After wrapping up its home Big Ten season slate undefeated on Sunday, No. 21 Maryland men’s basketball (20-9, 11-7 Big Ten) will play its second to last game of the regular season on Wednesday against Ohio State (12-17, 4-14 Big Ten).
Xfinity Center was electric as the Terps took care of Northwestern 75-59 on senior day in College Park. Maryland has now won five out of six games against ranked Big Ten opponents, and eight of its last ten heading into March.
The Terps still mathematically have a shot at a share of the Big Ten regular season title. If the Terps win out and Purdue loses out, the two teams will share the honor.
The game against Northwestern was one of Maryland’s best offensive performances of the season so far, because for the first time in conference play the entire squad had confidence when shooting the ball on the perimeter. The Terps may be shooting only 32.4% from three this season, but they made a season-high 14 threes on 14-22 shooting against the Wildcats.
“We’ve been able to get teams to take some quicker shots against us to shorten our defensive possessions,” coach Kevin Willard said. “I think it’s helped us in tempo get quicker shots in transition.”
Graduate student guard Jahmir Young led the way per usual against Northwestern with 18 points on 7-13 shooting in what could have been his final game in College Park. Senior guard Don Carey had one his most efficient shooting games of the season, going for 13 points on 4-7 from three — a good sign as he’s averaging 31.6% from outside the arc. Sophomore forward Julian Reese had his third double-double in a row with 12 points and 10 rebounds as he continues to improve.
But even though the Terps have only lost once at home, it’s the road where they’ve struggled all season. They’re 2-7 in away games, and now have to finish off the season on the road.
“I have to do a little better job with this group towards the end of games on the road,” Willard said. “We’ve taken too many quick shots on the road that have really hurt us.”
Next up for Maryland is a matchup against the Buckeyes in a rematch after the two teams butted heads in College Park in January. That game was a big test for the Terps at the time, as Ohio State came to College Park as the No. 24 team in the nation. But they came up big in the second half, outscoring the Buckeyes by 12 to win 80-73.
It was Young that just couldn’t be stopped by Ohio State, as he tied his career-high with 30 points alongside 11 rebounds in his only double-double of the season. He was big at the free throw line, going 13-15 on attempts that he earned by driving to the basket relentlessly. Every other starter also scored in double digits for Maryland, as the team shot 46.2% from the field.
Despite losing, Willard’s defense still allowed two players to score over 20 points. Freshman forward Brice Sensabaugh had 22 points and seven rebounds despite shooting 7-18 from the field, and redshirt senior forward Justice Sueing was a threat all night, finishing with 21 points on 8-13 shooting.
Maryland won the game by winning the battle of the bigs down low. With Ohio State junior forward Zed Key being out for the game, the opposing bigs took advantage of the lack of size. The Terps outrebounded the Buckeyes 40-26, and outscored them in the paint 34-22 to help secure the win.
Key has yet to return for Ohio State, who will roll into Wednesday in a completely different situation than in January. The Buckeyes have the second-worst conference record, and have only won once in their last ten. The absence of Key still means that they are not going to be attacking down low on offense, but expect Maryland to attack the paint frequently again.
Coach Willard has noticed this difference, but explained that it may make Ohio State more difficult to predict.
“You really don’t know where the ball is going right now,” Willard said.
Tip-off is set at 7 p.m.
