Liddell missed the last two games as he recovered from mononucleosis and the Buckeyes really missed his presence on the floor.
Ohio State (5-1) is coming off its first loss of the season, a setback at Purdue in the Big Ten opener on Wednesday in West Lafayette. Part of what plagued the Buckeyes in that game was the fact they didn't have their best player on the floor.
That will reportedly change for Saturday's big non-conference matchup in Cleveland.
According to CBS Sports Insider Jon Rothstein, Ohio State sophomore forward E.J. Liddell will be back on the floor Saturday afternoon for Ohio State's big game with UCLA.
Liddell is the Buckeyes leading scorer and rebounder this season, last posting a 19-point, 12-rebound effort against Notre Dame.
Liddell missed two games while he recovered from mononucleosis.
"We're going to evaluate him in practice today and see," said head coach Chris Holtmann in a Friday press conference. "I do think he's making improvements in how he's feeling and his fatigue. I do think there's some improvement there for sure. The final word will be if he's able to practice at all."
However, the Buckeyes will still be without Seth Towns (knee) and Ibrahima Diallo (concussion) on Saturday.
Ohio State is playing UCLA instead of North Carolina because tournament organizers decided it was best to align four non-conference teams with their respective conference CoVID protocols in mind. The game tips off at 4:15 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
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