Ohio State's Bruce Thornton practicing, Scotty Middleton still with family
Sophomore guard Bruce Thornton returned to practice after suffering an ankle injury in Tuesday's win against Cornell, but freshman forward Scotty Middleton is still with his family as Saturday's NIT game against Virginia Tech looms.
Friday morning, coach Jake Diebler said Thornton is likely to return to action but did not specifiy when Middleton could return.
"Bruce was able to practice some (Thursday)," he said. "We’re anticipating him being available. Scotty’s currently still with his family, and our thoughts and prayers are with him. There’s no real issues or concerns long term (for him)."
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Ohio State will host Virginia Tech on Saturday a 7 p.m. in a game streamed on ESPN+.
Thornton is Ohio State’s leader in scoring average (16.1), assists (151) and steals (38) while playing in and starting all but one game in the last two seasons. He is third in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.78 and in his last three games, all in the postseason, he has 23 assists and three turnovers while shooting 8 for 14 (57.1%) from 3.
Middleton, a freshman and key member of the rotation, missed the Cornell game due to a family situation that had him back home in Orlando. He has averaged 4.4 points and 1.4 rebounds in 15.3 minutes per game while shooting 45.2% (28 for 62) from 3-point range. He missed one prior game this season due to injury and one other for a violation of team expectations.
Thornton left Tuesday night’s 88-83 win with 10:18 to play after he missed a driving layup and limped to the locker room gesturing to his right ankle. He returned to the team bench a few moments later under his own power but watched the remainder of the game. Afterward, Diebler said he would be evaluated for a sprained ankle.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State's Bruce Thornton practicing, Scotty Middleton still with family
