Ohio St. @ Maryland preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 18, 2019 ) Maryland 75, Ohio St. 61

Maryland remains in contention in the Big Ten race and finishes the regular season with three of its final four games at home, starting Saturday against Ohio State. The Buckeyes are still in the running for an NCAA Tournament berth and a road win against the No. 25 Terrapins would be a big addition to their credentials.

Maryland has won five of the last six games against Ohio State after posting a 75-61 victory over Ohio State in the first meeting the teams this season. The Terrapins were deadly from 3-point range in that game, making 11-of-17, and turned in a similar effort in Tuesday night's 66-65 victory at No. 19 Iowa by making 12 3-pointers. In that game, Anthony Cowan Jr. hit five 3-pointers, Bruno Fernando's tip-in with 7.8 seconds gave Maryland the lead and the Terrapins survived two Iowa shots in the final seconds to end the Hawkeyes' four-game win streak. Ohio State, which ended its two-game losing streak Wednesday night with a 63-49 victory at home over Northwestern, begins a difficult stretch of games to close out the regular season that includes Maryland, Iowa, No. 13 Purdue and No. 23 Wisconsin.

TV: 2 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT OHIO STATE (17-9, 7-8 Big Ten): Kaleb Wesson was a dominant factor against Northwestern, leading the Buckeyes with 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists. The 6-foot-9 sophomore will have his work cut out for him inside against Fernando, a powerful force who has developed into one of the top players in the Big Ten and gave Ohio State trouble in the first meeting. Kyle Young, a 6-8 sophomore who has missed time with a stress fracture and continues to be bothered by it, finished with eight points off the bench against Northwestern and his help would be a benefit on the boards and in the paint against Fernandez and the Terrapins.

ABOUT MARYLAND (20-7, 11-5): Fernando's 11 points and 11 rebounds against Iowa accounted for his eighth double-double in the last nine games and 17 for the season. Cowan leads Maryland in scoring at 15.9 points per game and finished with 20 in the first matchup with Ohio State. Defensively, Maryland has kept three of its last four opponents below 33 percent shooting from the field and ranked 14th nationally in field goal percentage defense (39.3) entering Friday.

TIP-INS

1. Maryland is first in the Big Ten and was ranked third nationally in rebound margin at plus-9.3 per game.

2. Ohio State hasn't beaten a ranked opponent in more than a year and is 0-6 this season.

3. Ohio State point guard C.J. Jackson suffered a shoulder injury Wednesday that caused him to miss minutes against Northwestern and practice time this week, but Buckeyes coach Chris Holtmann expects the senior to play Saturday.

PREDICTION: Maryland 74, Ohio State 65