Maryland was playing their ninth ranked opponent of the season.
The Terps hung in there for much of the game before falling to fourth ranked Ohio State, 73-65.
The Buckeyes were led by Duane Washington Jr. (18 points) and Justin Ahrens (11 points) early and Kyle Young late (18 points).
Aaron Wiggins led Maryland with 17 points 5 rebounds and 6 assists.
It was a physical contest throughout the game with both coaches taking turns getting upset which resulted in Ahrens getting a tech in the first half and Darryl Morsell getting one in the second. “I’m going to stick up for my players especially Darryl,” said head coach Mark Turgeon.
Ultimately, Ohio State’s execution was the difference.
Ohio State started the second half looking to get the ball inside. Young took advantage of the opportunity with 13 points in the second half.
The Buckeyes led 35-30 at the half.
Ohio State opened the second half scoring eight of the first 10 points pushing their lead to 11.
The Terps couldn’t buy a basket as they watch jump shot after the jump shot clank off the rim during a 4+ minute scoreless stretch. It was obvious that Ohio State wanted Maryland’s Jairus Hamilton to shoot the ball. They left him open time and time again and Hamilton couldn’t take advantage shooting a dismal 0-6 from the field, 0-3 from three.
The Buckeyes lead would eventually grow to 16 with 8:06 left in the game.
Later in the half, Maryland would make a run when they dialed up some full court pressure. The would go on a 6-0 run cutting Ohio State’s lead to 64-55 with 3:47 left. That was as close as the Terps would get until Wiggins layup with 13 seconds left cut it to 8.
In the first half, Maryland couldn’t seem to defend Washington Jr. and Ahrens despite game-planning for them. The pair shot a combined 8-12 in the first 20 minutes including a combined 5-9 from the three point line. “The second key of the game was don’t let 4 (Washington Jr.) and 10 (Ahrens) get open looks,” said Turgeon. They scored 21 of the Buckeyes’ 35 first half points.
The rest of the team was just 5-15 from the floor.
