In early December, it was a humiliating Big Ten opener for Ohio State as it trailed by as many as 40 points in an 83-59 loss at Maryland.
Two months later, the Buckeyes (13-9, 5-6) will look to show how far they have come when they host the No. 18 Terrapins (17-5, 7-4) on Thursday night in Columbus, Ohio.
“Make no mistake. We haven’t forgotten about that. I think it’s certainly in the back of my mind,” Ohio State coach Jake Diebler said of the blowout.
Since then, much has changed for Ohio State. The Buckeyes have pulled off impressive wins over then-No. 4 Kentucky, 85-65, and then-No. 11 Purdue, 73-70.
And of Ohio State’s five Big Ten losses outside of the Maryland game, all have been by eight points or fewer, and four have come against ranked teams.
“We’ve got some quality wins,” Diebler said. “We’ve played an extremely tough schedule, and we have a lot of quality-win opportunities in front of us.”
One will come Thursday night as Maryland enters having won four straight games, including road victories over Indiana and then-No. 17 Illinois.
The Terrapins’ surge comes following two straight Big Ten losses early in the year. The last time they were ranked in the Top 25 was in the 2022-23 season.
“They could have let a lot of negativity affect them,” Maryland coach Kevin Willard said. “Their attitude has been just phenomenal. I think that’s the biggest thing. They’ve been really resilient.”
During Maryland’s four-game winning streak, Ja’Kobi Gillespie has averaged 17.8 points and 6.8 assists while Julian Reese has contributed 15.8 points and 11.3 rebounds.
The 6-foot-9 Reese combines with the Terrapins’ top scorer, 6-10 Derick Queen, who averages 15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, to give Maryland a presence inside that Ohio State will struggle to match.
“We’re gonna need everybody with size ready to go,” Diebler said. “(Maryland has) maybe the best frontcourt in the league.”
The Terrapins also are dangerous from the outside. In each of the last two games, they’ve hit 12 of 24 tries from 3-point range, led by Rodney Rice, who has made 8 of 13 (61.5 percent) while Selton Miguel has drained 7 of 11 (63.6 percent).
Ohio State will counter with strong perimeter play from Bruce Thornton, who leads the team in points (17.1 per game) and assists (4.2), and John Mobley Jr., who averages 13.0 points.
Both are threats from deep, as Thornton has made 45 triples, hitting 45.9 percent, and Mobley has connected on 52, making 41.6 percent of his tries.
Devin Royal also has emerged, scoring 29 points Sunday in the Buckeyes’ 87-79 loss at then-No. 18 Illinois. The defeat came after Ohio State had won three straight.
“We’re so different than when we went there,” Diebler said of the first Maryland game. “We’ve grown so much. This is really a huge opportunity for us that we need to take advantage of. That’s gotta be the focus.”
Maryland has lost the last four meetings in Columbus, including 79-75 in double-overtime last year as Thornton scored 24 points.
The Terrapins lead the series 12-11.
–Field Level Media
