The Terrapins’ season hit another low point as they dropped to 8-14 overall and 1-10 in Big Ten play, following a loss that underscored many of the same issues that have plagued them all year: turnovers, inconsistent execution, and an inability to sustain momentum. Next up is a road trip to Minnesota on February 8-a Gophers squad that just pulled off an impressive upset over No. 10 Michigan State.
After the game, Maryland head coach Buzz Williams didn’t sugarcoat the situation.
“I’ve got to continue to find ways to do better,” Williams said. “I think you have to be careful when you’re 1-10 that anything you say comes across as an excuse. I never want to justify losing in any sort of way.”
That said, Williams pointed to the team’s competitive spirit as a silver lining. “Our huddles, hustling after one another-we didn’t get every 50-50 ball tonight, but we were trying better,” he added.
Senior forward Elijah Saunders was a bright spot, bouncing back from a scoreless outing against Purdue with a season-high 20 points. His night ended early, though, after he and Ohio State’s Taison Chatman were ejected with 1:34 left following a brief on-court altercation.
Turnovers were once again Maryland’s undoing. The Terps coughed it up 16 times, leading directly to 24 points for Ohio State. That’s a massive swing in a game where every possession matters.
“I thought Elijah was much more confident offensively,” Williams said. “That helped us tonight versus his production on Sunday. It’s just difficult to play with that high of a turnover rate and give them so many points in the broken floor.”
To Maryland’s credit, they opened the game with some real energy, even grabbing a brief lead. But that early spark was quickly extinguished by a 12-2 Buckeyes run that put Ohio State up 16-8. From there, the Terrapins were playing catch-up.
A pair of highlight-reel plays gave the home crowd something to cheer about-a thunderous poster dunk from redshirt freshman guard Andre Mills over Ohio State’s 7-foot-2 center Ivan Njegovan, followed by a four-point play from freshman Darius Adams. That sequence cut the deficit to 31-26 and gave Maryland a much-needed jolt.
But just like in their loss to Purdue, the Terps couldn’t hold onto the momentum. A three-pointer by Ohio State’s Christoph Tilly and a costly Maryland turnover that led to a fast-break dunk by Amare Bynum quickly flipped the energy back in the Buckeyes’ favor.
By halftime, the Buckeyes had turned nine Maryland turnovers into 13 points. The Terps, meanwhile, had zero points off turnovers. That disparity told the story of the first half, which ended with Maryland trailing 42-30 after a 12-4 Ohio State run to close the period.
When asked whether he was more concerned about the offense or the defense, Williams didn’t hesitate: “I’m concerned about both.”
Senior forward Solomon Washington pointed to something even more fundamental.
“I’m more concerned about the effort,” he said. “We always get discouraged anytime a team goes on a run.
We’ve got to stop that. It’s basketball.
It’s a game of runs.”
And that’s exactly what Maryland couldn’t counter in the second half. Ohio State continued to capitalize on Maryland’s mistakes, tacking on another nine points off turnovers. A 9-0 run midway through the half ballooned the Buckeyes’ lead to 68-46, their largest of the night.
The game was effectively over at that point. Fans began heading for the exits as Maryland struggled to find any offensive rhythm or defensive resistance down the stretch.
Williams broke down the turnover issue in plain terms.
“It is pass and catch. It is both hands, both feet, both eyes,” he said.
“But it’s also having an outlet to pass it to. And I think sometimes it’s as much the outlet as it is the passing and catching.
I do think tonight there were more errors in passing and catching than there were in our around-the-horn movement.”
In total, Ohio State finished with 24 points off turnovers and 11 fast-break points. Maryland managed just two points off turnovers and didn’t register a single fast-break bucket. That kind of imbalance is hard to overcome, no matter how well you shoot or defend in the half court.
“We need to do a better job playing off of each other and being willing to play for one another,” Washington said. “I don’t think we do that enough.”
With just nine games left in the regular season, the Terrapins are running out of time to turn things around. The effort may be there in flashes, but until Maryland finds a way to clean up the turnovers and stay connected through adversity, the struggles are likely to continue.