In a Jan. 11 meeting against the Terrapins, Ohio State used an explosive offensive attack to pick up a signature 89-76 win over Maryland. It appeared as though the Buckeyes were well on their way to a similar result on Sunday, when they led the Terrapins by as many as 19 points in the first half of their 76-75 loss.
However, rebounding became a huge issue for Ohio State in the second half. The Buckeyes were out-rebounded by the Terrapins in the final two quarters, 27-15.
According to head coach Kevin McGuff, Ohio State’s issues on the glass were the difference in the game.
“I think it was the story of the game,” McGuff said immediately after the game. “I thought Maryland did an outstanding job on the offensive glass, and we didn’t match their intensity or discipline. They got 70 shots in the game versus our 59, and when you give a good team like Maryland 11 more shots, they’re probably going to win.”
The Buckeyes’ rebounding issues were best reflected during one of Maryland’s possessions in the fourth quarter. With two minutes to go in the fourth quarter, Maryland held a 76-71 lead. The Buckeyes forced multiple misses, but Maryland collected three offensive rebounds before Ohio State finally got the ball back. The Terrapins didn’t score on that possession, but were able to run over a minute off the clock in that possession alone.
“It’s very frustrating,” Ohio State senior guard Chance Gray said of the possession following the loss. “It’s something we focused on all week. It was an emphasis, and we know that they offensive rebound. We know that it’s a liability for us because of how small we play sometimes. We literally just couldn’t come up with the ball to save our lives.”
As Gray mentioned, rebounding is not the strength of the Buckeyes, which often use four guard-lineups. In fact, Ohio State ranks No. 203 nationally with a rebounding margin of .1 per game. Typically, the Buckeyes can rely on their press to create more shots by winning the turnover battle, but on Sunday, each team committed 18 turnovers.
In the January meeting between the two teams, Ohio State committed six fewer turnovers than the Terrapins and had the same number of rebounds as Maryland.
Gray said the difference between the two games was Maryland wanting it more than Ohio State in the second game.
“They weren’t doing anything different,” Gray said. “We just weren’t locked in. Like they just beat us to the 50-50 balls. I think that’s what it came down to. They wanted it more, at times, than we did.”
In recent weeks, Ohio State’s rebounding issues haven’t been helped by the injury sustained by redshirt freshman forward Kylee Kitts. Kitts missed multiple games after injuring her shoulder and made her return during Ohio State’s win over Oregon on Feb. 8. Kitts didn’t start against the Terrapins, but played in 17 minutes. She and sophomore center Elsa Lemmilä combined for just eight rebounds against Maryland.
Rather than singling any player out, though, McGuff said Ohio State was simply lacking a team effort on the glass against Maryland.
“They really crash (the glass) aggressively with everybody, so it’s a team effort,” McGuff said. “I just think collectively we didn’t get it done, and their effort was really good, and ours wasn’t good enough. Give them credit, and we certainly can identify where we needed to be better today.”
