Each time the Buckeyes have tasted defeat this season, they’ve bounced back with a win in their next appearance.
For that statement to hold true by the end of Sunday night, No. 16 Ohio State will have to hand Danny Manning and the unranked Maryland Terrapins their third straight loss in conference play as the Buckeyes return home to the Schottenstein Center.
| WHO | WHERE | WHEN | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland (11-11, 3-8 B1G) | Schottenstein Arena | 1 p.m. | CBS |
Both programs are fresh off of losses that came down to the wire, as the Buckeyes fell short of a late upset of No. 4 Purdue courtesy of a last-second three by Jaden Ivey last Sunday, while Maryland came up three points shy of knocking off No. 13 Michigan State on Tuesday. The Buckeyes and Terrapins have lost three and four of their last seven games, respectively, but Sunday night’s winner could pick up steam in the final full month of Big Ten competition.
"Call me optimistic, but the one thing is we certainly haven't peaked yet," Ohio State assistant coach Jake Diebler said Saturday. "Part of these breaks have helped with that, but the great thing is we're gonna have a lot of games here in a short amount of time. It gives us an opportunity to get our rhythm at the right time."
Led by a prolific veteran backcourt of Eric Ayala and Fatts Russell, Maryland is 11-11 on the season and 3-8 in Big Ten play, sitting seven spots below the Buckeyes in 12th place in the conference. While the Terps are on the verge of their third separate three-game losing streak this season, they have had a couple impressive upset wins.
In Manning’s second game at the helm after Mark Turgeon resigned, Maryland knocked off then-No. 20 Florida on Dec. 12. The Terps also blew then-No. 17 Illinois out of the water by 16 points on Jan. 21, although the Fighting Illini were without star center Kofi Cockburn.
But the Terps are just 3-7 since the start of the new year and will be facing an Ohio State team that has yet to lose on its home floor this season.
What to Watch For
Holtmann’s second-best home win streak
If Ohio State gets a win over Maryland, the Buckeyes will have started the season 10-0 at the Schottenstein Center. That would be the second-longest home win streak of Holtmann’s five-year tenure at Ohio State. The only longer home win streak Holtmann has had so far with the Buckeyes was a 12-game home win streak to start his first season in Columbus (2017-18). The Buckeyes have played their best ball at home this season, and they’ll be looking for another such performance against a Terrapin team they’ll be favored to beat.
Struggles from the 3-point line
While Ohio State shot 39.2 percent from deep in its first 13 games this season, a stretch in which it went 10-3, the Buckeyes are hitting nearly 10 percent less of their threes in the past five games, in which they’ve gone 3-2. If you take out the outlier that was Ohio State’s matchup with IUPUI, the Buckeyes have made only 25 percent of their shots from the 3-point line over their last four Big Ten games.
On the other side, Maryland is the second-worst 3-point shooting team in the conference, with a season average of just 31.6 percent. The Buckeyes have generally been much better from the outside at home this season, and this stat will be an important one to watch on Sunday.
Three-headed Maryland monster
Only three teams in the Big Ten have three players averaging at least 12 points per game. Maryland is one of them. Senior guard Eric Ayala (15.7), transfer guard Fatts Russell (12.9) and junior forward Donta Scott (12.3) form a formidable three-pronged attack for the Terrapin offense, and each one has scored at least 20 points on at least one occasion this season.
Three Important Buckeyes
E.J. Liddell
After an uncharacteristic two-game slump to start January, Liddell is averaging 21.2 points per game in his past six games and has shot 55 percent from the field during that stretch. Even on an off day for most of the afternoon in the Buckeyes’ most recent game against Purdue, Liddell still finished with 20 points as Ohio State nearly completed an unlikely second-half comeback in West Lafayette.
"Ultimately, at this time of the year, your best players gotta be your best players," Diebler said. "I think that's important. On both sides of the ball, your best players gotta be your best players, and that's E.J. I think first and foremost he can help set a tone both offensively and defensively for us."
Cedric Russell
The Louisiana transfer guard has given the Buckeyes a considerable boost on offense recently, averaging 9.7 points in the past three games. Russell scored nine points in the second half alone against Purdue, a game in which he logged only 13 total minutes, and his flurry in the final frame helped power Ohio State’s comeback effort. As Meechie Johnson and Justin Ahrens haven’t contributed much offense for the Buckeyes of late, Russell could earn himself an uptick in minutes down the stretch.
Zed Key
Ohio State’s starting five man played his worst game of the season against Purdue. Key finished with one point, one rebound and four fouls in just 12 minutes against the Boilermakers, and it was the first game all year in which Key did not attempt a single shot from the field. Holtmann said it was a performance Key will need to learn from moving forward, and his first chance to bounce back will be Sunday against the Terps.
"Just greater effort and physicality, as much as anything," Holtmann said of what he wants to see from Key. "When he's had games where he's played really well, that's been there for him. When he's had games where he's struggled, that's been the case, where he hasn't quite been to the level it needs to be at."
Three Important Terrapins
| Player | Position | Height | Weight | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FATTS RUSSELL | G | 5-11 | 165 | 12.9 PPG, 3.6 APG |
| ERIC AYALA | G | 6-5 | 205 | 15.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG |
| HAKIM HART | G | 6-8 | 205 | 9.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG |
| DONTA SCOTT | F | 6-8 | 230 | 12.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG |
| QUDUS WAHAB | C | 6-11 | 240 | 8.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG |
Eric Ayala
The 6-foot-5 senior guard is enjoying the most productive offensive season of his collegiate career thus far, averaging 15.7 points per game to lead all scorers for Maryland. Ayala is the Terps’ top option on offense and most accurate regular 3-point shooter. Ayala is only hitting 39.2 percent of his shots overall for Maryland, but he brings in a world of experience with 103 starts under his belt.
Fats Russell
Considered one of the nation’s top transfers after four standout seasons with Rhode Island, Russell is Maryland’s second-leading scorer, putting up a hair under 13 points per game for Manning and company. Russell leads the team in assists, at 3.6 per game, and the 5-foot-11 guard has started all but one game this season for Maryland.
Donta Scott
The third player averaging at least 12 points per game for Maryland, Scott is also tied for the team lead with 6.3 rebounds a night. Scott scored double digits in every game during a 10-game stretch from mid-December to late January in which he averaged 15.5 points per game, although he’s struggled lately with a field-goal percentage of just 23.1 in his past three games.
How It Plays Out
Line: Ohio State -8.5, O/U 140
Already one of the top five scoring offenses in the Big Ten, Ohio State should get a boost from playing on its home floor, while Maryland has failed to score more than 68 points in six of its past seven games. The Terrapins have three dangerous scorers and a solid 6-foot-11 big man in Qudus Wahab, but that shouldn’t be enough to knock off Ohio State – which is in a different class than the Terps in most categories on paper.
Prediction: Ohio State 76, Maryland 69
