Ohio State's trek to earn a mega road victory on Saturday at Maryland will come without one of its best players due to a family emergency.
Head coach Thad Matta said sophomore guard JaQuan Lyle will not play against the No. 21 Terrapins in College Park. Lyle is home with his family after his sister had issues while giving birth.
In addition, injured Keita Bates-Diop will not travel with the team to College Park after his younger brother, Kai, collapsed during practice on Thursday in Illinois. Everything is expected to be OK, however, Matta said.
According to Eleven Warriors' Tim Shoemaker, Matta had tears in his eyes when speaking about Lyle and the younger Bates-Diop.
Matta, very emotionally: "It's been a tough 24 hours for our program."
— Tim Shoemaker (@TimShoemaker) February 10, 2017
The Buckeyes (15-10, 5-7 Big Ten) and Terrapins (20-4, 8-3) are scheduled for a 4 p.m. tipoff on Saturday at the Xfinity Center.
