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Ohio State basketball tries to stay hot against Maryland

By Ryan Stano

Feb 4, 2021; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes guard CJ Walker (13) reacts with forward Kyle Young (25)after the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 4, 2021; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes guard CJ Walker (13) reacts with forward Kyle Young (25)after the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Ohio State basketball team tries to stay hot when they take on Maryland tonight at 9 pm on Fox Sports 1.

The Ohio State basketball team is riding high right now. They are riding a four-game win streak and have now moved up to fourth in the polls. Those four wins weren’t against cupcakes either. They beat two top-ten teams in that stretch of victories.

Now the schedule takes a bit of a turn and they face a three-game stretch of more manageable teams to face. Maryland is the first team on that stretch. They take on the Terrapins tonight at 9 pm on Fox Sports 1 in College Park. But don’t overlook this team.

Maryland is not some sort of doormat. Every team in the Big Ten can beat any other team on any given night. Maryland has beaten four top-25 teams this season and all of those teams are in the conference. They get up for big games despite only sporting a 10-9 overall record.

The biggest thing Ohio State has to guard against is a letdown after an emotional win over Iowa on Thursday. Duane Washington seems like he might finally be breaking out. Tonight, we will really find out if that is true now that he takes on an inferior team.

Maryland does have three players that average over 12 points a game. The Buckeyes need to worry about Donta Scott more than anyone else. He averages 12.5 points per game and shoots 45% from three. He is the one guy who can get hot and be tough to stop.

Game prediction: Ohio State 79 Maryland 66

I just don’t see how the Terrapins keep up with the Buckeyes. Washington and E.J. Liddell will be too hard to stop, and Kyle Young is in the midst of the best stretch of basketball he’s ever played. The Buckeyes are just too hot right now and should roll in this game without any problem.

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This three-game stretch will tell us the mental makeup of this Ohio State basketball team as we head into March. These next three opponents are teams that they should beat. If they are a true title contender, they should win all of those games, starting with tonight.

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