Ahead of Super Bowl Sunday’s afternoon showdown against No. 2 Michigan, the Ohio State men’s basketball team traveled to the Xfinity Center in College Park to take on the Maryland Terrapins and secured a 82-62 win.
The Xfinity Center has been a house of horrors for the Buckeyes before this contest, as they entered the game 1-7 in the last eight trips. This time, Ohio State (15-7, 7-5) led 42-30 at the half and never looked back to hand the Maryland (8-14, 1-10) its fourth-straight loss.
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Both teams struggled to get out of the gate, with Ohio State leading 8-6 at the under-16 media timeout.
Ohio State went on an 8-0 run to push the lead out to 16-8 at the under-12 media timeout. The two teams traded runs for the rest of the first half, but a 7-2 run for Ohio State to end the half gave them a 42-30 lead after the opening 20 minutes.
Christoph Tilly recorded 11 points and three rebounds on 5-for-8 shooting. He also hit his only three-point attempt of the half.
David Coit came into this game averaging 14.8 points per game for Maryland, but in the first half he was limited to four points on 2-for-5 shooting and three turnovers in nine minutes.
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Soloman Washington led Maryland with nine points and four rebounds to lead the Terrapins in both categories. He was 5-for-6 from the free-throw line.
After winning the first half turnover battle 9-3, the Buckeyes had 13 points off turnovers, compared to Maryland’s zero. The Buckeyes came into this game 10-1 when leading at the half, the only exception being the Washington loss.
Bruce Thornton got the scoring going for Ohio State in the second half, knocking down a floater to extend the lead to 44-30.
Maryland answered with five quick points, but a Devin Royal step back jumper pushed the Buckeye lead back to double digits.
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After eight minutes of the Buckeyes and Terrapins trading baskets, in the middle of the second half, the Buckeyes went on a 16-7 run to push the 13 point lead to 20 points and close the door on a Maryland comeback.
After a couple small runs from both teams, Ohio State recorded a 82-62 win. Christoph Tilly and Bruce Thornton led the way with 19 and 17 points, respectively. However, at the end of the game, Taison Chatman and Elijah Saunders were ejected after a small scrum.
Here are 10 key factors that determined the game:
Early Buckeye run
After a slightly lackadaisical start for the Buckeyes, they went on an 8-0 run to take a 16-8 lead into the under-12 minute media timeout. Ohio State never relinquished the lead from there.
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Ohio State gets to the foul line
Through the first eight minutes of the game, Maryland was called for six fouls while Ohio State was only called for one. This led to seven early free throws for Ohio State and five quick points.
Taison Chatman as the sixth man
A big conversation surrounding the Buckeyes this season has been the bench production. After scoring 14 points in 17 minutes against Wisconsin, Chatman was the first man off the bench and played the most minutes of any bench players.
Christoph Tilly’s big first half
After struggling with an injury the past few games, Tilly took advantage of a smaller team in Maryland and recorded 11 points and three rebounds on 5-for-8 shooting. He also hit his only three-point attempt of the half.
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Capitalizing off mistakes
Maryland has turned the ball over a decent amount this season, as they are third in the Big Ten and Ohio State was able to turn those mistakes into points early on. After winning the first half turnover battle 9-3, the Buckeyes had 13 points off turnovers, compared to Maryland’s zero.
In a 12-point game, that was a major difference in the opening 20 minutes.
Limiting David Coit in the opening half
David “Diggy” Coit came into the game as the leading scorer for Maryland, averaging 14.8 points per game, but in the first half he was limited to four points on 2-for-5 shooting and three turnovers in nine minutes.
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Soloman Washington keeps Maryland in it
Washington came to Maryland from Texas A&M with Buzz Williams and has had a great season. In the first half of this game, he recorded nine points and four rebounds to lead the Terrapins in both categories. He was 5-for-6 from the free-throw line.
Passing the rock
Ohio State has not been a great team in terms of assists this season, ranking No. 12 in the Big Ten with 15.1 per game. However, in the first half, the Buckeyes assisted on 11 of the teams 15 made shots. John Mobley led the way with four assists.
Buckeyes push the lead to 20
Ohio State took an early lead and held it throughout the whole game, but it was in a spot where a Maryland run could put the game in danger. However, in the middle of the second half, the Buckeyes went on a 16-7 run to push the 13 point lead to 20 points and close the door on a Maryland comeback.
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Taison Chatman stays hot
Chatman finished with 10 points in this game, recording his third straight double digit point game and further solidifying his spot as the sixth man for Ohio State. However, he was ejected at the end of the game due to a double technical foul.
