#18 Maryland (17-5, 7-4) at Ohio State (13-9, 5-6)
When & Where: Feb. 6, 2025 | 7 PM ET | Value City Arena | FS1
TV: FS1 | Jason Benetti (pxp), Bill Raftery (analyst)
Radio: One Maryland App | 105.7 FM (Baltimore) | 980 AM (DC) | SiriusXM channel 383
Betting: Maryland +2 | O/U: 146.5 (DraftKings)
It took nearly two years, but Maryland men’s are back in the AP Top 25 after yet another win against a ranked opponent last Wednesday against the Badgers in College Park. And now, he 18th-ranked Maryland Terrapins will take their four-game winning streak into Columbus on Thursday evening against the 13-9 Ohio State Buckeyes in another challenging road test against one of the hottest teams in America.
This is the second time that the Buckeyes and Terps face off this season, with the first being a dominant win for Maryland at the Xfinity Center ending in an 83-59 beatdown. As lop-sided as the score seems, head coach Kevin Willard’s team cooled off in the second half of that evening after jumping out to a 50-18 halftime lead.
Maryland sits at 17-5 on the season with a 7-4 in-conference mark. Last week’s win was followed by a long mid-season break with no game action for over a week. The time off has allowed other Big Ten teams to climb up the conference ladder with the one-game advantage, leaving Maryland right outside the ever so desired top-4 seed that awards a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament.
The Buckeyes’ season has been somewhat of a roller coaster affair heading into Thursday night. They started off the year with an emphatic win against then ranked Texas at the Hall of Fame Series in Las Vegas. The troubles began once first-year Kentucky transfer Aaron Bradshaw missed five games due to an ongoing investigation related to a domestic incident, including the blowout loss to Maryland. Following the conclusion of the investigation, Bradshaw was back in the lineup a few games later against his former Wildcats, and Ohio State shocked all of college basketball with an 85-65 victory over then fourth-ranked Kentucky.
Ohio State has won three of their last four dropping their last contest this past Sunday against Illinois. Since the win against Kentucky, the Buckeyes have played five ranked opponents, going 1-4 with all four losses by single-digits and with two of those losses by one possession against both Oregon and Wisconsin. The lone ranked win came on the road at Purdue in another surprising ranked win on the season. They sit at 5-6 in conference play but need a significant turn around in the month of February to make a push for a bid in March barring a Big Ten Conference Tournament Championship.
Led by the backcourt duo of Bruce Thornton and Devin Royal, the Buckeyes’ strength on offense is from long distance. Their 37.9% clip from the three-point line is 3rd highest in the conference. Thornton leads the team with 17.1 PPG, 8th best in the Big Ten, while Royal compliments his backcourt mate with 14.6 points a game of his own.
Unfortunately for Ohio State, the Terps’ defense has put the clamps on the opposition all year with the second-best scoring defense in the Big Ten, trailing only UCLA. This showed when Maryland took down Ohio State earlier this season, including Ohio State’s miserable 4/19 display from beyond the arc.
On the other end for Kevin Willard’s squad, the offense is highlighted by one of the most productive starting lineups in America. Maryland’s 67.6 points per game from starters leads all power conference programs, with no starter averaging less than 11.5 points a match. As a team, the Terps average 83.0 PPG, the most since their national championship team in the 2001-2002 season.
Last week’s win against Wisconsin perfectly displayed how this offense can heat up out of nowhere with a second-half 11-0 run that completely changed the trajectory of that night for Maryland. And of course, all five starters scored in double-figures with a team-high 16 points from both Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Rodney Rice.
Nothing is guaranteed on the road in the Big Ten, so Maryland will have to arrive in Columbus prepared and ready to go for yet another grimy conference battle. There's a ton of momentum and excitement with this team right now. It’s no secret that Maryland has struggled immensely on the road under Kevin Willard, but a winning streak and fantastic play from all five starters puts Maryland in a great position to come out of this battle with a season-sweep of Ohio State, and one step closer to their dreams of March.
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