No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Maryland Terrapins: First Half Notebook

Here are some first half thoughts as Ohio State leads Maryland by five at the break.

Author:
Brendan Gulick
Feb 8, 2021 9:57 PM EST

Halftime Score: Ohio State 35, Maryland 30

The Ohio State offense has been a bit streaky in the first half. But the good news is they've played really tough on the defensive end and are withstanding Maryland's attack.

While there's been a few frustrating offensive possessions and both Kyle Young and E.J. Liddell have struggled and been held scoreless, Duane Washington Jr., Justin Ahrens and Seth Towns have collectively scored each of the team's first 25 points and combined for seven 3-pointers. They finished the first half 8-of-16 from beyond the arc.

Then C.J. Walker hit a 3-ball with 4:41 to go in the half, followed by Young hit a lay-up (and getting fouled) to score the very first points in the paint with 4:02 to play. Heading into the final media timeout of the half, Ohio State had hit 5-of-6 shots while Maryland was 1-for-8 shooting. OSU went on 14-1 run over 3:34 stretch and pulled back out front 33-26.

I love the defensive intensity for the Buckeyes right out of the gates. Neither team has come out stroking it, but Washington, Justice Sueing and Liddell in particular have played great on the defensive end through the opening few minutes of the game.

Seth Towns, Washington, Washington ... bang-bang-bang. Three straight trips down the floor ripping the nets from beyond the 3-point line was a great sight for the Buckeyes after they had bee a little cold at the outset of the game.

Musa Jallow came off the bench with C.J. Walker as the first subs in the game for Ohio State. This is as early as Jallow has played in a game all year (to my recollection). Chris Holtmann mentioned about a week and half ago how hard Jallow had been practicing and it looks like he's continued to earn good favor with the coaching staff.

The Buckeyes have really struggled to work the ball inside. They didn't have any points in the paint through the first 16 minutes of the game and finished the half with just four. They're also really struggling to grab an offensive rebound (they have only one). Maryland has done a great job boxing out.

E.J. Liddell picked up his second foul with 7:34 left in the first half and was relegated to the bench. The Buckeyes are going to need to find some offense without him. It looks like Seth Towns has gotten increased minutes in his absence and Towns is playing great.

Justin Ahrens also picked up a second foul when he was issued a technical for saying something to Maryland's bench after Walker drained a 3-pointer. He has eight points at the break.

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