Ohio State Struggles Offensively In 75-60 Loss At Maryland

The Buckeyes fall to 6-7 away from Value City Arena this season with the loss to the Terrapins.

Author:
Andrew Lind
Feb 27, 2022 6:26 PM EST

Ohio State’s hopes of a Big Ten regular season championship took a significant hit on Sunday afternoon with a 75-60 loss at Maryland, as the Buckeyes now sit 2.5 games back of first-place Wisconsin with three games to play.

How It Happened:

The Buckeyes missed their first three shots, which allowed the Terrapins to jump out to an 8-0 lead just three minutes into the game before junior forward E.J. Liddell knocked down a midrange jumper.

A layup from fifth-year senior forward Kyle Young and a three-pointer from graduate transfer guard Jamari Wheeler cut the lead to 10-7 at the first media timeout with 14:53 remaining in the first half.

Back-to-back baskets from freshman guard Malaki Branham and Young gave Ohio State its first lead of the game before Maryland’s Fatts Russell – who surpassed 2,000 points for his career earlier in the game – made a jumper at the other end to retake the lead.

Liddell was fouled on a three-pointer and knocked down all three free throws to push the Buckeyes’ lead to 14-12, but Qudus Wahab’s monster dunk at the other end tied the game at just under 11 minutes left before halftime.

Ohio State struggled from three-point range, hitting just one of its first 10 shots from beyond the arc, but Liddell’s seven points helped the Buckeyes keep the game close in the early going.

Eric Ayala scored 11 straight points for Maryland, while graduate transfer guard Cedric Russell knocked down a pair of three-pointers during that stretch to keep the Buckeyes within 29-24 at the 3:43 mark.

The teams closed out the half with Young hitting back-to-back layups for the Buckeyes and Fatts Russell knocking down a layup and free throw to give the Terrapins a 32-28 lead at intermission.

Ohio State put Cedric Russell and Young into the lineup in the place of sophomores Eugene Brown III and Zed Key to start the second half, but it was Wheeler who scored eight straight points for the Buckeyes out of the break, including a pair of three-pointers, to cut the lead to 38-36 at 16:30 remaining.

The teams exchanged buckets for the next few minutes, highlighted by the Russells knocking down a pair of three-pointers on consecutive possessions before Maryland’s Donta Scott made a layup on an offensive rebound and was fouled to give the Terrapins a 47-42 lead.

With Maryland holding a 53-50 lead with under eight minutes left, Ayala made a spinning layup on one possession and then was fouled by Key on the next possession to open up a seven-point lead with 7:05 on the clock.

That was part of a 19-7 run from Maryland, which included back-to-back three-pointers from Fatts Russell and Ayala to give the Terrapins an 11-point advantage with 4:17 left, a lead that was ultimately insurmountable for the Buckeyes.

Fatts Russell scored a game-high 27 points and Ayala chipped in 23 points for Maryland, while Branham led Ohio State with 13 points. Cedric Russell finished with 12 points off the bench, while Liddell and Wheeler scored 11 apiece.

The Buckeyes shot just 36.2 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from the three-point line and were outscored 17-6 in second-chance points. The Terrapins also held a 37-32 advantage on the boards.

With the loss, Ohio State falls to 18-8 and 11-6 in conference play. The Buckeyes will finish out the regular season with three straight home games, starting with Tuesday night’s matchup with Nebraska, which tips off at 7 p.m. on BTN.

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