Ohio State Basketball: Buckeyes lose third straight

The Ohio State basketball team was once ranked No. 2 in the nation. They fell out of the Top 10 and needed a bounce back win but instead lost again.

After a big win against Kentucky a couple of weeks ago, it seemed that the Ohio State basketball had momentum on their side heading into the New Year.  However, the Buckeyes lost the final game in December to West Virginia.

The Buckeyes lost their first game of 2020 to the Wisconsin Badgers and faced a big challenge last night on the road against the 12th ranked Maryland Terrapins. The Buckeyes suffered yet another loss and that was after getting off to a fast start.

Ohio State got on the board first thanks to a Kaleb Wesson three pointer.  That was followed by Andre Wesson’s three and then a layup. The Buckeyes were up 8-0 but the Terrapins got on the board with an Eric Ayala free throw and Jalen Smith’s three point jumper which shot down the Buckeyes’ run.

The rest of the way was all Terrapins as they were 21-46 on field goals with a percentage of 45.7, and made 44.4 percent of their free throws.  Smith, who scored the first three for Maryland, finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. Anthony Cowan was the leading scorer with 20 points, six rebounds and two assists.

Eric Ayala made a big impact for the Terrapins off the bench. The sophomore guard scored nine points, four rebounds and four assists.  Junior Guard Darryll Morsell finished with 10 points, three rebounds and three assists.

Ohio State stats:

As Maryland was making shots, Ohio State was cold after going up 8-0 early on.  One player who Chris Holtmann wished was playing is six-foot-eight junior forward Kyle Young.

Young is fourth on the team in scoring, averaging 8.3 points per game. He is day-to-day after having his appendix removed.

The Buckeyes tried their best to step up but it was too late as they lost their third straight game by a final of 67-55.

Kaleb and Andre Wesson combined for 29 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.  D.J. Carton was 6-15 on field goals, and was 2-4 behind the arc. Charton scored 14 points with one rebound and three assists.

Sophomore guard Luther Muhammad averages 7.2 points per game but was scoreless.  He went 0-for-six from the field, all shots coming from behind the arc. Junior guard CJ Walker scored three points off the bench.

Walker had five personal fouls, one assist and five rebounds.  He did not make any threes, shooting was 1-6 from the field.

Ohio State had a miserable game shooting, only 31 percent from the field and 5-27 from three point range. The Buckeyes also committed 14 turnovers.

Up Next:

No. 11 Ohio State (11-4, 1-3 in the Big Ten) will be back on the road to face the Indiana Hoosiers (11-3, 1-2 in Big Ten). Tip-Off is Saturday 12:00 pm on FOX.

No. 12 Maryland (13-2, 3-1 in the Big Ten) will also be on the road to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes (10-4, 1-2 in the Big Ten). Tip-off is Friday, 7:00 pm on Fox Sports One.