Ohio State basketball received utterly devastating news Saturday when it was announced that star freshman Brice Sensabaugh will be sidelined the remainder of the season with a knee injury, per Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.

The timing could not be worse with a semifinal clash with Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament tipping off at 1 p.m. ET. The Buckeyes (16-18) are not even on the bubble and will need to win out to earn the automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. Finding a way to compensate for the 16 points and five rebounds Sensabaugh averages is a daunting task at any time but especially at the eleventh hour.

Ohio State basketball stumbled into conference play, losing 14 of 15 games at one point during the regular season. It was shaping up to be a cataclysmic disappointment for Chris Holtmann's men, but somehow the program has awakened this past week. They definitively popped Wisconsin's bubble Wednesday before defeating two teams bound for the Big Dance in Iowa and Michigan State.

They beat the Spartans without Sensabaugh, but Purdue is a pillar of consistency not usually toppled at less than full strength. Other players like Justice Sueing will now have to carry an even bigger load for the offense. Sensabaugh's injury is obviously demoralizing on a personal level as well. He could be a first round pick in the 2023 NBA Draft should he decide to leave school. He is now denied the opportunity to showcase his talents on the grand stage the NCAA Tournament provides.

Holtmann, and perhaps even Sensabaugh himself, will need to light a fire in this Ohio State team otherwise their season will end the way it has mainly unfolded- with a whimper.