Men’s College Basketball 2021-2022 Season Preview: Ohio State Buckeyes

The Big 10 will be going through some changes in men’s college basketball up top this season, as household names like Ayo Dosunmu and Luka Garza are off to the NBA. There is still plenty of star power though, as Juwan Howard has brought in an elite recruiting class at Michigan, our guy Trevion Williams is back for his swan song season at Purdue. and even the bottom half of the conference has useful fantasy options sprinkled throughout.

Big 10 slates are a grind, so getting a head start on info about this conference will serve you well in putting you above the rest of the field. Join me on this journey as we preview the Big 10 teams from a DFS perspective.

In this one, Ohio State

(Check out our full college basketball season preview!)

Ohio State Buckeyes 2021-2022 Season Preview

2020-2021 record: 21-10 (12-8 Big 10), fifth in Big 10
Postseason: Lost in NCAA Tournament first round

Key Departures | Ohio State Buckeyes

• CJ Walker (playing professionally)
• Musa Jallow (transferred to Charlotte)
• Duane Washington (playing professionally)

Key Additions | Ohio State Buckeyes

• Joey Brunk (transferred from Indiana)
• Cedric Russell (transferred from Louisiana)
• Jamari Wheeler (transferred from Penn State)
• Malakai Branham (top 40 recruit)
• Kalen Etzler (3 star recruit)

Returners | Ohio State Buckeyes

• EJ Liddell (16.2 PPG/6.7 RPG/1.1 BPG)
• Justice Sueing (10.7 PPG/5.5 RPG/1.5 APG)
• Kyle Young (8.6 PPG/5.5 RPG/1.3 APG)
• Zed Key (5.2 PPG/3.4 RPG)
• Justin Ahrens (5.7 PPG/1.9 RPG)
• Seth Towns (3.8 PPG/2.2 RPG)
• Meechie Johnson (1.2 PPG)
• Jimmy Sotos (1.7 PPG)
• Eugene Brown (1.2 PPG)

Ohio State Buckeyes Outlook for 2021-2022

This is a deep Ohio State Buckeyes roster that has several players taking advantage of the super senior rule, and they also brought in a plethora of transfers. One thing I will point out early is that Seth Towns is going to miss the first two months of the season after undergoing another surgery in September. He just hasn’t been able to stay healthy and recapture the magic that made him an Ivy League POY several years ago. I had high hopes for him, but it appears injuries are going to rob another potential star of his career.

Moving onto the other returners we have star big man EJ Liddell. He averaged 16.2 PPG/6.7 RPG last year after averaging 6.7 PPG/3.8 RPG in his freshman season. He flirted with the idea of going pro but ultimately decided to return and I think that will end up being a very wise decision for his career. Liddell’s usage/shot rates sat right at 27.5%, and that number figures to approach 30 with high-usage scorer Duane Washington off to the pros. One of the things that hurt the Buckeyes last year was lack of front court depth but that shouldn’t be an issue this year.

Zed Key is the name on my breakout watch for this team. Key is 6-foot-8 and 245 pounds, which might be a little undersized, but he had several moments where he looked like an absolute beast when giving Liddell water breaks. Despite averaging only 12 MPG, he had great efficiency numbers. He had an offensive rebounding rate of 15.6% and a combined rate of 32% overall. He is a hyper aggressive rim protector as well but will have to improve upon his rate of 6.6 fouls called per 40 if he wants to see more minutes.

Kyle Young broke the slate a few times last year, which is something I’m still struggling to understand. He worked himself into a reliable spot-up shooter and is above average on the offensive glass. Indiana and former Butler transfer Joey Brunk brings the team size and at 6-foot-11, he could see starter minutes at the 5. Justice Sueing should be the main benefactor of Duane Washington going pro, and I think we could see him produce closer to what we saw during his time at CAL. He was a 14-and-6 guy while at Cal and a magnificent mid-tier DFS option. He was tougher to trust last year, as his range was literally anywhere from 5 to 40 fantasy points.

Cedric Russell was a first-team all-Sun Belt selection last year and averaged over 17 PPG. He should play a key role off the bench and could even spot start from time to time. Freshman Malaki Branham is said to be a scoring threat who is ready for the collegiate level and should be able to defend at a high level quickly. Penn State transfer Jamari Wheeler is a huge upgrade over CJ Walker defensively, and he should run Chris Holtmann’s offense adequately. He does a little bit of everything with averages of 6.8 PPG/4.2 RPG/3.5/1.8 SPG ,making him a fine mid-range play most slates. I was hoping Meechie Johnson would get his chance to shine as he is a high potential second-year player, but I think the depth of the Buckeyes might stunt his growth a bit. The team also has veteran Jimmy Sotos back from a season-ending injury. He was an electric shooter in the Patriot league and will get his chance to play quality bench minutes if he can stay healthy.

(Check out our rankings of the top 100 teams, top 100 players and top 25 impact freshmen for men’s college basketball in 2021-2022.)

Summary

This is a deep team that could frustrate DFS players during the non-conference schedule. It’s important to take a wait-and-see approach with some of these teams during the November-December schedule because rotations don’t tighten up until conference play typically. EJ Liddell and Jamari Wheeler are staple players that will be safe while breakout candidates like Zed Key and Meechie Johnson will take longer to become truly viable options.