The Ohio State basketball team's decimation in first Big Ten game is a bad sign

The Ohio State basketball team played their first Big Ten game on Wednesday. It was a chance to show that they could play better in a potentially close game after they blew it against Pitt. Maryland came in with a 7-1 record, so it was not going to be an easy feat.

Well, the Ohio State Buckeyes were never close to the Terrapins. It was a game that the Buckeyes got punched in the mouth from the very start. Ohio State was down 50-17 in the first half. That's an incredibly disappointing first half to play. The Buckeyes never got it any closer in the second half.

In the end, Ohio State ended up losing 83-59. Quite frankly, it was a disgusting display of basketball. They ended up shooting just 38% from the field. In contrast, Maryland shot close to 47% from the field. It wasn't just poor shooting that doomed the Buckeyes.

The Ohio State basketball team has a horrendous loss to Maryland

Turnovers were a big issue for Ohio State. They had 17 of them in this game. Meechie Johnson was also really poor in this game. He was a lowly 2/13 from the field and just 1/6 from three. It was the worst shooting performance of any Ohio State basketball player this season.

Jake Diebler needs to make sure his team doesn't let poor offense affect their defense. Not having Aaron Bradshaw also means this team doesn't have rim protection, so that's another issue that needs fixing. It's clear that this team goes as far as their shooting percentage will let them go.

This doesn't bode well for the Buckeyes. Losing back-to-back games in such wildly different ways isn't a good thing. Diebler needs to find a way for his team to get easier shots and turn the ball over less.