Ohio State had been keeping it close.
Despite shooting 36.4% from the field and 28.6% from 3, the Buckeyes were still alive midway through the second half on the road against Maryland.
And it had just had a great defensive possession, using zone to force a deep 3 by guard Xavier Green with less than five seconds left on the shot clock. But after it rimmed out, Terrapins forward Donta Scott, who gave the Buckeyes trouble in their first meeting Feb. 6, shoved Ohio State guard Malaki Branham aside, grabbing the offensive board and dunking it with authority, drawing the foul for the and-one try.
Whether it was from the growing number of second-chance opportunities the Terrapins had in the second half, or the offensive aggressiveness of guards Fatts Russell and Eric Ayala, it was a lead that only grew, as Maryland handed Ohio State its sixth loss in conference play in its road game of the 2021-22 regular season, beating the Buckeyes 75-60 on the road Sunday afternoon.
Fatts Russell shined for the Terrapins, bringing in a career-high 27 points, making six of 10 attempts from deep.
Ohio State never held a lead Sunday afternoon.
Here’s a few takeaways from Sunday’s loss.
One of those games from 3
Ohio State has been finding a bit of a balance offensively as of late, pulling up when it’s had good opportunities from deep after an early-season stretch where it seemed like it’s what the offense lived and breathed on.
There was good reason too, coming into Sunday with the third-best 3-point percentage in the Big Ten matched with the second-best two-point field-goal percentage in the conference.
It was something Ohio State felt like it had the looks for Sunday afternoon.
The Buckeyes’ first three attempts from the field were all from 3, with guards Eugene Brown III and Branham missing each attempt before Liddell ended the scoreless streak with a jumper of his own.
Ohio State kept firing. But Ohio State kept missing.
While the Buckeyes made eight of their 14 attempts from inside the 3-point line, they continued to pull up from deep, connecting on only three of their first 16 tries.
In the second half, while Jamari Wheeler and Cedric Russell gave the Buckeyes some signs of life, it couldn’t match Maryland with players like Fatts Russell finding ample success from deep, something the Buckeyes couldn’t really stop as momentum turned.
In the second half, the Terrapins made 54.5% of its attempts from deep.
Liddell, Branham struggle: Ohio State's offense struggles
E.J. Liddell did the best he could to ignite Ohio State’s offense in the first half.
The Buckeyes needed someone, taking a 30-second timeout three minutes into their final road game of the 2021-22 season, after Maryland made three of their first four from the field, taking an 8-0 lead before Ohio State could even adjust.
It was one of those games for the Buckeyes, something that was quickly seen in the first three minutes by three missed 3-pointers to start the game. Instead of putting one up from deep to break the seal, the junior forward drove in, turned around and hit a fadeaway jumper: his specialty.
The make put Ohio State on the board for the first time Sunday afternoon, ending Maryland’s run. It also woke the Buckeyes’ offense up, hitting five of their next seven shots, enough to take a one-point lead.
The Buckeyes’ offense went back to sleep again, missing each of its next six attempts from the field — five of which were tries from 3 — before Liddell, with another signature fadeaway jumper, gave the offense another boost, starting a streak of four-straight makes to keep Ohio State to within striking distance.
Those were Liddell’s only two makes on six attempts in the first 20 minutes. Malaki Branham made only two of his first nine attempts from the field.
With that, offensive momentum never materialized, making only two of their final 10 attempts from the field, leaving for halftime shooting 36.7% from the floor.
Even with an offensive spark from Jamari Wheeler and Cedric Russell in certain spots int he final 20 minutes, creating some sign of life from deep, the Buckeyes didn’t find enough offense to create some juice, something it needed from their two main offensive attackers: Branham, who finished with 13 points, making four of his 13 attempts, and Liddell, who finished with 11 points, making 30% of his shot attempts.
No one is more important than Kyle Young
Chris Holtmann knew he needed a spark after his first 30-second timeout three minutes into Sunday’s game.
