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Ohio State Basketball: A tough road game for the Buckeyes

By Charlie Lockhart

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 20: Head coach Chris Holtmann of the Ohio State Buckeyes reacts from the sideline in the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during their game at Madison Square Garden on January 20, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 20: Head coach Chris Holtmann of the Ohio State Buckeyes reacts from the sideline in the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers during their game at Madison Square Garden on January 20, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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The Ohio State Buckeyes team will begin a tough five game stretch against the Maryland Terrapins who are playing very well on their home floor.

The first time the two teams met in January, Maryland defeated Ohio State 75-61 in Columbus. That doesn’t bode well for the Buckeyes because the Terrapins are playing much better at home than on the road.

Maryland enters the game 20-7 and 11-5 in the conference but is 6-1 at home in Big Ten play. The only conference loss in College Park was to Illinois back in January.

The Terrapins are coming into the game on a bit of a roll. They defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes on the road Tuesday and have won three of their last four games.

One thing that’s a plus for Ohio State though is that Maryland is struggling on the offensive end of late. Like the Buckeyes, the Terrapins have only scored 70 points twice in the last six games.

This could be yet another low scoring affair which Ohio State has become accustomed to playing.

But Maryland has plenty of firepower when the shots are falling. Here are the leading scorers for the Terrapins.

  • Guard Anthony Cowen 15.9 points per game
  • Forward Bruno Fernando 14.4
  • Forward Jalen Smith 11.5
  • Guard Eric Avala 8.9
  • Guard Aaron Williams 8.7
  • Guard Darryl Morsell 7.7

Fernando is leading the team in rebounding averaging 10.6 boards per game and Cowen is averaging 4.6 assists.

Here are the leading scorers for the Buckeyes:

  • Kaleb Wesson 14.5 points per game
  • C.J. Jackson 12.5
  • Luther Muhammad 9.2
  • Andre Wesson 8.7.

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Beginning today Ohio State will face four ranked teams in the final five games and go on the road to play Northwestern. A win today will go a long way to enhance the Buckeyes’ resume in their chase for an NCAA Tournament bid.

A loss today and Ohio State would almost have to pull off an upset over Iowa at home on Tuesday, at Purdue next Saturday or against Wisconsin the final game of the season at Value City arena. And of course it will be a must win game at Northwestern. A loss in Evanston and even a win over one of the ranked teams might not be enough.

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