Maryland Surges Past Ohio State 67-55
Some Surprising Shooting Extends Their Win Streak to 3
Zachary Wilson
Following a stellar performance against Indiana, the Terps hosted their toughest opponent yet in the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Defense led the way to the victory over the #11 Bucks, but it was a slow start. To the dismay of many, it was yet another 5 minute Maryland scoring drought to start off the game. However, in an unprecedented turn of events, UMD would begin a torrential scoring run and shoot 63.6% (7-11) from beyond the arc! In fact, they only scored 1 field goal from the inside as well as 5 points from free throws in the first half. Certainly an insane statistic coming from a team whose primary weakness was effective perimeter shooting.
As with which has become the norm, Maryland’s stout defense held the Buckeyes to incompetent shooting from both inside and outside. Ohio State would be held to 31.3% (21-67) total shooting with 18.5% (5-27) shooting from 3-point range. As the year has progressed, it’s clear that the whole team has bought into Turgeon’s schemes even with the smaller lineups they have had to play over the past few weeks. Chol Marial’s insertion as a rim protector has reared its benefits as of late, totaling 2 blocks in only 5 minutes on the floor.
Maryland managed to hold the lead from that abnormal shooting in the first half throughout the rest of the ballgame, leading the entirety of the second half and holding a lead of nearly 15 at one point. When the final buzzer rang, the Terrapins looked up to their well-earned 12 point lead as it flashed across the scoreboard.
UMD wraps up a great win before a two-game road trip against the currently unranked Iowa Hawkeyes and Wisconsin Badgers. Let’s hope the win streak can keep on moving through these next two road matchups.
Notable Statlines, The Good and The Not So Good:
The Good:
Whatever THAT first half shooting was-As mentioned, Maryland shooting from beyond the arc has been a mixed bag where you never know what you are going to get from night to night. Tonight, we just happened to be the Golden State Warriors (before injuries) in the first half. Obviously one can see tonight as an outlier but it was quite fun to pretend Maryland had this type of power from beyond the arc on a consistent basis.
The Not So Good:
Eric Ayala-Unfortunately Ayala continued his shooting woes here, shooting 2-7 in total and 1-5 from deep. In times where Cowan has struggles, Ayala is typically there to pick up the slack from a pure shooting standpoint. His importance to this lineup is immense, and there is a great yearning for his inconsistencies to subside.
Coach Turgeon mentioned that he may have caused the poor shooting by adjusting the rotations in-game last night.
It’s troubling that he tends to go through slumps, but at least it didn’t cost Maryland the win here.
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