Ohio State Basketball: Buckeyes snap Maryland’s 9-game winning streak
Ohio State Basketball 18-9 (8-8 Big Ten) held on to win at home against the No.7 Maryland Terrapins 22-5 (12-4 Big Ten). Luther Muhammad and improved free throw efficiency were two big factors.
25th ranked Ohio State basketball reached .500 in Big Ten play with their fourth victory in a row this season against AP top 10 teams.
Coming into this game, The Terps got good news Saturday night when UNLV beat San Diego State 66-63. That loss gave the Terps an opening to enter the one seed group in the NCAA Tournament bracketology.
The Terps beat Indiana, Illinois and Michigan State on the road this season. A win here would have been a big deal. A loss against the Buckeyes will most likely keep them on the two seed line.
According to Inside Maryland Sports’ Sam Marsdale, Terps head coach Mark Turgeon had this to say about the Buckeyes:
"”They’re still a really good team. They’re a great defensive team. They play well at home. They shoot the ball well at home. It seems like forever since we played them. But it’s a big game for both of us obviously. And CBS Sports, national TV. So no matter who they put on the floor, they put really good players out there so we gotta be really prepared.”"
Buckeyes guard C.J. Walker scored the first points of this game with a three-pointer. Donta Scott countered with a layup at the other end.
Later, two back-to-back three-pointers by Luther Muhammad and Kaleb Wesson gave the Buckeyes an 18-14 lead. That was a result of a 7-0 run and 15 points coming off of perimeter shots.
The Terps had been struggling with perimeter defense and needed to get that fixed.
Eric Ayala put the Terps within one with his first three of the game. Anthony Cowan Jr. gave the Terps the lead 24-21 after coming off of a ball screen to draw a foul on the perimeter.
A 6-0 run by the Buckeyes gave them a 27-24 lead. Wiggins tied the game with another three for the Terps. Another pair of threes from Muhammad gave the Buckeyes a 36-31 lead with under a minute to go in the first half.
The Buckeyes went into halftime up 40-33 and the Terps offense was stalled. They only scored one basket in the last eight minutes of the half.
Muhammad led all scorers with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from the perimeter. The Buckeyes were a combined 8-of-16 from the three-point line. They limited Jalen Smith’s production and forced him into foul trouble.
The Terps had to fix their perimeter defense and fast to prevent this game from getting out of hand. Cowan Jr. and Smith needed to get going as well.
Kaleb Wesson knocked down the first bucket of the second half with a three-pointer. That basket was followed by a jumper from Andre Wesson and a Walker layup. Their lead grew to 14, 47-33.
Smith got the first bucket for the Terps thanks to a Darryl Morsell assist. A great hustle play by Scott led to another bucket from Smith.
Muhammad continued his hot first half for Ohio State basketball with another three-pointer. That gave the Buckeyes a 50-39 lead. He had 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from deep at that point.
A dribble-drive layup by Morsell cut the Terps deficit to eight, 58-50, under eight minutes to go in the game. Ayala led the Terps with 12 points. Both Cowan Jr. and Jalen Smith had yet to crack double figures in points. Wiggins hit a right corner three-pointer to bring the Terps within five after Kaleb Wesson’s basket in the paint.
A technical foul gave Cowan Jr. his fifth foul and it came after what was deemed unsportsmanlike contact with Kaleb Wesson when both players were on the ground near the baseline. Threes from Wiggins cut Ohio State’s lead to 68-64 and 76-72 as time ticked away.
The Buckeyes held on to beat Maryland basketball 79-72. Muhammad led all scorers with 22 points and five rebounds. Wiggins had 20 points and Cowan Jr. finished with 10 points and seven assists for the Terps.
In the first meeting, the Buckeyes shot 8-of-10 (80 percent from the free throw line. They finished Sunday’s game 23-of-28 (82 percent). The Ohio State Buckeyes won this game shooting efficiently from the perimeter, playing solid defense on Maryland’s star players and converting at the free-throw line.
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Ohio State basketball will have their final road game this month at Nebraska on Thursday. The Terps go on the road to play Minnesota Wednesday before the big February finale at home against Michigan State.