Buckeyes Head to College Park for Crucial Big Ten Clash with Maryland
Ohio State hits the road Thursday night for a prime-time Big Ten matchup against Maryland - and while the series history is as tight as it gets, the Buckeyes know they’re walking into a building that’s haunted them more often than not. Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. ET at the XFINITY Center, with FS1 carrying the broadcast.
Let’s start with the numbers. This series is dead even at 12 wins apiece, and remarkably, the total scoring margin is just five points - 1,705 to 1,700 in favor of Ohio State.
That’s about as balanced as a conference rivalry gets. But when the Buckeyes travel to College Park, the script usually flips.
Maryland holds a commanding 7-1 record at home in the series, with Ohio State’s lone win in the XFINITY Center coming back in 2021 - and that was during the pandemic season, when the only fans in the stands were cardboard cutouts.
Last season, the two teams traded home wins. Maryland dominated the first meeting in College Park, jumping out early and never looking back in an 83-59 rout. But the Buckeyes got revenge in Columbus, thanks to a second-half takeover from Bruce Thornton, who poured in 21 of his game-high 31 points after the break to lead a 73-70 comeback win.
Thornton remains the engine for Ohio State, and he’s putting together a season that’s turning heads across the Big Ten. He’s just four points away from hitting the 1,900-point mark for his career and sits 38 points shy of cracking the Top 5 in program history.
Averaging a career-best 19.5 points per game, he ranks fifth in the conference - and he’s doing it while leading the Big Ten in minutes per game and ranking seventh in assist-to-turnover ratio. Simply put, he’s been the Buckeyes’ heartbeat.
He’s not alone, though. Freshman guard Taison Chatman is starting to carve out a real role off the bench.
After scoring in double figures in back-to-back games, including a career-high 14 points at Wisconsin, Chatman is showing the kind of confidence that can change the dynamic of this rotation. He’s knocked down 5-of-7 threes over the last two games and has already topped his previous career high (which was just four points) five different times this season.
John Mobley Jr. has been another bright spot. The freshman sharpshooter has hit at least one three-pointer in every game this year and currently ranks third in the Big Ten in threes made (63), threes per game (3.00), and three-point percentage (40.4%). He’s found his rhythm in a big way, averaging 18 points per game over his last 10 - easily the most productive stretch of his young career.
The Buckeyes are looking to bounce back from a 92-82 loss at Wisconsin, where Thornton and Amare Bynum led the way with 18 points apiece, and Devin Royal added 16. That game may have slipped away, but the offensive output - especially from the bench - showed that this team has depth and firepower when it’s clicking.
As for Maryland, it’s been a tough stretch. The Terrapins have dropped three straight by an average margin north of 30 points and sit at 1-9 in Big Ten play.
Their only conference win came against Penn State more than two weeks ago. Senior transfer Pharrel Payne, who was averaging 17.5 points through the first 10 games, hasn’t played since mid-December - a major blow to their frontcourt presence.
With the Buckeyes looking to stay competitive in the Big Ten race and Maryland desperate to stop the bleeding, Thursday night’s matchup has all the makings of a high-stakes conference battle. And while the XFINITY Center hasn’t been kind to Ohio State in the past, this version of the Buckeyes has the offensive weapons - and the leadership in Thornton - to flip the script.