Ohio State's Eugene Brown III Unavailable For Season Opener Against Robert Morris

The Buckeyes will have Justice Sueing back after he missed the exhibition game with a sprained ankle, however.

Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann announced this afternoon that junior guard Eugene Brown III will be unavailable for tonight’s season opener against Robert Morris, which tips off at 7 p.m. on B1G+.

The 6-foot-7 and 195-pound Brown suffered a concussion during the offseason and missed the 101-57 exhibition win over Chaminade last Tuesday. He averaged 3.5 points and 2.4 rebounds in 26 games for the Buckeyes last season, including 10 starts.

“Gene, God bless him,” Holtmann said after the win over the Silverswords. “He's been out a lot of the summer and he's been out now with this concussion for a little bit. He’s just been out a lot, so I feel I feel bad for him. I'm not sure on what his timeframe is going to be.”

More News From Sports Illustrated: College Basketball Scoreboard | SI's Preseason Men's NCAA Tournament Bracket | Ranking All 363 Teams In Men's College Basketball

With Brown sidelined, Ohio State’s starting lineup for tonight’s game will likely consist of freshman guard Bruce Thornton, West Virginia transfer guard Sean McNeil, Oklahoma State transfer guard Isaac Likekele, sixth-year senior forward Justice Sueing and junior forward Zed Key.

Sueing missed all but two games last year due to an abdominal issue and then missed the exhibition game with a sprained ankle. He averaged 6.0 points and 3.5 rebounds for the Buckeyes last season before he was shut down, but appears to be full go against the Colonials.

“I feel bad for the kid because he’s been a part of pretty much everything that we’ve done once he got healthy and towards the end of summer,” Holtmann said. “He had an ankle sprain, came back, played in the scrimmage and then he had an ankle tweak again. Same ankle, and that’s why he was out.”

Ohio State is 6-0 all time against Robert Morris, including a victory in Holtmann’s first game with the program in 2017. The Buckeyes were led by former forward Keita Bates-Diop, who scored 19 points in a 95-63 win in Columbus.

-----

Be sure to check out our new message boards, Buckeye Forums. We'd love to have you part of the conversation during the season.

-----

You may also like:

Ohio State's Chris Holtmann Previews Season Opener Against Robert Morris

Ohio State Unranked In Preseason AP Top 25 Men's Basketball Poll

2024 Las Vegas Point Guard John "Juni" Mobley Jr. Commits To Ohio State

Ohio State’s Chris Holtmann Previews Season During Big Ten Media Days

Hear From Chris Holtmann, Players During 2022-23 Basketball Media Day

Ohio State's Chris Holtmann Previews Season During Basketball Media Day

-----

Be sure to stay locked into BuckeyesNow all the time!

Join the BuckeyesNow community!
Subscribe to the BuckeyesNow YouTube channel
Follow Andrew on Twitter: @AndrewMLind
Follow BuckeyesNow on Twitter: @BuckeyesNowSI

Like and follow BuckeyesNow on Facebook!