Preview, how to watch as No. 18 Maryland basketball looks to stay hot, sweep Ohio State
The Terps and Buckeyes square off in Columbus on Thursday night.
The Maryland men's basketball team's eight-day hiatus is nearing an end.
The 18th-ranked Terps (17-5, 7-4 Big Ten) will travel to Columbus to take on Ohio State (13-9, 5-6). The Buckeyes, who are playing a strong brand of basketball of late, have won four of their last five. They are coming off an 87-79 loss at Illinois, a game where they led by 11 with 15:53 to play.
The two teams previously met on Dec. 4 in College Park, and Maryland blew out the Buckeyes, 83-59. The final score was not as close as the game was; Maryland led 50-17 at halftime and 63-23 with 15:07 left. Ja'Kobi Gillespie had 23 points and hit four three-pointers, Derik Queen had 17 points and 11 rebounds, Tafara Gapare had 12 points off the bench, and Julian Reese and Selton Miguel each had 10 points.
A lot has changed for Ohio State since. The Buckeyes have a road win over Purdue in arguably the toughest environment in college basketball (Mackey Arena) and a road win over Penn State. Thursday's game is a Quadrant One opportunity for both teams.
Here's everything you need to know about how to watch, follow and listen to the matchup.
Tipoff: 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6 at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio
TV: FOX Sports 1
Streaming: FOX Sports
Radio: Maryland Sports Radio Network, 105.7FM (Baltimore), 980AM (D.C.) – Johnny Holliday (play-by-play), Chris Knoche (analyst)
Live Stats: Link
KenPom Line: Ohio State -2
In Jake Diebler's first full season as head coach, Ohio State is No. 27 in the NET, No. 26 at KenPom and No. 35 at BartTorvik. Though it has been a rollercoaster season, Ohio State has a solid resume with a 4-6 record in Quadrant One, a 3-3 record in Quadrant Two and zero losses outside of the first two quadrants. ESPN's Joe Lunardi had the Buckeyes among his last four byes and as a No. 10 seed in his latest bracket projection Tuesday.
Maryland Basketball Scoop: Derik Queen's Plans | Will Ja'Kobi Gillespie Return? | Chance Mallory Talk
Ohio State has a steady backcourt with junior point guard Bruce Thornton and freshman guard John Mobley Jr. Thornton is averaging 17.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists and a steal per game while shooting 51.3% from the field and 45.9% from three, the 32nd-best clip nationally. During Big Ten play, Thornton ranks second in the conference in percentage of minutes played. Mobley is averaging 13 points and is shooting 39.6% from the field and 41.6% from deep. Mobley has taken 29.2% of the Buckeyes' shots during conference play, the sixth-most in the Big Ten. Maryland head coach Kevin Willard had high praise for both of them.
"Bruce Thornton is one of the best guards, and John Mobley is, as a freshman, has just really, I think, taken their team to a different level," Willard said on "The Kevin Sheehan Show" on Monday. "He's playing as good as any freshman in this conference, which is saying something, because we have – the two young men at Rutgers [Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey] are great, Derik Queen – but he's playing as good as anybody. So, this is a game that's, on the road we're going to have to play really well to get a W."
Devin Royal, a 6-foot-6 sophomore forward, is Ohio State's second-leading scorer and leading rebounder at 14.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Royal is shooting 61% from two but only 26.3% from deep. He was the Buckeyes' leading scorer in the first game between the teams, scoring 18 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the field; Mobley was their second-leading scorer with 15 points.
Micah Parrish and Aaron Bradshaw filled out the frontcourt in the Buckeyes' most recent starting lineup. The 7-foot-1 Bradshaw, the Kentucky transfer and former five-star, top five prospect, did not play against Maryland the first time around as part of a seven-game absence. Against Illinois, he made his first start since Nov. 19. Bradshaw is averaging 6.8 points per game but has dealt with foul trouble. Bradshaw has not played more than 21 minutes in a game since he returned. Parrish is averaging 11.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting 52.6% from two and 35.2% from three.
Senior guard Ques Glover, 7-foot-1 freshman center Ivan Njegovan and junior guard Evan Mahaffey made up Ohio State's core rotation off the bench in the game against Illinois. Glover is averaging 5.2 points per game and shooting 36.4% from three. Njegovan, who played a season-high 14 minutes against the Fighting Illini, is averaging 2.1 points per game and shooting 66.7% (10-for-15) from two. Mahaffey is averaging 4.1 points per game and shooting a scorching 68.4% from two, the 42nd-best mark in the country.
Coming off a long break, will it be rest or rust that prevails for Maryland? Ohio State will be hungry for vengeance after being embarrassed in College Park, but Maryland should be motivated to further validate its legitimacy as both a Big Ten contender and a potentially dangerous team in March. Maryland's schedule softens later in February, and completing a season sweep over the Buckeyes would be a heck of a way to start the month.
