OSU junior forward Marc Loving attempts a shot in a game against Rutgers on Jan. 13. OSU won, 94-68. Credit: Samantha Hollingshead | Photo Editor
The Ohio State men’s basketball team’s’ road woes continued in the worst way possible Saturday, as the Buckeyes were blown out by No.3 Maryland 100-65 in College Park, Maryland.
The loss ties the school record as the worst in school history, matching a 35-point loss vs. Indiana in 1928.
OSU now falls to 12-7 (4-2), further damaging its case to make an appearance in the NCAA tournament this upcoming March.
The game featured one of college basketball’s premier players in Maryland’s sophomore guard Melo Trimble. The shifty point guard’s passing dissected the OSU defense from the start, as he dished out five first-half assists, burying the Buckeyes in an 18-point hole by halftime.
But, in the second half, the Maryland star really wasn’t needed to the same extent, as the Terrapin lead, at one point, ballooned to an unsurmountable 44 points in the second half.
Trimble finished the game with 8 points and 9 assists in only 27 minutes.
Maryland showed why they are considered to be one of the most efficient offensive teams in the nation, shooting 63 percent from the field for the game. It also shot extremely well from deep, shooting 11-of 21 from 3-point land (52 percent).
After throttling OSU, Maryland’s record improves to 16-2 (5-1). Leading the Terrapins in scoring was junior forward Robert Carter. In only 23 minutes, he gashed OSU’s defense for 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting. Senior guard Rasheed Sulaimon also poured in 23 for Maryland, including 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc.
Pacing the Buckeyes in scoring was sophomore forward Keita Bates-Diop, who had 15 points and 5 rebounds. Sophomore forward Jae’Sean Tate also chipped in 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting from the floor.
Freshman point guard JaQuan Lyle, coming off of a triple-double in the 94-68 win over Rutgers, only had 9 points on 4-of-12 shooting, including 0-of-4 from 3-point range.
The Buckeyes couldn’t buy a bucket in the second half, shooting a miserable 30.8 percent from the field in the second frame. Overall, the Scarlet and Gray shot a paltry 37 percent from the field, making this a game everyone will soon want to forget.
The loss is OSU’s third on the road, each by, at least, 20 points. The first came against Connecticut by 20, followed by a 25-point defeat at the hands of Indiana, and then Saturday’s 35-point drubbing. With a young team, playing on the road can be a tough task to tackle and that is certainly the case for coach Thad Matta’s squad.
The game marked the first Big Ten trip to College Park for the Buckeyes, as Maryland’s basketball program joined the Big Ten in the 2014-2015 academic year. OSU still leads the all-time series 5-3.
The Buckeyes now can only hope for a better performance in its next matchup against Purdue. Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. Thursday in West Lafayette, Indiana.
