It's not even January yet and multiple freshmen have already established themselves among the best players in the country. There's Brandon Miller at Alabama, Gradey Dick at Kansas, Kyle Filipowski at Duke and Keyonte George at Baylor. For the most part, the top-shelf five-star prospects are meeting, or even exceeding, expectations. But the biggest surprise among all first-year players, at least relative to recruiting rankings, is probably Ohio State's Brice Sensabaugh, who scored 24 points and grabbed six rebounds in Thursday night's 90-59 win over Alabama A&M.
No. 64.
That's how Sensabaugh was labeled in the Class of 2022, according to 247Sports. He was only regarded as the third-best prospect in Ohio State's top-10 recruiting class. On a surface level, that suggests first-year role-player at a traditionally strong Big Ten program. But through 12 games, the 6-foot-6 forward is averaging a team-high 15.8 points and 4.2 rebounds while shooting 52.7% from the field and 47.2% from 3-point range in 21.5 minutes per game. He's great already and a legitimate NBA prospect. For what it's worth, one agent recently told me Sensabaugh could someday be a top-10 pick in the NBA Draft.
Sensabaugh has been named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week two consecutive weeks and seems on pace to make it three. He's the main reason the Buckeyes are 9-3 with wins over Texas Tech and Rutgers and zero losses outside of Quadrant 1 of the NET rankings. It's a respectable résumé that has Ohio State ranked 22nd in Friday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings.
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Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Zach Edey finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds in Thursday's 82-49 win over Florida A&M. The Boilermakers' next game is Monday against Rutgers. | -- | 34-5 |
| 2 |  | Jordan Hawkins finished with 22 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday's 74-66 win over Villanova. The Huskies' next game is Saturday at Xavier. | -- | 37-3 |
| 3 |  | J'wan Roberts finished with 15 points and nine rebounds in Wednesday's 89-50 win at Tulsa. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against UCF. | -- | 32-5 |
| 4 |  | Azuolas Tubelis finished with 26 points and nine rebounds in Thursday's 93-68 win over Morgan State. The Wildcats' next game is Saturday at Arizona State. | -- | 27-9 |
| 5 |  | Jalen Wilson finished with 21 points and six rebounds in Thursday's 68-54 win over Harvard. The Jayhawks' next game is Saturday against Oklahoma State. | -- | 23-11 |
| 6 |  | Marcus Carr finished with 41 points and four assists in Tuesday's 97-72 win over Texas A&M-Commerce. The Longhorns' next game is Saturday at Oklahoma. | -- | 21-13 |
| 7 |  | Drew Timme finished with 18 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday's 120-42 win over Eastern Oregon. The Zags' next game is Saturday against Pepperdine. | -- | 27-8 |
| 8 |  | Marcus Sears finished with 20 points and three assists in Wednesday's 78-67 win at Mississippi State. The Crimson Tide's next game is Tuesday against Ole Miss. | -- | 25-12 |
| 9 |  | Armaan Franklin finished with 20 points and two rebounds in Wednesday's 66-46 win over Albany. The Cavaliers' next game is Saturday at Georgia Tech. | -- | 23-11 |
| 10 |  | Keyonte George finished with 21 points and four assists in Wednesday's 85-56 win over Nicholls. The Bears' next game is Saturday at Iowa State. | -- | 24-11 |
| 11 |  | Santiago Vescovi finished with 22 points and two steals in Wednesday's 63-59 win at Ole Miss. The Vols' next game is Tuesday against Mississippi State. | -- | 27-9 |
| 12 |  | Jaylen Clark finished iwth 18 points and 11 rebounds in Wednesday's 81-54 win over UC Davis. The Bruins' next game is Friday at Washington State. | -- | 16-17 |
| 13 |  | Isaiah Wong finished with 24 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 66-64 win over Virginia. The Hurricanes' next game is Friday at Notre Dame. | -- | 15-17 |
| 14 |  | Tamar Bates finished with 19 points and two assists in Friday's 69-55 win over Kennesaw State. The Hoosiers' next game is Jan. 5 at Iowa. | -- | 19-14 |
| 15 |  | Steven Crowl finished with 15 points and five rebounds in Thursday's 78-56 win over Lehigh. The Badgers' next game is Friday against Grambling State. | -- | 22-14 |
| 16 |  | Duke missed 19 of the 27 3-pointers it attempted in Tuesday's 81-70 loss at Wake Forest. The Blue Devils' next game is Saturday against Florida State. | -- | 27-9 |
| 17 |  | Jack Nunge finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds in Wednesday's 84-79 win at St. John's. The Musketeers' next game is Saturday against UConn. | -- | 16-18 |
| 18 |  | Kobe Brown finished with 30 points and six rebounds in Wednesday's 89-75 win over Kentucky. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday at Arkansas. | -- | 8-24 |
| 19 |  | Kedrian Johnson finished with 18 points and three steals in Thursday's 75-64 win over Stony Brook. The Mountaineers' next game is Saturday at Kansas State. | -- | 9-23 |
| 20 |  | Arkansas missed 21 of the 25 3-pointers it attempted in Wednesday's 60-57 loss at LSU. The Razorbacks' next game is Wednesday against Missouri. | -- | 16-17 |
| 21 |  | Armando Bacot finished with 26 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 80-76 win over Michigan. The Tar Heels' next game is Friday at Pittsburgh. | -- | 29-8 |
| 22 |  | Brice Sensabaugh finished with 21 points and six rebounds in Thursday's 90-59 win over Alabama A&M. The Buckeyes' next game is Sunday at Northwestern. | -- | 22-14 |
| 23 |  | Jahmir Young finished with 18 points and seven rebounds in Thursday's 80-64 win over UMBC. The Terrapins' next game is Sunday at Michigan. | -- | 16-17 |
| 24 |  | Jaelen House finished with 26 points and five assists in Wednesday's 88-69 win over Colorado State. The Lobos' next game is Saturday against Wyoming. | -- | 26-10 |
| 25 |  | Matt Bradley finished with 27 points and three rebounds in Wednesday's 71-55 win over Air Force. The Aztecs' next game is Saturday at UNLV. | -- | 26-11 |
| 26 |  | Trae Hannibal finished with 19 points and six rebounds in Wednesday's 60-57 win over Arkansas. The Tigers' next game is Tuesday at Kentucky. | -- | 17-16 |
