Maryland Terrapins vs. Ohio State Buckeyes Prediction & Game Preview - 2/6/2022

Time: 1 p.m. ET

Venue: Value Center Arena, Columbus, OH

Where to watch: CBS

DraftKings: Ohio State -9

WynnBet: Ohio State -9

Caesars: Ohio State -9.5

Maryland: 11-11 (3-8 Big Ten)

No. 16 Ohio State: 13-5 (6-3 Big Ten)

You never want to actually downplay a team in college basketball that is coming off a very tough loss. Most of the time, you will get that team that takes one loss on the chin and has no idea how to get up from the 10 count.

Other times, you look back through an entire body of work that is the regular season and you start to see teams that you just know they're going to be able to rebound even after a loss. And that's where I placed the Ohio State Buckeyes at this moment, and that's why I like them to defeat the Maryland Terrapins on Sunday at home.

Ohio State has proven already this season that it is one of the top teams in the Big Ten, and can be a very structured force come postseason time. That win against the Duke Blue Devils back earlier in the season was the one moment that I was officially sold on Ohio State.

And sure things have not looked as great as they did back when they stormed the court after beating Mike Krzyzewski and his team. The Buckeyes are 13 and five and have established themselves as a true contender in this conference. But even Ohio State has to have some sort of slip up at some point. There wasn't going to be any instance where they would run the table when the season came to conclusion.

Case in point, this past week. Ohio State went on the road you defeat a very tough Minnesota golden Gophers team by 11 points, and then had to follow that up with one of its grittiest performances of the season, on the road at Purdue, but only lost by three points. And of course, it was a buzzer-beating 3 pointer because why wouldn't it be?

EJ Liddell continues to look like one of the better players in the country, putting to rest any thought that the young man was going to falter after his strong start. Normally a tenacious rebounder, Liddell had only three in the loss to Purdue, but once again he showed he is a walking 20 point machine by scoring 20 points even though it took 16 shots to get there.

Malaki Branham also had 20 points go along with seven rebounds, but it just wasn't enough for the Buckeyes to pull off what would have been a tremendous upset for that team this season. And that's saying something considering how great they've been against teams that are well above their pay grade.

Maryland meanwhile, is in a weird spot. The terrapins can have impressive victories over the likes of Illinois and Rutgers, but then fall flat at home against Indiana and only losing by two at home to the Michigan State Spartans.

I can't get a read from Maryland right now because they're playing above expectations but at the same time, they are not where I feel they need to be as a team with the same amount of wins as they do losses.

I trust Ohio State more than I have Maryland to this point and I'm going to stick with that assumption that the Buckeyes will get the victory against a pesky Maryland team, but it will be just enough to get the win and keep things rolling. Ohio State by 12

The under is 23-10 in Maryland's last 33 games after two straight games of nine offensive rebounds or less.

Maryland is 3-12 ATS following a game where both teams score 65 points or less.

Ohio State is 22-14 ATS as a home favorite or pick.

PG: Fatts Russell

SG: Eric Ayala
SF: Hakim Hart
PF: Donta Scott
C: Qudus Wahab

PG: Jamari Wheeler

SG: Malaki Branham
SF: Justin Ahrens
PF: E.J. Liddell
C: Zed Key