No. 21 Maryland men’s basketball at Ohio State preview

March basketball is nearly right here. For No. 21 Maryland males’s basketball (20-9, 11-7 Huge Ten), alternative awaits. Maryland hopes to start a fruitful month with a profitable journey to Ohio State (12-17, 4-14 ) Wednesday.

The Terps, winners of eight of their final 10 video games, have checked again into the AP ballot for his or her first rating because the Dec. 12 ballot. Not solely is Maryland receiving nationwide love, however it’s within the thick of an intense Huge Ten race. The Terps sit in a tie for second within the Huge Ten with Indiana, Michigan and Northwestern, they usually maintain tiebreakers over every of them.

Maryland controls its personal future heading into its ultimate two video games of the season, but it surely must do it on the highway. The Terps went an ideal 10-0 at residence in Huge Ten play however haven’t skilled the identical fortune on the highway — they’re 1-7 on the highway in convention play, with the lone win coming at last-place Minnesota on Feb. 4. The Terps’ final three highway losses have come by a mean margin of simply 4 factors.

Tipoff on Wednesday is ready for 7 p.m. on Huge Ten Community. KenPom.com tasks the Terps as two-point favorites.

What occurred final time

It’s secure to say that life was totally different for the Buckeyes the final time round. Ohio State got here into XFINITY Heart on Jan. 8 with hopes of being a Huge Ten contender, sitting with a 10-4 document, a No. 9 KenPom rating and probably the most environment friendly offenses within the nation.

Maryland trailed 39-34 at halftime after taking pictures simply 34.5% from the sector. The Terps let Ohio State freshman star Brice Sensabaugh get free for 11 factors within the first half, a body the place the Buckeyes made six 3-pointers. Ohio State beginning heart Zed Key didn’t play.

The Terps started the second half on a mission, although, rattling off an imposing 14-0 run and never permitting the Buckeyes to attain within the first 5 minutes and 43 seconds of the half. Ohio State lower its deficit to as little as three a number of instances after Maryland took the lead, but it surely didn’t have sufficient to get the job achieved.

Maryland graduate level guard Jahmir Younger put up a season-high 30 factors and a season-high 11 boards, changing into the primary Terp to take action since Greivis Vasquez on Feb. 21, 2009. Along with Younger, all 5 Maryland starters scored in double figures.

Maryland closed out the primary assembly with a 80-73 victory, lifting it to 11-5 general and 2-3 within the Huge Ten. Ohio State fell to 10-5 and 2-2 in convention play.

What’s occurred since

Ohio State’s season crumbled during the last seven-plus weeks.

The Buckeyes’ loss at Maryland was their second of a five-game shedding streak, which included a house loss to lowly Minnesota. Ohio State snapped its winless spell with a 93-77 residence victory towards Iowa on Jan. 21, however that was only a buffer to a different lengthy slide.

Following its victory over Iowa, Ohio State misplaced 9 straight video games by a mean deficit of 12.6 factors per contest. Nevertheless, it upset seemingly NCAA Match staff Illinois in its most up-to-date exhibiting. As four-point underdogs, the Buckeyes raced out to a 12-point halftime lead and by no means seemed again. Freshman guard Bruce Thornton led Ohio State with 20 factors.

Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann introduced on Feb. 22 that Key would miss the rest of 2022-23 season. He’s having shoulder surgical procedure Thursday, according to The Columbus Dispatch’s Adam Jardy.

Maryland, then again, has been rolling. The Terps had per week off after beating Ohio State earlier than shedding two of their subsequent three, each on the highway. Since then, the Terps are 8-2, choosing up resume-boosting wins that secured their spot on this yr’s NCAA Match.

Total, the Terps are 9-4 since beating the Buckeyes. Younger is locking up a spot on the All-Huge Ten first staff, Kevin Willard is working his method into the Huge Ten Coach of the Yr dialog and the staff has been lucky to keep away from any main accidents.

Three issues to look at

1. Can Maryland exhaust its highway woes? The Terps’ solely highway wins of the season have come at Minnesota and towards Louisville, the worst staff in energy convention basketball. House groups have received 83 of 123 (67.5%) of Huge Ten video games, in line with KenPom. If Maryland goes to lock up a double-bye within the Huge Ten Match and maybe the No. 2 seed within the convention, it begins with caring for enterprise towards an inferior staff on the highway. Following Wednesday’s recreation, the Terps will wrap up the common season at Penn State on Sunday.

2. How will the Terps shoot from deep? Maryland placed on an absolute clinic from past the arc towards Northwestern, hitting 14 of its 22 3-pointers. 4 Terps hit a number of threes, with Younger and graduate guard Don Carey hitting 4 apiece. Maryland got here into Sunday because the 318th-best 3-point taking pictures staff within the nation, and now it’s 273rd. The Terps haven’t been an excellent 3-point taking pictures staff all yr, however maybe there’s a constant medium between scorching scorching and horrible.

3. The Huge Ten standings. If Purdue loses out and Maryland wins out, an unlikely mixture to foresee, the Terps will take a share of the Huge Ten regular-season title. Regardless, even talking a situation like that into existence in the beginning of March have to be a pleasure for Terps followers to listen to. Maryland was projected to complete tenth within the convention within the preseason, but it surely presently has an inside monitor to complete No. 2 with a powerful end. In line with BartTorvik.com, the Terps have a 76.1% likelihood to complete high 4 within the Huge Ten.

Indiana hosts Iowa on Tuesday, Northwestern hosts Penn State on Wednesday, and Michigan travels to Illinois on Thursday.