The head coach pointed to redshirt senior forward Kyle Young, calling on him to continue his red-hot offensive momentum from Thursday’s game: recording 18 points while making six of his seven shot attempts with two 3s on three tries against Illinois.
And when he checked in for the first time Sunday afternoon, that same momentum returned for the Buckeyes.
Young made each of his first four shots from the field, bringing down three offensive boards on the glass, including two offensive rebounds, showing his physicality and his toughness inside — something the Buckeyes desperately needed with the 3-point shot struggling.
Starting the second half for the Buckeyes like he did against the Fighting Illini, Ohio State was hoping for that similar spark to carry over into the final 20 minutes.
But it didn’t work.
While Ohio State held the slim 12-11 advantage on the offensive glass, Maryland blasted the Buckeyes in terms of second-chance points, with the Terrapins scoring 17 compared to the Buckeyes’ six.
Young finished with eight points off the bench, missing each of his four attempts from the field in the second half, adding four founds.
He and Justin Ahrens were the only two Ohio State players to have positive plus/minus ratings against Maryland.
News and Notes
Ohio State sophomore forward Zed Key left the game with 7:04 left after twisting his ankle guarding Maryland guard Eric Ayala. He did not return, finishing the game with one point, making none of his four attempts from the field with four rebounds.
What it means
Winning on the road in the Big Ten is not easy. It’s something that has plagued the Buckeyes, winning only five of their 10 matchups against conference opponents away from the Schottenstein Center.
But it was a game in which the offense turned back toward the early-season emphasis on a 3-ball that wasn’t working, balancing that lack of success with giving countless second-chance opportunities to Maryland.
Coming off a big performance on the road against Illinois, Ohio State was in line for a let down on the road. But this one hurts, especially with similar problems rearing its head again: offensive rebounds, turnovers and second-chance points. And without the scoring Liddell and Branham provide, Ohio State really had no chance.
What’s next
Ohio State returns home Tuesday to take on Nebraska in the first of three home games to end the 2021-22 regular season.
Despite shooting 36.4% from the field and 28.6% from 3, the Buckeyes were still alive midway through the second half on the road against Maryland.
And it had just had a great defensive possession, using zone to force a deep 3 by guard Xavier Green with less than five seconds left on the shot clock. But after it rimmed out, Terrapins forward Donta Scott, who gave the Buckeyes trouble in their first meeting Feb. 6, shoved Ohio State guard Malaki Branham aside, grabbing the offensive board and dunking it with authority, drawing the foul for the and-one try.
Whether it was from the growing number of second-chance opportunities the Terrapins had in the second half, or the offensive aggressiveness of guards Fatts Russell and Eric Ayala, it was a lead that only grew, as Maryland handed Ohio State its sixth loss in conference play in its road game of the 2021-22 regular season, beating the Buckeyes 75-60 on the road Sunday afternoon.
Fatts Russell shined for the Terrapins, bringing in a career-high 27 points, making six of 10 attempts from deep.
Ohio State never held a lead Sunday afternoon.
Here’s a few takeaways from Sunday’s loss.
One of those games from 3
Ohio State has been finding a bit of a balance offensively as of late, pulling up when it’s had good opportunities from deep after an early-season stretch where it seemed like it’s what the offense lived and breathed on.
There was good reason too, coming into Sunday with the third-best 3-point percentage in the Big Ten matched with the second-best two-point field-goal percentage in the conference.
It was something Ohio State felt like it had the looks for Sunday afternoon.
The Buckeyes’ first three attempts from the field were all from 3, with guards Eugene Brown III and Branham missing each attempt before Liddell ended the scoreless streak with a jumper of his own.
Ohio State kept firing. But Ohio State kept missing.
While the Buckeyes made eight of their 14 attempts from inside the 3-point line, they continued to pull up from deep, connecting on only three of their first 16 tries.
In the second half, while Jamari Wheeler and Cedric Russell gave the Buckeyes some signs of life, it couldn’t match Maryland with players like Fatts Russell finding ample success from deep, something the Buckeyes couldn’t really stop as momentum turned.
