After a bit of a slow start to his freshman campaign, Malaki Branham has broken out in a major way for the Ohio State men’s basketball team. In the month of January (three games prior to Thursday night), he has averaged 24 points on 58 percent shooting and 50 percent behind the arc. He has also attempted 20 free throws during that time. While this is absolutely a small sample size, and buoyed by a 35-point performance in which he was unconscious from the field, the New Year was not his introduction to college basketball.
He had played 13 games prior, so this is legitimate growth and development in a short timeframe — not a fluke.