In early December, Ohio State faced a tough start to its Big Ten season with a heavy 83-59 loss at Maryland, where they trailed by as much as 40 points.
Two months later, the Buckeyes (13-9, 5-6) are looking to show how much they’ve improved when they host No. 18 Maryland (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,” said Ohio State coach Jake Diebler about the blowout loss.
Since then, Ohio State has made a lot of progress. The Buckeyes have pulled off big wins over then-No. 4 Kentucky, 85-65, and then-No. 11 Purdue, 73-70.
Of Ohio State’s five Big Ten losses, all but the Maryland game have been by eight points or fewer, with four of those losses coming 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 of those opportunities comes on Thursday, as Maryland enters the game on a four-game winning streak, which includes road victories over Indiana and then-No. 17 Illinois.
The Terrapins’ recent success comes after two straight Big Ten losses early in the season. This is the first time Maryland has been ranked in the Top 25 since the 2022-23 season.
“They could have let a lot of negativity affect them,” said Maryland coach Kevin Willard. “Their attitude has been just phenomenal. I think that’s the biggest thing. They’ve been really resilient.”
During the Terrapins’ 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.
Reese, a 6-foot-9 forward, teams up with Maryland’s top scorer, 6-10 Derick Queen, who averages 15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Together, they give Maryland a strong inside presence 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.”
In addition to their inside game, the Terrapins are dangerous from outside. In their last two games, they’ve made 12 of 24 attempts from 3-point range, led by Rodney Rice, who has hit 8 of 13 (61.5 percent), and Selton Miguel, who has made 7 of 11 (63.6 percent).
Ohio State will counter with strong perimeter play from Bruce Thornton, who leads the team in scoring (17.1 points per game) and assists (4.2), and John Mobley Jr., who averages 13.0 points per game.
Both are threats from beyond the arc, with Thornton hitting 45 three-pointers at a 45.9 percent clip and Mobley connecting on 52 at 41.6 percent.
Devin Royal has also stepped up, scoring 29 points in Ohio State’s 87-79 loss at then-No. 18 Illinois on Sunday. The loss came after the Buckeyes had won three straight games.
“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 games played in Columbus, including a 79-75 double-overtime loss last year, where Thornton scored 24 points.
The Terrapins lead the all-time series 12-11.
