Ohio State bounced back against a spiraling Maryland team, winning 82-62, ahead of its huge home matchup against Michigan on Sunday.

Continuity on defense and foul trouble would be two storylines to watch for Ohio State, as they had glaring issues with both when they fell in Madison. Neither would plague OSU to start the contest, but Maryland would challenge Ohio State early on the glass as they were making a concerted effort to crash the boards. However, elevated play in the paint, headlined by Christoph Tilly, assured the Buckeyes would extinguish any momentum that the Terrapins built early.

Taison Chatman continued his groove from beyond-the-arc and hits first three of the game, putting Ohio State up 7-6 near the 16:00 mark. Chatman would sink a pair of threes in the first half, giving the Buckeyes a needed spark off the bench. Devin Royal would also get after it early as he drew fouls on back-to-back possessions, going 3-4 from the line.

The story of the half, though, would be Christoph Tilly bouncing back after going scoreless in nearly 30 minutes of play in Wisconsin. Tilly had 6 points and a pair of rebounds at the 12:00 mark after drawing fouls and sinking all 4 free throws on back-to-back possessions himself. Shortly after that, he raced down the court in transition to make a lay-up to pick the Buckeyes up 23-12 by the 10:00 mark.

By this point, Maryland was 0-7 from three, and OSU was riding an 11-2 run. Maryland would snap this run with a three, but as he does, John Mobley Jr nailed what would be his first of 3-three-pointers in the first half to put the Buckeyes up 26-15 with 9 minutes left in the half. However, the Terms weren’t going anywhere without a fight. Bruce Thornton fouled FR Guard Darius Adams on a made three-pointer as he converts on the 4-point play- cutting OSU’s lead to 30-26 at the 4:26 mark. Luckily, the Buckeyes would make sure this surge didn’t last long.

Christoph Tilly answered on the following possession with a three-pointer of his own and brought his total to 11 points for the half. This kind of play from Tilly was sorely needed for OSU, and he would not let up throughout the entire contest. Ohio State capitalized on Maryland’s nine turnovers by halftime as the Terps began to fall into a lot of the issues that have plagued them throughout the year. A Chatman three extended OSU’s lead back to double-digits just before half, and after a pair of Thornton free throws with 2 seconds left, the Buckeyes would finish the half with a 42-30 lead.

In the second-half, Ohio State put its foot on the gas and never looked back. The defense was noticeably more effective as Maryland would have zero fast-break points and only 18 points in the paint with just 6 minutes to go in the game. Along with a slew of forced turnovers, OSU was also forcing the Terps into a plethora of shots from deep, and Maryland was unable to capitalize, shooting just 31% from 3-point land in 26 attempts. Through this effort, Ohio State would swell their lead up to 68-46 by the 8:45 mark after John Mobley Jr drilled his fourth 3-pointer of this game. Mobley would finish with 15 points.

Christoph Tilly mirrored his team as he finished as OSU’s leading scorer with 19 points while shooting 70% from the field and having a notable impact on defense. A truly remarkable comeback considering his titanic struggles just this past weekend in Madison, and the Buckeyes will certainly need this kind of production to continue.

Albeit against a struggling Maryland squad, there were large strides on defense and key players avoided foul trouble- OSU should feel very good about their progress moving forward as they dispatched of Maryland, 82-62. Now, the challenge becomes applying this game plan against perhaps the deepest and most talented team in the country this weekend.

A monumental one for the Buckeyes this Sunday as Ohio State (15-7) hosts No. 2 Michigan (21-1) at 1:00 on CBS.