Ohio State has dropped back-to-back games for the first time this season.
Three days after falling to Purdue at home, the Buckeyes couldn’t bounce back on the road at Maryland, which snapped its own three-game Big Ten losing streak with an 80-73 upset win over Ohio State on Sunday.
| Team | 1 | 2 | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| #24 OHIO STATE | 39 | 34 | 73 |
| MARYLAND | 34 | 46 | 80 |
A 1-for-16 Maryland finish from the field in the first half allowed Ohio State to take a five-point lead into the intermission. But the Buckeyes had a disastrous start to the second half, missing its first eight shots and turning the ball over five times in the opening six minutes while the Terps took control with a 14-0 run.
Trailing for most of the final period, Brice Sensabaugh and the Buckeyes mounted a late comeback to go from down double-digits to within three points of the Terps. But Ohio State couldn’t come all the way back as Maryland had enough in the tank to outlast the Buckeyes in College Park.
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Maryland guard Jahmir Young had a season-best scoring showcase (30 points) and his first double-double in a Terrapin uniform. The Terps took advantage of the absence of Zed Key (shoulder) and held a distinctive edge on the glass and in interior scoring. Maryland shot 60.9% from the field as it got out in front of the Buckeyes.
Sensabaugh had his fifth 20-point performance of the season and his fourth in the past six games alone to lead the Buckeyes, but it wasn’t enough to eke out a win on the road. Ohio State was outrebounded 40-26 and committed eight of its 12 turnovers in the second half.
First Half
Ohio State hit its first three 3-point attempts in a row and Sean McNeil scored eight of the Buckeyes’ first 14 points as they got out to a slim lead in the opening few minutes. But Maryland utilized a full-court trap on the Buckeyes and threw a 2-3 zone at Ohio State as the Terps slowed their opponent enough to embark on a 9-2 run from 12:59 to 11:16.
Maryland took a 23-16 lead on the heels of that spurt, but the next seven points were scored by the Buckeyes, who tied things up on a Bruce Thornton three with 8:54 to play in the half. Ohio State only hit one more field goal in the next five minutes of game time, though, and Felix Okpara picked up his third foul of the first half to leave 6-foot-7 guard Eugene Brown playing center for the Buckeyes.
Ohio State eventually woke up to retake a lead after a 7-0 run down to the 2:36 mark and finished the half with a 39-34 edge. That advantage came despite committing 13 fouls, sending the Terrapins to the free-throw line 15 times and being outrebounded 24-16. Justice Sueing and Brice Sensabaugh combined to score 21 of the Buckeyes’ 39 first-half points.
| OHIO STATE | STAT | MARYLAND |
|---|---|---|
| 73 | POINTS | 80 |
| 24-55 (43.6%) | FGM-FGA (PCT.) | 24-52 (46.2%) |
| 9-19 (47.4%) | 3PM-3PA (PCT.) | 5-13 (38.5%) |
| 16-19 (84.2%) | FTM-FTA (PCT.) | 27-33 (81.8%) |
| 12 | TURNOVERS | 12 |
| 26 | TOTAL REBOUNDS | 40 |
| 7 | OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 14 |
| 19 | DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS | 26 |
| 13 | BENCH POINTS | 6 |
| 3 | BLOCKS | 2 |
| 7 | STEALS | 4 |
| 8 | ASSISTS | 7 |
The Terps missed 15 of their final 16 shots to allow Ohio State to get back out in front and ended in the first half with a 34.5% clip from the field.
Second Half
Ohio State turned the ball over four times before two minutes transpired in the second half, and after unthawing at halftime, Maryland hit the first three shots of the period to retake a lead on the Buckeyes at the 17:57 mark.
Chris Holtmann called a timeout to try and stop the bleeding at 15:34, at which point Maryland had taken a seven-point 46-39 lead after five straight Ohio State misses to open the period. It was a 14-0 start to the half for the Terps, whose full-court press began paying dividends early in the final frame.
Maryland hit 10 if its first 13 shots in the half and took an 11-point lead into the under-12-minute timeout as Ohio State continued to struggle. Young, who finished with a double-double for Maryland, hit the 20-point threshold before the midway point of the period.
The Terrapins’ third technical foul of the game opened the door for a quick four-point swing for Ohio State, and after back-to-back field goals from Sueing, the Buckeyes cut it to a seven-point ballgame at 8:49. Sensabaugh then rattled off six straight points for Ohio State to put the Buckeyes within three points with 6:15 to play.
Roddy Gayle hit back-to-back big shots to keep Ohio State within one possession, but foul trouble caught up with Ohio State late and Maryland maintained its edge through the final buzzer.
Game Notes
- Zed Key (shoulder) was unavailable for Ohio State for the first time this season.
- In Key’s absence, Felix Okpara made the first start of his college career against Maryland, joining Bruce Thornton, Sean McNeil, Justice Sueing and Brice Sensabaugh in the starting lineup.
- Eugene Brown was the first man off the bench for the Buckeyes.
- Ohio State had only won one of its previous six games in the Xfinity Center in College Park.
- Maryland beat the Buckeyes in their last trip to College Park, defeating Ohio State 75-60 on Feb. 27, 2022.
- First-year Maryland assistant coach Tony Skinn was an assistant for Ohio State during the 2021-22 campaign.
