The grimace and the grab seems to be happening with more regularity. At some point in each Ohio State men’s basketball game, center Zed Key either extends to try and reach the ball or takes a hard shot to his left shoulder.

The heavy black protective brace that tightly wraps the shoulder continues to do its job. Key continues on, sometimes after a few minutes of rest on the bench, and no further injury is incurred.

But, yes, it hurts. Every time. And that’s what Key, who until suffering a left shoulder sprain against Purdue on Jan. 5 was averaging a career-high 13.4 points and shooting a team-best 62.9% from the floor, is dealing with on a nightly basis for an Ohio State team that goes to Iowa on Thursday having lost 11 of 12 games since he suffered the injury.

Ohio State Buckeyes: Join the Ohio State Sports Insider text group with Bill Rabinowitz, Joey Kaufman Adam Jardy

“It’s not excruciating, but it lets you know that it’s there,” Key said. “It’s a 6 (out of 10), maybe. It’s nothing where I’m like, ‘OK, I can’t play.’ If you move in certain ways, it’s going to let you know. When people hit it in games, it’s gonna hurt.”

That’s a tough go for a player whose physicality is a critical component to his game, and his numbers since wearing the brace bear that out. Key returned for a Jan. 12 home game with Minnesota, missing a road loss to Maryland, and has shot 45.0% (36 for 80) from the floor and averaged 11.3 points and 7.3 rebounds while wearing the brace. After posting five double doubles through the first 13 games without the brace, Key has one since his return.

“It is tough because you feel the pain,” Key said. “You want to go out there and be pain-free and play like I know how to play and was playing at the beginning of the year, but I stay locked in for the guys from the bench, trying to give energy.”

Ohio State basketball: Felix Okpara: Ohio State needs 'that dog mentality' to turn losing streak around

It’s worth noting what while coach Chris Holtmann stated Monday that he’d like to see more toughness from Key, he focused on his emotional and mental state in games when a play or sequence of plays go against him rather than physical toughness.

“He gets caught up in the moment because he’s an emotional player,” Holtmann said. “He’s not always handled it with the kind of resiliency that he needs to have and he’s got to continue to grow in that area.”

Each day requires about an hour and a half of rehabilitation work before practice, Key said. He has started warming up for games without the brace because it constricts his breathing, but it’s a necessity when it comes to playing games.

“It comes across your chest and it’s tight, so it can limit my reach so I won’t be able to get hurt hopefully again,” Key said. “It definitely affects range of motion and breathing.”

While the brace is helping protect against further injury as he battles around the rim, Key has recently been dealing with pain to the shoulder on non-contact plays where he fully extends to try and grab the ball. Monday, Holtmann said that while he’s not at risk to further injury by playing, it’s possible offseason surgery could be possible.

Rest, too, would help, but as Key pointed out, that’s a hard commodity to come by amid Big Ten play.

“I’m just looking at the next game and trying to get us back in the win column,” he said. “I’m trying to rehab it and do everything I can to keep it from getting worse.”

Get more Ohio State basketball news by listening to our podcasts

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State's Zed Key still battling through shoulder injury