Value City Arena, Columbus, OH
Tip-off: Tuesday, 7:00 pm ET
Line: Ohio State -2.5, Total: 139.5

#17 Maryland will be going for its seventh straight victory when the team faces Ohio State on Tuesday.

The Terps are coming off of an impressive victory over the Golden Golphers, as they won 85-78 as 4.5-point road underdogs in Minnesota on Saturday. Maryland has now won-and-covered in six straight games and nine of its past 10. The reason this Terrapins team is so tough to play is its ability to compete on both ends of the floor. Maryland is 58th in the nation in offensive efficiency, scoring 110.7 points per 100 possessions. The team is even better on the defensive end, allowing just 95.2 points per 100 possessions (38th in NCAA). Ohio State, meanwhile, has now lost two of its past three games, most recently falling 85-72 in Iowa on Saturday. The Buckeyes allowed the Hawkeyes to shoot 50.0% from the floor in that game, and that type of defensive effort is truly unacceptable for a conference game. Look for Ohio State to pick things up on that end, as the team should be hungry to defeat Maryland on Tuesday. The Terrapins won-and-covered in both meetings with the Buckeyes last season and one would think that should fire Ohio State up coming into this contest. Maryland, however, is a remarkable 8-0 ATS as an underdog this season and 7-0 ATS in road games after one or more consecutive Overs in the past two seasons. The Buckeyes have some favorable trends as well, as they are 8-0 ATS in home games off a loss against a conference rival over the past two seasons.

Maryland is having a fantastic season, and a lot of that has to do with the play of G Melo Trimble (17.1 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.2 SPG). Trimble flirted with entering the NBA draft last year, but he made the right move staying in school. He is shooting a career-high 45.5% from the floor this season, and has also hit 36.3% of his threes. That is a major improvement for Trimble, as he shot just 31.5% from the outside last season. Where Trimble really thrives is in the pick-and-roll. He knows when to turn the corner and get himself to the basket, and he is also crafty when getting the ball to the roll-man. Trimble isn’t the most athletic player in the world, but he is a master manipulator and uses hesitation dribbles to give himself space to operate. It also helps that Trimble has a ton of high quality players around him. Last season’s team was talented, but the Terrapins had a ton of hot heads and didn’t play as a cohesive unit. This year, Trimble runs the show and guys like F Justin Jackson (11.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.0 BPG), G Anthony Cowan (10.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.4 SPG) and G Kevin Huerter (8.7 PPG, 4.9 RPG) do their jobs to perfection. All three of them are freshmen, but they play like experienced veterans under the brilliant coaching of Mark Turgeon. Jackson is a big, strong forward that has the ability to finish at the rim, but he can also hit the outside shot. He should really give Ohio State some trouble in this one. Cowan is another guy that will be a tough cover for the Buckeyes. He is a lot like Trimble in that he is a speedy guard that is clever in the lane. He has struggled a bit in recent games, going only 3-for-14 from the floor. That has not, however, stopped him from contributing in other ways. He is a very good defender, and he also does a good job of running the offense when the Terrapins move Trimble off the ball. Huerter, meanwhile, is a sniper from long range, and he’ll need to be on his game in this one. He went 5-for-7 from three against Minnesota last game, and Maryland can use another hot shooting night from the 6’7’’ New York native.

Ohio State has lost two of its past three games, but this is a talented team and the Buckeyes would love to upset the Terrapins on Tuesday. If that is going to happen then F Jae’Sean Tate (14.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.0 SPG) is going to need to have one of his better games of the year. Tate has been extremely efficient this season, shooting a remarkable 54.8% on 10.5 field goals per game. He does, however, defer to his teammates at times, and he’ll need to be more aggressive on Tuesday. He is not taking enough shots for a guy that scores as easily as he does, and Ohio State would be best served with Tate shooting at least 15 times in this game. G JaQuan Lyle (12.3 PPG, 5.2 APG, 1.1 SPG) and F Marc Loving (11.4 PPG, 5.1 RPG) are also going to need to come through for the Buckeyes in this game. Lyle played a good game against Iowa, scoring 12 points and dishing out six assists with no turnovers. He did, however, shoot 1-for-6 from three, and Ohio State needs him to hit some big shots in this game. In the previous three games, Lyle was a combined 7-for-11 from three but averaged over four turnovers a game. He needs to find a way to shoot it well and also take care of the basketball all in the same contest. Loving, meanwhile, is probably this team’s most talented offensive player. He has, however, failed to put everything together in his time at Ohio State. There is still time to change that, though. The Buckeyes have plenty of time to turn their season around, and Loving can certainly be a major catalyst for that. He just needs to take better shots, as the 42.0% he is shooting from the field is not going to cut it.