Ohio State forward EJ Liddell was ready to hoop.

The 17th-ranked Buckeyes began their season Tuesday night at home against Akron and Liddell drove things in the first half. He paced the team with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field (1-of-1 from 3), 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal. The Belleville, Illinois, native was quite literally doing it all.

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And causing headaches for the Zips in the process. Note for defenders going forward: box out 32.

The 6-foot-7, 240-pound forward is one to watch this season in the Big Ten. After a steady role off the bench as a freshman during the 2019-20 campaign, Liddell broke out in a major way last season.

He started all 29 games for the Buckeyes and bumped his scoring average from 6.7 points a game to 16.2. His assist production also went up, from 1.1 per 40 minutes played as a freshman to 2.4 as a second-year man. Perhaps the most impressive part, as Liddell’s usage and responsibility increased, his efficiency actually followed.

Liddell was a 46.4% shooter as a freshman and a 47.4% shooter as a sophomore, despite his attempts more than doubling (4.9 a game up to 11.5). He also went from a 19% 3-point shooter to a 34% shooter on 3 takes a night. He’s on the preseason Wooden Award watch list for the season, and Buckeye fans are hoping his game continues to grow.

The Buckeyes led Akron 36-28 at halftime of their opener.