In the second half, the Terrapins made 54.5% of its attempts from deep.
Liddell, Branham struggle: Ohio State's offense struggles
E.J. Liddell did the best he could to ignite Ohio State’s offense in the first half.
The Buckeyes needed someone, taking a 30-second timeout three minutes into their final road game of the 2021-22 season, after Maryland made three of their first four from the field, taking an 8-0 lead before Ohio State could even adjust.
It was one of those games for the Buckeyes, something that was quickly seen in the first three minutes by three missed 3-pointers to start the game. Instead of putting one up from deep to break the seal, the junior forward drove in, turned around and hit a fadeaway jumper: his specialty.
The make put Ohio State on the board for the first time Sunday afternoon, ending Maryland’s run. It also woke the Buckeyes’ offense up, hitting five of their next seven shots, enough to take a one-point lead.
The Buckeyes’ offense went back to sleep again, missing each of its next six attempts from the field — five of which were tries from 3 — before Liddell, with another signature fadeaway jumper, gave the offense another boost, starting a streak of four-straight makes to keep Ohio State to within striking distance.
Those were Liddell’s only two makes on six attempts in the first 20 minutes. Malaki Branham made only two of his first nine attempts from the field.
With that, offensive momentum never materialized, making only two of their final 10 attempts from the field, leaving for halftime shooting 36.7% from the floor.
Even with an offensive spark from Jamari Wheeler and Cedric Russell in certain spots int he final 20 minutes, creating some sign of life from deep, the Buckeyes didn’t find enough offense to create some juice, something it needed from their two main offensive attackers: Branham, who finished with 13 points, making four of his 13 attempts, and Liddell, who finished with 11 points, making 30% of his shot attempts.
No one is more important than Kyle Young
Chris Holtmann knew he needed a spark after his first 30-second timeout three minutes into Sunday’s game.
The head coach pointed to redshirt senior forward Kyle Young, calling on him to continue his red-hot offensive momentum from Thursday’s game: recording 18 points while making six of his seven shot attempts with two 3s on three tries against Illinois.
And when he checked in for the first time Sunday afternoon, that same momentum returned for the Buckeyes.
Young made each of his first four shots from the field, bringing down three offensive boards on the glass, including two offensive rebounds, showing his physicality and his toughness inside — something the Buckeyes desperately needed with the 3-point shot struggling.
Starting the second half for the Buckeyes like he did against the Fighting Illini, Ohio State was hoping for that similar spark to carry over into the final 20 minutes.
But it didn’t work.
While Ohio State held the slim 12-11 advantage on the offensive glass, Maryland blasted the Buckeyes in terms of second-chance points, with the Terrapins scoring 17 compared to the Buckeyes’ six.
Young finished with eight points off the bench, missing each of his four attempts from the field in the second half, adding four founds.
He and Justin Ahrens were the only two Ohio State players to have positive plus/minus ratings against Maryland.
News and Notes
Ohio State sophomore forward Zed Key left the game with 7:04 left after twisting his ankle guarding Maryland guard Eric Ayala. He did not return, finishing the game with one point, making none of his four attempts from the field with four rebounds.
What it means
Winning on the road in the Big Ten is not easy. It’s something that has plagued the Buckeyes, winning only five of their 10 matchups against conference opponents away from the Schottenstein Center.
But it was a game in which the offense turned back toward the early-season emphasis on a 3-ball that wasn’t working, balancing that lack of success with giving countless second-chance opportunities to Maryland.
Coming off a big performance on the road against Illinois, Ohio State was in line for a let down on the road. But this one hurts, especially with similar problems rearing its head again: offensive rebounds, turnovers and second-chance points. And without the scoring Liddell and Branham provide, Ohio State really had no chance.
What’s next
Ohio State returns home Tuesday to take on Nebraska in the first of three home games to end the 2021-22 regular season.
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