A little over 10 minutes into Ohio State’s game against Maryland Thursday night, it looked like the Buckeyes might have spent a little too much time celebrating their win over top-ranked Michigan State.
The Terrapins took advantage of some lackadaisical OSU defense to hit their first three shots from behind the arc, center Michal Cekovsky hit his first five attempts from the field, and the Terps held a 22-15 lead.
Then the Buckeyes unleashed a barrage from behind the 3-point arc that showed that the shocking win over MSU was no fluke. By the time it was over, OSU had a 91-69 win, and improved to 5-0 in Big Ten play and 14-4 overall.
The run started when Andrew Dakich hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 4. A little over a minute later, a Dakich jumper tied the game at 22.
Jae’Sean Tate blocked a 3-point attempt on Maryland’s ensuing possession, then threw down a breakaway dunk to give OSU its first lead in nearly 10 minutes.
Keita Bates-Diop drilled back-to-back 3-pointers before Dakich hit his own triple. Just like that, it was a 22-2 run and the Buckeyes were in complete control. OSU took a 44-32 lead into the locker room.
After the break, the hot shooting from behind the arc continued. Bates-Diop and Kam Williams each hit a shot from deep in the first two minutes after halftime, and then Tate hit one to stretch the lead to 20 with about 15 minutes left.
By the time Maryland called timeout to stop the bleeding, OSU had a 63-40 lead, had gone 11-for-19 from deep, and had 19 assists against only four turnovers.
Bates-Diop finished with a game-high 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting. He shot an incredible 6-for-8 on 3-pointers, and added eight rebounds.
As a team, OSU shot 17-for-29 from deep.
At 5-0 in conference play, the Buckeyes are tied with Purdue for first place in the Big Ten.
The Bucks will return to the court Sunday night at 7:00 on the road against Rutgers.
this WAS an injury depleted maryland team but they are still very good and there was no emotional letdown after stomping #1 sparty….it’s great to see the basketball team back in business–much credit to coach Holtmann..now to go on the road for what could be a deceivingly tough game with rutgers
Expect the unexpected should be the new mantra
T ogether
E ach
A chives
M ore
Never more appropriate than for this team!
KB-D is a manchild. Could those B2B losses to Butler and Clemson, where this team played good for awhile and then checked out entirely during crunch time have been the motivation for the inspired play we’re seeing?
If this team can maintain this pace they are going to be a force to be reckoned with come tournament time.
Hokey SMOKE! Have these kids turned the corner? Wow!
^^^^^ What Andrew said!