan State’s senior day inside the Breslin Center, the Ohio State freshman considered himself a primary contributor to what would be a game-sealing opening run for the Spartans. In falling behind 17-4, the freshman missed his first three shots as well as what appeared to be a few defensive assignments leading to wide-open Michigan State 3-pointers.
An adjustment needed to be made, and by the end of the game Sensabaugh had made it. He finished with a team-high 21 points, hitting 7 of his final 12 shots and helping to make sure that Michigan State coach Tom Izzo would at least have to sweat out the final minutes of an 11th straight win on senior day in an 84-78 win.
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It wasn’t enough to win, but it was emblematic of what the last two weeks of the regular season have been for the Buckeyes after losing nine straight games.
“I’m gonna take a lot of the blame for that (early run) because I came out trying to swing early and I took some bad shots and some bad decisions, but coaches talked to me and I fixed it later on,” Sensabaugh said. “Just rushing my shots. Later on I had to let it come to me. Make a few passes and trust the right play. If I pass it out and somebody misses, that’s still the right play and we’ll live with the result.”
Sensabaugh got going with trusting his teammates to make shots. His ability to drive, draw in the defense and kick out to his teammates led to consecutive 3-pointers from Thornton and Likekele as part of a modest 8-2 run that allowed the Buckeyes to start chipping away.
Ohio State finished with 15 assists, its most since it had that number in a Jan. 21 win against Iowa, and its adjusted offensive efficiency rating of 120.7 points per 100 possessions was its second-highest in a loss this season.
“We had some really good possessions,” coach Chris Holtmann said when asked about Sensabaugh’s game. “We had a couple loose ones too, but we had some really good possessions. That’s what I’ll say to that. Justice almost had a triple-double. I thought he was phenomenal.
“I thought we really played quality offensive basketball for the most part. All of us might’ve had a couple possessions we’d like to have back right now, but I thought it was a really good offensive performance.”
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When he hit his first field goal of the game, it came on a deep jumper with 2:40 left to make it a 36-28 Michigan State lead.
“Brice has shown a tremendous amount of growth over the entire season,” Sueing, who nearly finished with a triple double (10 points, nine rebounds, seven assists), said. “I’m proud of him. That’s my young fella. He’s gonna continue to make strides throughout his career, whatever he’s doing.”
Conversations about what could be next for Ohio State’s leading scorer were batted away as the postseason begins this week. When he opened Ohio State’s second-half scoring with a 3-pointer, it moved him to 500 points, making him the sixth freshman in program history to reach that mark.
When he followed that 3-pointer with another on the next possession, Sensabaugh moved past Greg Oden (501 points) for fifth place in Ohio State freshman scoring history. Of the other five freshmen to hit at least 500 points, only two have returned for a second year: Michael Redd and Jared Sullinger.
Sensabaugh’s 56 3-pointers are second only to D’Angelo Russell’s 95 among Ohio State freshmen.
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Projected as a likely first-round NBA draft pick, Sensabaugh said he’s not thinking about what could be next after playing in consecutive senior day games.
“Obviously we just finished a tough one, but before this game I’m worried about Michigan State and now I’m worried about the Big Ten tournament,” he said. “I’m not really thinking too far ahead. Obviously I went through a couple senior nights now and I see what it’s like. Two emotional nights for both teams, but I think it was a cool experience.”
How many more of those Ohio State experiences still remain is the question.
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