Ibrahima Diallo joins E.J. Liddell, Seth Towns among Ohio State inactives at Purdue

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Ohio State's frontcourt depth will be even thinner than previously thought for Wednesday night's Big Ten opener at Purdue.

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Sophomore center Ibrahima Diallo, the tallest player on Ohio State's roster, will miss the game with a concussion, coach Chris Holtmann told the team's official pregame radio show.

The 6-10 Diallo played for 1:42 in Sunday's home win against Cleveland State and recorded a block, but he took a knock to the head that has sidelined him against the Boilermakers.

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It's another blow for the Buckeyes, who are already playing without sophomore forward E.J. Liddell (mononucleosis) and graduate transfer Seth Towns (knee). The 6-7 Liddell is missing his second game and is the team's leading scorer and rebounder, while Towns is yet to make his debut after transferring from Harvard during the offseason. Towns was going through a skills workout with assistant coach Ryan Pedon at Mackey Arena before the rest of the team arrived.

Diallo has been lightly used during his first two seasons with the Buckeyes and has been a healthy unused substitute in two of the first five games this season. His size could have been used, and likely would have been with Liddell sidelined, against a Purdue team with a 7-4 freshman in Zach Edey and 6-10 junior Trevion Williams. The two are both averaging 13.3 points per game.

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