Thad Matta would never publicly admit it, but Ohio State's head coach probably found himself rooting for Maryland on Tuesday night when it traveled to Michigan.
| WHO | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland (15-2, 4-1) | XFINITY Center | Noon | ESPN2 |
Matta knew the Terrapins were up next on the schedule for his team, and playing the third-ranked team in the country on their home floor is hard enough. When that team is coming off a loss, though? That makes things much more difficult.
So Matta was likely disappointed in Tuesday night's outcome when the Wolverines upset No. 3-ranked Maryland, 70-67. Now, the Terrapins get to return home and have that loss in the back of their minds as they welcome Matta's Ohio State team to the XFINITY Center.
Alas, the Buckeyes will face their biggest test of the season Saturday when they take on Maryland. Matta knows what type of challenge he is dealing with playing one of the best teams in the country on its home floor.
"Without a doubt, these are the games that you've got to win. You've got to sneak a couple of these," Matta said. "Heckuva lot easier said than done. I think we come out of here [Saturday] and we've got one more of a four out of five swing and I honestly hope we are a better team than we were Sunday [at Indiana] on the road."
Opponent Breakdown
The preseason favorite to win the Big Ten and a trendy Final Four pick, Maryland entered the 2015-16 season with plenty of hype. The Terrapins have been about as good as advertised thus far as we're right around the halfway point of the season.
Maryland's loss to Michigan on Tuesday night snapped a nine-game winning streak and was also its first in Big Ten play. The Terrapins' lone other loss this season came way back on Dec. 2 on the road against No. 9 North Carolina, 89-81.
Leading the way for Maryland is the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year, Melo Trimble. The sophomore point guard is one of the best players in the country and is, without question, the head of the snake of the Terrapins' attack.
Trimble leads Maryland in both scoring (14.1 points per game) and assists (5.5 per game), but if you slow him down — much like Michigan did Tuesday — you have an opportunity to beat the Terrapins.
What makes this team so difficult to deal with is the balance it has. Maryland has four other guys who average in double figures. Its second-leading scorer, freshman big man Diamond Stone (13.6 points, 5.8 rebounds), has come off the bench more games this year than he has started. Robert Carter (12.7 ppg.), Jake Layman (11.1 ppg.) and Rasheed Sulaimon (10.2 ppg.) also average 10-plus points per game for the Terrapins.
Maryland currently ranks 15th in KenPom's advanced statistical ratings; the Terrapins are 21st in offensive efficiency and 26th in defensive efficiency. Maryland averages 77.8 points per game and allows an average of just 63.9. The Terrapins shoot the ball at over a 50 percent clip from the field — 50.1 percent, second-highest in the Big Ten — and are the league's best free-throw shooting team at 76 percent.
“[Maryland is] a very capable team on offense and defense," Ohio State junior forward Marc Loving said. "Just being on our toes and being aggressive and being able to recover from any punch that they throw. To not let them go on a 10-0, 8-0 run, just trying to minimize the runs as much as possible.”
Buckeye Breakdown
Ohio State didn't exactly display the first half many had hoped to see coming off a blowout loss in Wednesday night's game against Rutgers, but the Buckeyes sure turned things around in the second half. Quickly.
Ohio State outscored the Scarlet Knights by 28 points over the game's final 20 minutes en route to the 94-68 victory as the Buckeyes were led by freshman point guard JaQuan Lyle, who recorded just the fifth triple-double in Ohio State history with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists.
The win put the Buckeyes at 4-1 to start Big Ten play — a spot many didn't think they'd be — but their biggest issue thus far has been consistency; Ohio State has played good basketball in spurts, but hasn't really played a complete, 40-minute game yet in the league.
It will need to do just that Saturday if it wants to pull the upset over the heavily-favored Terrapins.
“Nobody expected us to be in this position, to have a good record going in to the Big Ten or in the Big Ten," redshirt sophomore guard Kam Williams said. "But we just look at it like a regular game and another opportunity to get better as a team.”
Saturday's game is a homecoming one for Williams, a Baltimore native who obviously opted to leave the state and head north to Columbus to play his college ball.
“I was pretty wide open," Williams said of his recruitment. "I just wanted to go to where I thought I was going to fit well at and I think I made a pretty good decision.”
How It Plays Out
This is going to be a difficult game for Ohio State to win; Maryland is one of the best teams in the country and the game is in College Park.
But the hope, if you're a Buckeyes fan, is that Ohio State is more competitive Saturday than it was during its last road game — that 85-60 loss to Indiana.
It's hard to imagine the Buckeyes lay another egg like last weekend's, but that's Matta's biggest fear with this young group. It's a possibility every time Ohio State takes the floor to play a road game in the Big Ten.
I'd expect the Buckeyes to hang around for at least the first half against the Terps, who are 10-point favorites. But a second-half surge will allow Maryland to cruise to a comfortable win.
Tim's prediction: Maryland 77, Ohio State 66
