Splashes, Dunks & Dimes - Big Ten Men's Basketball Previews - Ohio State and Nebraska

By: Connor Cagley

November 3, 2022

Connor Cagley, Big Sports Radio Basketball Writer

November 3, 2022

It's time to take a spin around the Big Ten to take a quick look across the conference to set up the upcoming 2022-23 men's basketball season. I'll take a look at two teams on Mondays and Thursdays for the next few weeks as we get ready for college basketball games to tip off.

Ohio State

Zed Key courtesy Ohio State Athletics

Key Departures: EJ Liddell, Malaki Branham, Jamari Wheeler, Kyle Young

Other Departures: Meechie Johnson, Justin Ahrens, Cedric Russell, Eugene Brown III, Joey Brunk

Additions: Tanner Holden, Isaac Likekele, Sean McNeil, Brice Sensabaugh, Roddy Gayle, Bruce Thornton, Felix Okpara, Kalen Etzler

Ohio State lost their top three leading scorers and eight of their top nine players in minutes played last season. The single player that is returning from that group is junior center Zed Key. Due to the mass exodus, combined with the haul they got from the transfer portal and recruiting, this Ohio State team will be an entirely new team.

One returning player, Justice Sueing, got no playing time last year due to injuries. If he’s fully healthy this year, he’ll likely be their number 1 offensive option. Due to their advantage in experience, it seems likely that Sean McNiel (West Virginia), Isaac Likekele (Oklahoma State) and Tanner Holden (Wright State) will get primary consideration for starting or key positions in the rotation. If they don’t perform to Coach Holtmann’s liking, then the advantage will fall to the inexperienced, but talented, freshmen group.

Of the freshman group, Bruce Thornton is a well-built point guard that could see early minutes due to the lack of an early floor general on this roster. Roddy Gaye and Brice Sensabaugh are both polished scorers off the wing and should have potential to be good defenders as plus athletes. Felix Okpara is a 6’7” rim-running center but still needs to put on weight before he can deal with the more developed – both physically and skill-wise – centers in the league.

Ceiling: third in conference

Floor: ninth in conference

Nebraska

Derrick Walker courtesy Nebraska Athletics

Key Departures: Bryce McGowens, Alonzo Verge Jr., Trey McGowens

Other Departures: Kobe Webster, Lat Mayen, Eduardo Andre, Trevor Lakes

Key Additions: Juwan Gary, Emmanuel Bandoumel, Sam Griesel

Other Additions: Jamarques Lawrence, Henry Burt, Denim Dawson, Jeffrey Grace III, Ramel Lloyd Jr., Oleg Kojenets, Quaran McPherson

Similar to a lot of teams in the conference, Nebraska lost 5 of their top 7 scorers from last season, including their top 2. On a positive note, they bring back their rim-protecting center Derrick Walker who is one of the premier defensive bigs across the conference. Unfortunately for him, he’ll need to make a big jump as an offensive player. The team will be counting on him to be one of their primary offensive options.

Senior transfer Emmanuel Bandoumel from SMU will likely be their point guard and de-facto ball handler to get them into sets. Alongside him in the back court will be sophomore guard C.J. Wilcher. Wilcher only averaged 8 points a game last season, but he did so with solid efficiency. He also shot above 40% from the three, so he will likely be able to up his game even further.

On the wing they will be bringing in two transfers in Juwan Gary from Alabama and Sam Griesel from North Dakota State. Gary is a typical energy athlete who should be good on the defensive end, but has shooting limitations – at least from deep. Griesel, on the other hand, should be a better offensive player and court spacer but won’t have as strong of a defensive impact.

For Fred Hoiberg, this is similar to what he did going back to his days at Iowa State - relying heavily on upperclassmen transfers along with a few returning veterans from the past season. This team will likely be solid defensively, as he’s typically good on the defensive end as a coach. The question is…will they have enough players who can create their own shot?

Ceiling: Tenth in conference

Floor: Fourteenth in conference