The No. 22 Ohio State Buckeyes travel to College Park for their final away contest of the regular season. They will take on Maryland at 4:00 pm ET from the Xfinity Center on CBS.

Buckeye Recap:

The 18-7 Buckeyes come into today’s game with a massive high after defeating No. 15 Illinois on the road this past Thursday. The Buckeyes led by as many as 14 points in the second half, but following the ejection of Illinois head coach, Brad Underwood, Illinois would go on a massive run,  drawing within one point with 14.6 remaining. However, free-throw shooting for the Buckeyes and a late turnover by Trent Frazier allowed the Buckeyes to finish with a three-point win.

The Buckeyes were led in scoring by freshman Malaki Branham, who tallied 31 points on 10/14 shooting and 10 made free throws. EJ Liddell also had a big night despite being listed as questionable with the flu for most of the day. He added 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots.

However, the most overlooked performance was that of senior Kyle Young, who scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and added many hustle plays that won’t show up on the stat sheet. Ultimately, the Buckeyes grabbed a much-needed win to keep their chances of a regular-season Big Ten title alive and solidify themselves a double-bye in the conference tournament.

Who is Maryland:

Maryland enters the contest with a record of 13-15 and are 12^th in the Big Ten. They lost on Thursday to Indiana by a score of 74-64. The Terrapins have only won five games in conference play, however, they did defeat Illinois by 15 in College Park. They enter this matchup having lost 6 of their last 8, one of those a 15-point loss to this very Ohio State team in Columbus on February 6^th.

Maryland is led in scoring by Fatts Russell and Eric Ayala, both of whom score just over 14 points per game. However, both players struggled immensely against the Buckeyes defense in the last meeting. Ayala was held to just 8 points on 2/9 shooting and Russell added only 12 on 5/15 shooting. The player who really made his presence felt was Donta Scott, who gave the Terps 25 points that day. He has reached double figures in 6 of his last 7 games and will certainly be looking to replicate his performance from Columbus today in College Park.

What to expect:

Maryland’s season is all but over at this point. They certainly have no shot at the NCAA Tournament barring a miracle in the Big Ten Tournament and the NIT would require winning out, and still might be a stretch. Thus, this team has nothing to lose and is playing spoiler every time, they step onto the court. On the defensive end, the only way they stand a chance is to significantly limit both Branham and Liddell, which would force one of the other options for the Buckeyes to show up, obviously a tough ask. On the flip side players like Russell and Ayala have to contribute more offensively this time out or Maryland will again be facing a double-digit deficit.

For the Buckeyes, this game is all about remaining consistent and avoiding any roadblocks. The offense must continue to flow through Liddell and Branham and other players need to remain true to their roles and have an impact on the game. When the Buckeyes’ offense is flowing, they control the glass, and turnovers are at a minimum they are an extremely tough opponent and that is the team Holtmann would like to see today.

Gabe’s Guess:

The Buckeyes are favored by four points and that is probably a generous margin for an underwhelming Maryland team. I think the Buckeyes will go to College Park and handle business with ease. They are aware that every game matters towards this double-bye, a chance at a regular-season title, and a good seed in the Big Dance.

Score Prediction: 85-67, Ohio State

Catch all the action on CBS at 4:00 pm ET.

Featured Image: AP Photo