Maryland’s return game in Ohio State gives Buckeyes shot on revenge

On By Littum

The opportunity to win a quality gain and climb back to .500 in the Big Ten game is at the forefront of Jake Diebler’s mind.

On Thursday night, Ohio State hosts No. 18 Maryland in a new match for the conference opener for both teams. Two months and two days ago, Terrapins generally did what they wanted, and built a 50-17 pausel lead and handed Buckeyes an 83-59 loss that was not as close as the final margin indicated. As he stood outside the dressing room of the XFinity Center on December 4, Diebler promised that Buckeyes would not run from the loss but would learn from it and move on.

For the most part they have done it. Ohio State still had a more skewed loss ahead and fell to No. 2 Auburn with 38 points just 10 days later, but it has not prevented Buckeyes from playing on the right side of the NCAA tournament bubble – for now, at least. Getting back to March Madness requires Ohio State to navigate the last nine games with the Big Ten game and possibly a race in the conference tournament, but with so many matches there is only focus on the next game, Diebler said Monday.

However, this one has a little extra for it. Like a chance of a revenge gain, maybe?

“Of course there is (that feeling),” Dieber said. “We are really a completely different team than we were back then, but do not make a mistake, we have not forgotten. It’s in the back of my mind (but) I want our guys even if they are focused on this one. “

A victory Thursday night would be unlike someone in the last 28 years of Ohio State -Basketball. It has been since the 1996-97 season that Buckeyes has lost a game with 24 or more points and then turned around and defeated the same Big Ten team in the same season.

On January 25, 1997, Ohio State took a 78-47 down on the road to a northwest team that had been 0-6 in league games to that point. It was the biggest Big Ten victory for Wildcats when they beat the Chicago Maroon 77-20 early in the 1943-44 season, but three weeks later Buckeyes hosted wildcats and won 55-40.

This Maryland team is not like its northwestern predecessor, nor is it the same as Buckeyes so in December. Still big, physical and impressive, shoots Terrapins 33.8% from 3-point range that led into this game. Since then, Maryland shoots 37.2% from deep and has gone 12 for 24 in each of his last two games while winning six of his last seven.

At the first meeting between these teams, Maryland ended only 7 for 25 (28.0%) from 3, but hit 59.5% of his two-point shots, its second-best brand in the Big Ten game throughout the season.

“I think they’re really connected right now,” Diebler said. “They flow offensively. They shoot the ball with a lot of confidence. There are not many teams in the country that have the balance they have on the interior and on the perimeter. “

Diebler ended his thought by pointing out that although he thinks Terrapins have a lot to go for them right now, his Buckeyes do. Ohio State carried a three-game victory in No. 18 Illinois on Sunday, led at the break, but ran out of gas in the final minutes of an 87-79 loss. From Wednesday, Buckeyes was No. 25 national on Kenpom.com, No. 27 in the Net locations used by NCAA Tournament Selection Committee to evaluate CV and since January 17 ranks the No. 20 -Team nationally according to the Analytics Web site Barttorvik.com.

They have played better basketball than they were in December. That’s what Diebler said he hopes the focus is on Thursday.

“I don’t want our guys to necessarily focus too much on (revenge) for who they are right now and who we are right now are different,” he said. “We have to focus all our energy on being our best for this one, but it is definitely in the back of my mind.”

[email protected]

@Adamjardy

Get more Ohio State Basketball News by listening to our podcasts