The Buckeyes had a lead in the half, but the start of the second verse would be crushing for Ohio State. Maryland would build a 14-point lead and never give it up until the end of the game, winning 80-73.
It was the second straight loss for the Basketball Bucks, falling to 10-5 overall and 2-2 in conference play. It’s the first losing streak of the season and the Big Ten portion of the schedule is just beginning.
There wasn’t much good to come out of this game as it was a struggle for Ohio State even with the halftime lead. Find out what we learned from this Buckeye loss.
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The book on how to beat this team is out
The Buckeyes didn’t handle Purdue’s press because they were late Thursday. They didn’t handle it well in the half when Maryland went in too. The offense is struggling to find a rhythm, while multiple turnovers in the backcourt gave the Terrapins extra possession. One might think that with veterans on the list, this wouldn’t be a problem. Bruce Thornton really needs to improve in this area as he’s just a rookie. Chris Holtmann has to find an answer when teams are under pressure.
Zed Key was sorely missed
The key is the stone in the middle and the Buckeyes missed it a lot today. Felix Okpara is not ready to be a starter in the Big Ten, coming off the bench and bringing energy, this is the perfect role for him at the moment. Asking the newcomer to play and produce big minutes is not the ideal situation. Okpara struggled to 2 points, zero rebounds and no blocks, adding to Key’s absence.
It was poor rebound performance
The Buckeyes allowed 14 offensive rebounds and 40 total to Maryland. They grabbed just 26, seven of them on offense. It was a big fight for the state of Ohio, especially the additional possessions that the Terrapins got. In a tight conference match, no team can afford to give their opponent more scoring chances. In this case, Buckeyes’ margin of error is very small.
Brice Sensabaugh ‘fought’
When you see the star freshman scored 22 points and grabbed 7 rebounds, you wouldn’t believe Sensabaugh struggled, but he did. He shot 7 from 18 from the field and ended up fouling. He was teased while playing defense, in part because he got into bad trouble. Sensabaugh left the game early while the Buckeyes were still close, they need his offense on the court in situations like this. He needs to get better at avoiding offensive fouls, it seems like he concedes at least one in every game. If this is a bad Sensabaugh game, you know he’s a special player.
28 fouls
I don’t know if that was home cooking for the umpires, but the Buckeyes committed 28 fouls that day. Maryland was ten down, so it wasn’t all one-sided. Either way, the defense must not allow that, some fouls simply must not be committed. The 28 fouls committed resulted in 33 free throw attempts for the Terrapins, who made 27 of them. The team needs to play better defense and not get themselves in bad trouble in the process.
Story originally appeared on Buckeye Wire
