The Ohio State basketball team is doing everything it needs in order to play with a talented Maryland team — at least through one half of play. It’s had hot shooting from beyond the arc (8 of 16), has limited turnovers (just four), and is rebounding the basketball well. The result is a 40-33 lead at the break against the nation’s No. 7 ranked team.
Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, games aren’t won over the first twenty minutes. However, as we’ve seen before, they can be lost, and so far Ohio State is looking like a team much more composed and involved in this game.
Surprisingly, Luther Muhammad leads OSU with nine points on 3 of 4 from beyond the arc. Usually a defensive specialist, he has added a much-needed boost from deep. There has been balanced scoring with the Wesson brothers both chipping in eight, and C.J. Walker and Duane Washington both with six points each.
But this game has been about limiting turnovers so far. The Buckeyes lead the Big Ten in turning the ball over in conference play, and that’s normally the area that determines being in the game, or out of it for the scarlet and gray.
Ohio State has shown it can play with anyone if it uses care with the basketball. So far so good, but it still has to take care of things in the second half.
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