The Buckeyes are set to take on a familiar foe after a week-long break in between action. On Sunday, Ohio State will renew its rivalry with No. 20 Maryland (20-6, 8-6 Big Ten) at 2 p.m. at Value City Arena.
The Buckeyes’ first game against the Terrapins went about as well as they could have hoped. After a slow first quarter, in which it was outscored 24-12, Ohio State defeated then-No. 8 Maryland 89-76 on Jan. 11.
“We had a dreadful start, and a team like Maryland’s going to make you pay.” Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff said immediately after the January game. “And I think, to our players’ credit, we really got after them at the end of the first quarter, and they showed great character coming out of that and getting ourselves together.”
That loss started an ugly stretch for the Terrapins. They defeated USC in their next game, but suffered four straight defeats to fall to just 6-6 in the Big Ten.
However, in recent weeks, the Terrapins have played like the team many expected them to be before the season. Maryland, ranked inside the top 10 of the Associated Press’ preseason rankings, went on the road to comfortably defeat both No. 13 Michigan State and Nebraska.
Led by junior guard Oluchi Okanawa, Maryland ranks in the top-15 nationally in scoring offense, averaging 83.0 points per game.
In the first matchup against the Buckeyes, Maryland’s offense was solid. Okanawa scored 27 points on 9-20 shooting to help the team score 76 points.
However, Ohio State was even better on the offensive end In the 13-point win. In the win, Ohio State scored 89 points, shooting 34-68 (50.0 percent) from the field, including 11-22 (50.0 percent) from three-point range.
Unsurprisingly, sophomore point guard Jaloni Cambridge had a huge role in the Buckeyes’ offensive outburst. She scored 28 points on 9/19 shooting, but redshirt freshman forward Kylee Kitts also had one of her best games as a Buckeye. The former Florida transfer went for 18 points on 7/13 shooting.
Kitts recently missed multiple games with a shoulder injury, but made her return in Ohio State’s 80-64 win over Oregon on Feb. 8.
Kitts struggled in her return to action. In eight minutes of action, she failed to score, committed six turnovers and four personal fouls.
Ohio State head coach Kevin McGuff said he thought Kitts looked a little rusty against the Ducks.
“I think she had some jitters today, but it was good to have her out there, and now hopefully she can continue to practice a little bit more than she has, and then we’ll get her in the games and (she’ll) get more comfortable,” McGuff said. “This is a big week for her. We don’t play until next Sunday, so hopefully she can have a great week and be even more ready next weekend.”
Ohio State and Maryland have played each other twice in every regular season since 2020-21. The Buckeyes have won five of their last nine games against the Terrapins, including four of the last five.
