No. 23 Ohio State has played its last three games, two of which have been wins with the other being a two-point loss at Purdue, without its second-leading scorer in sophomore forward Marc Loving. According to Dom Tiberi of WBNS-TV in Columbus, Loving will be available when the Buckeyes visit Michigan State on Saturday.
Thad Matta just told me Marc Loving will play on Saturday at Michigan St. He is not sure how much playing time he will get. #Buckeyes
— DOM TIBERI (@DOMTIBERI) February 12, 2015
“Thad Matta just told me Marc Loving will play on Saturday at Michigan State. He is not sure how much playing time he will get,” Tiberi said via Twitter Thursday afternoon.
Loving’s averaging 11.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, shooting 49.1% from the field, 53.2% from three and 79.7% from the foul line. Without Loving, freshman Jae’Sean Tate has continued to play good basketball after moving into the starting lineup prior to Loving’s suspension (he replaced Loving).
Over his last five games Tate is averaging 14.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, and he’s scored 20 points in two of those contests. Tate isn’t the three-point shooter that Loving is, but his effort has certainly had an impact on Ohio State in recent games.