Every game in the Big Ten is important, but there's no doubt some games hold more weight than others.
In Ohio State's case, one of its heavier games will take place tomorrow night at the Schottenstein Center when 16th-ranked Maryland visits.
The surprising Terrapins are the second-highest ranked Big Ten team and currently sit second in the conference's standings, just one-half game behind league-leading, fifth-ranked Wisconsin.
Right now, Maryland is one of the few Big Ten teams securely in the NCAA tournament. After the Badgers, Terrapins and Indiana, though, there aren't as many sure things. The Buckeyes find themselves on that list along with Michigan State and Iowa.
“We’re not going to just lie and say we don’t want to be a ranked team. We know we’re not ranked right now, we want to get to that position. We know that we have to beat the best in order to become the best.”– Shannon Scott
ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi, who has a pretty solid track record for getting a high percentage of the NCAA tournament field correct, has the Spartans, Hawkeyes and Buckeyes all in the field of 68 at the moment. He has Michigan State and Iowa as No. 8 seeds, while Ohio State finds itself as a nine seed.
A win over the Terrapins on Thursday, though, would go a long way come Selection Sunday. It would also comfortably place the Buckeyes in the NCAA tournament barring a late-season collapse.
"It’s a real big thing for us. We’re not going to just lie and say we don’t want to be a ranked team," Ohio State senior point guard Shannon Scott said Wednesday. "We know we’re not ranked right now, we want to get to that position. We know that we have to beat the best in order to become the best.”
A win over Maryland, though, is far from guaranteed. Behind Louisville and North Carolina, the Terrapins are probably the third-best team the Buckeyes have faced all season.
Maryland brings a three-headed offensive attack with Melo Trimble, Dez Wells and Jake Layman. The Terrapins can beat you a number of ways, playing all types of different lineups using their depth to their advantage.
Ohio State may try to combat that by using its small ball lineup that has been effective during its last two times out on the floor. Everything just kind of depends on the flow of the game.
"I think it’ll be interesting to see because Maryland can play a stretch 5, they can play (Evan) Smotrycz at the 5," Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said. "Wells is going to post the basketball as a 3 man and those types of things so it’ll be interesting to see just how it unfolds in terms of the games that we play."
However they choose to go about matching up with Maryland, though, the importance of the game doesn't change. The Buckeyes need to have this game for multiple reasons.
Ohio State wants to firmly cement itself into the NCAA tournament picture. But it also still remains in a glut of teams sitting behind Wisconsin, trying to threaten the Badgers for the league crown.
A loss to the Terrapins all but eliminates the Buckeyes from the Big Ten championship picture. But if they get a win in the team's only meeting this year, who knows?
“Right now we’re a good team, but we still have a lot to learn," Scott said. "I feel like when we get to our peak we’re going to be a great team, but there are still a lot of little things that we need to take care of in order to be a great team”
