Don’t let his number fool you.

He may wear No. 0, but freshman Jared Sullinger is anything but nil for the undefeated Ohio State men’s basketball team.

The 6-foot-9 forward has quickly made a name for himself, not only on the Buckeye roster, but nationally. Last week, Sullinger was named to the John R. Wooden Award Midseason top-30 list — just one of two freshman mentioned.

But recently, his efforts have been focused on the Big Ten, where he has led the Buckeyes to a 3-0 start in conference play. Coaches and players around the conference knew about Sullinger’s dominance before the season began — he has been named the Big Ten Player of the week, or Freshman of the week, in eight of the nine weeks so far this season.

“He’s above his age level as far as strength,” Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said in a teleconference on Monday. “Sullinger, physically, was ready. He obviously listens, he obviously does what’s best for the team. You can see that he positions well. You can see he’s not just a talented player, but he’s a skilled, talented player. He’s a difference maker.”

Entering the Buckeyes’ matchup with the Wolverines, he remains the dominant force for Ohio State. He leads the team in points (17.9) and rebounds (10.3) per game. All the while shooting nearly 59 percent from the floor, second on the team only to senior forward Dallas Lauderdale.

But in three Big Ten games for the Buckeyes, Sullinger’s numbers have improved to 19 points and 11 rebounds per game. He has eight double-doubles on the season and is a brute force on the glass. His shear size makes him a force to be reckoned with, but he has surprisingly light hands for a post player.

His impressive numbers as a first-year player under Ohio State coach Thad Matta shouldn’t surprise anyone. As a senior at Northland High School in Columbus, Sullinger averaged 24.5 points and 12.3 rebounds a game. But even more impressively, he shot 78 percent from the floor.

That same year he was named a McDonald’s All-American, a high school Naismith Award winner and Parade Magazine’s Player of the Year.

“He had signs in preseason workouts where he was very dominant," Matta said. "I remember watching him in the quarterfinals of the National AAU Tournament in Orlando and he had 28 (points) and 19 (rebounds). And I'm like, 'No, he can't play any better in the semifinals.' Then he got 32 (points) and 20 (rebounds) and I'm like, 'He can't play any better.' And then he went into the Championship game and had like 36 (points) and 22 (rebounds) or something."

In a video posted by the Ohio State Athletic Department on Tuesday, Sullinger expressed his excitement to play in his first rivalry game as a Buckeye. Having grown up in Columbus he said he experienced it, but he’s looking forward to doing so as a player.

“It’s always going to be a rivalry,” Sullinger said. “It’s always going to be bad blood between Ohio State and Michigan and you’ve just gotta enjoy it … Some sports, like us, you get (to play Michigan) six or seven or eight times in your four years here. So you’ve just got to enjoy playing against Michigan.”

It remains unseen whether or not Sullinger will see more rivalry games outside of this season. Ohio State is notorious for sending freshmen to the NBA — with five in the past four years. But this season, Michigan has about 280 pounds of No. 0 on its hands.