Takeaways from Maryland men’s basketball’s dominating 83-59 win over Ohio State

The Terps led 50-17 at halftime, their largest halftime lead over a Big Ten opponent ever.

Maryland men’s basketball opened its Big Ten slate on as high of a note as it could manage.

The Terps cruised to a 83-59 victory over Ohio State at Xfinity Center Wednesday, their most points scored and largest margin of victory over a Big Ten opponent since February 2023.

Here are three takeaways from the contest.

One of Maryland’s most impressive first halves in recent memory

The Buckeyes earned more votes in the Week 5 Associated Press poll than Maryland. They were not an opponent to be taken lightly — but the Terps made them look like one.

The Terps led the Buckeyes, 50-17, at halftime. In a season where Maryland has played six low-level opponents, that represented its second-largest halftime lead of the season, and the largest over a Big Ten opponent in program history.

Fifty points was the most the Terps have scored in the first half against a conference foe since 2016.

Maryland forced an outstanding 12 first-half turnovers and committed just two of its own. Ohio State entered the contest averaging 11 turnovers per game. The Terps also gave themselves extra chances on the boards, securing six first-half offensive rebounds to the Buckeyes’ two.

Ohio State’s 17 points were its worst first-half output of the season. It shot just 28.6% from the field and 0-of-7 from 3-point range in the first half, in large part due to Maryland’s stifiling defense.

The Terps put on a defensive clinic

Ohio State came into Wednesday with the Big Ten’s highest 3-point percentage and second-highest field goal percentage. It was No. 16 nationally in KenPom offensive rating. Maryland made the Buckeyes look like a shell of themselves.

The full-court press shortened possessions and made it hard for Ohio State to get into its offense, and Maryland’s switch-heavy defense allowed very few uncontested shots.

Shutting down Ohio State started with shutting down its offensive initiator, junior guard Bruce Thornton, who leads it in both points and assists. Thornton was peppered with double teams throughout the game and couldn’t get anything going, shooting just twice in the first half and failing to record an assist. He finished the night with nine points and two feeds.

Forward Devin Royal was the biggest benefactor of the attention given to Thornton, recording 10 points in the first half. No other Buckeye had more than three.

Offensive attack was diverse

The Terps eclipsed 50 first-half points for the first time in program history against a Big Ten opponent. A plethora of contributors made that happen — Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Derik Queen, Selton Miguel, Tafara Gapare and Julian Reese all scored double-digit points.

Gillespie was the most efficient he’s been all season. The guard got hot immediately, draining a 3-pointer for Maryland’s first points of the game, and didn’t slow down from there. He added 10 more first-half points en route to a game-high 23 on 7-of-11 (63.6%) shooting, his best shooting percentage of the season.

The highlight of his night came late in the first half, when Gillespie crossed up guard Evan Mahaffey, stepped back and drained a 3-pointer that got the crowd to a roar.

Gillespie was supported in the backcourt by Miguel and Rodney Rice in supplementary offensive roles — they recorded 10 and nine points, respectively.

Queen continued his incredible start to the year, once again displaying elite craftiness in the paint. He made a few impressive maneuvers in the paint leading to points, including a fadeaway jumper off his right foot over two defenders. Queen finished the night with 17 points and 11 rebounds, his third double-double of the season.

“We see what he does in games in practice every day,” Gapare said of Queen. “It’s shell shock … he’s a really good player.”

Gapare has emerged as a force off the bench in recent games, and further built on his season momentum against Ohio State. He was a stalwart on defense and threw down multiple emphatic slam dunks.