The season came to a shocking and unexpected end when the Ohio State basketball team lost to No. 15 seed Oral Roberts in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. But we must remember that the body of work was pretty good. Getting fifth place in the league and falling just short of a Big Ten Tournament title isn’t the bar the program wants to aim for, but it was still an overachieving type of year based on all the expectations from the national media.
One of the reasons Ohio State was so unexpectedly good is because of the development of big man E.J. Liddell. The 6-foot, 7-inch sophomore averaged just 6.7 points per game last year, but made huge strides this season, finishing in an almost dead heat with Duane Washington as the team’s leading scorer with 16.2 points per contest (Washington had 16.4). And that’s not all. Liddell improved his numbers in rebounds, assists, minutes, and both field goal and 3-point percentage.
And now he has been recognized by USA TODAY on its Third-team All-American squad.
Liddell joins four other Big Ten players recognized with Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu (First team) and Kofi Cockburn (Second team), Hunter Dickinson of Michigan (Second team), and Iowa’s Luka Garza (First Team).
NEXT … The complete USA TODAY All-American Team
USA TODAY college basketball All-American teams
First team
– Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois, Jr., G
– Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State, Fr., G
– Luka Garza, Iowa, Sr., F
– Corey Kispert, Gonzaga, Sr., F
– Jared Bulter, Baylor, Jr., G
Second team
– Collin Gillespie, Villanova, Sr., G
– Cameron Thomas, LSU, Fr., G
– Evan Mobley, Southern Cal, Fr., F
– Hunter Dickinson, Michigan, Fr., C
– Kofi Cockburn, Illinois, So., C
Third team
– Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga, Fr., G
– E.J. Liddell, Ohio State, So., F
– Drew Timme, Gonzaga, So., F
– Charles Bassey, Western Kentucky, Jr., C
– Cameron Krutwig, Loyola-Chicago, Sr., C
Also receiving votes (in no particular order): Isaiah Livers, Michigan; Matthew Hurt, Duke; Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton; Sam Hauser, Virginia; Trevion Williams, Purdue; Terry Taylor, Austin Peay; McKinley Wright, Colorado; Chris Duarte, Oregon; MJ Walker, Florida State; Derek Culver, West Virginia; Quentin Grimes, Houston; Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Villanova; Marcus Carr, Minnesota; Moses Wright, Georgia Tech; Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana; Sandro Mamukelashvili, Seton Hall; Herbert Jones, Alabama; Davion Mitchell, Baylor.
