The Buckeyes will look to avenge its worst loss of the season as the ranked Terrapins come to Columbus.
The Ohio State Buckeyes (13-9 overall, 5-6 conference) will host the No. 18 Maryland Terrapins (17-5 overall, 7-4 conference) on Thursday night at the Schottenstein Center. The Buckeyes are looking for redemption after falling to Maryland 83-59 on Dec. 4 in College Park.
Ohio State played its worst half of the season in the first half against Maryland back in December, falling down 50-17 and getting run off the floor in the opening 20 minutes. In that matchup, five Terrapins finished in double-digits, with Ja’Kobi Gillespie recording 23 points on 7-for-11 shooting and 4-for-8 from three-point range. Derik Queen recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Tafara Gapare recorded 12 points off the bench, which to this point has been his only time scoring in double-digits in Big Ten play.
For Ohio State, Devin Royal recorded 18 points and nine rebounds. John Mobley Jr. finished with 15 points off the bench. The Buckeyes shot 4-for-19 from three-point range, 11-for-18 from the free-throw line, and had 16 turnovers. Aaron Bradshaw, Colin White, and Ques Glover did not play in that game.
Meechie Johnson did play in the first Maryland, but he won’t be playing in this game after leaving the team in December due to personal matters. He has yet to return, and Mobley has started in his place since then.
Since falling to Maryland two months ago, the Buckeyes have wins over Purdue and Kentucky and are playing better basketball as of late. Now they get a chance to record a ranked win, with Maryland being a top-20 team in the country as of Monday.
Maryland is also No. 18 in KenPom, while Ohio State is No. 25. The Terrapins are No. 18 in offensive efficiency and No. 23 in defensive efficiency, while Ohio State is No. 32 in offensive efficiency and No. 27 in defensive efficiency.
Preview
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Maryland is balanced with two great big men and solid guard play all around. They are third in the Big Ten in scoring offense with 83 points per game, and second In the Big Ten in scoring defense, only allowing 65.5 points per game — second only to UCLA
Derik Queen leads the team in scoring at 15 points per game. He is second on the team in rebounds as well, with 8.3 per game. Julian Reese is third on the team in scoring, averaging 13.7 points, and leads the ‘Terps in rebounding at 9.1 per contest.
Junior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie is second on the team in scoring with 14.6 points per game. He also averages 4.7 assists and 2.5 rebounds. Sophomore guard Rodney Rice and senior guard Selton Miguel average 12.7 and 11.5 points per game, respectively.
Ohio State is led by junior Point Guard Bruce Thornton, who is averaging 17.1 points, 4.2 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game. He is shooting 51 percent from the field and 46 percent from three-point range.
Sophomore forward Devin Royal is second on the team in scoring and first on the team in rebounding. He averages 14.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, which more than triples his averages in both stats from his freshman year.
Freshman guard John Mobley is averaging 13.0 points per game, and senior forward Micah Parrish is averaging 11.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game.
Both Ohio State and Maryland are in the top-five in the conference in three-point percentage, with both teams shooting over 37 percent. They trail only Iowa and Purdue in that category.
Prediction
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This would be a huge win for Ohio State, but it will not come without its challenges. Ohio State’s advantage is that they are at home, but Maryland is deep, athletic, and well-put together after losing so much last season.
After winning at Purdue, the Buckeyes strung together double-digit wins against Iowa and Penn State to get back to .500 in the conference, but a loss to No. 23 Illinois on Sunday saw them fall to under .500.
Ohio State has to do the exact opposite of what they did in the first meeting: Make their open shots, make their free throws, take care of the ball, and challenge Maryland to contested shots.
Maryland has played great this season, but road losses to Washington and Northwestern have shown that they can struggle away from the friendly confines of the Xfinity Center. The Buckeyes have a lot to play for, so I think they come out hot and never let go of an early lead.
ESPN BPI: Ohio State 56.4%
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: FS1
LGHL score prediction: Ohio State 76, Maryland 70