The Ohio State Buckeyes are not where they were hoping to be at this point in the season as the team sits at 16-5 on the year and unranked. The team is struggling with consistency which is not helping their situation in Big Ten play. However, head coach Thad Matta is doing his best to change that by switching up the lineup and game plan as the team prepares to take on No. 16 Maryland at home.
Matta is making changes for the better with Ohio State. The first was switching the 2/3 zone play to man-to-man defense. The zone defense in the first 13 games simply did not work. After that, he is changing the player personnel on the floor. Ohio State is now functioning with a shorter lineup in hopes that gains them more athleticism. Anthony Lee has started the last two games after being the No. 3 center. Marc Loving is getting more playing time with his rebounding skills and versatility. Jae'Sean Tate is also excelling on the front line.
The Buckeyes are getting big play from freshmen across the roster. D'Angelo Russell is currently averaging 19.4 points while being the best freshman in the nation at this point in the season. Tate is also playing a big role. The 6-4 freshman is 16 of 18 in his past three home games. He scored a season-high against Indiana in the team's win. Now he must keep that momentum up while preparing to Maryland.
The Terrapins are currently ranked No. 16 and also benefitting from freshman play. Melo Trimble is averaging 16.3 points per game while Jake Layman adds 14.3 and Dez Wells has 13.6 per game. Maryland is currently the only team in the conference with three players averaging 13.5 a game. That has benefitted them in close games as the team is not reliant on just one player. The Terrapins like Northwestern shoot 54.2 percent in the win, but got a last-second shot for the 68-67 victory. Ohio State won the last matchup between the two teams and they hope to do it again.
