No. 8 Maryland vs. No. 12 Ohio State: Can the Buckeyes stand out in Marylands AP-rated Gauntlet?

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At the end of January, a team with only three losses is considered an absolute championship contender. A matchup with only three losses between the two teams? A championship preview, potentially.

That’s what’s on deck in the Big Ten on Thursday evening, when No. 8 Maryland hosts No. 12 Ohio State at 6 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.

Can the Terrapins overcome adversity?

For the fourth time in her career, Maryland’s Shyanne Sellers was named Big Ten Player of the Week.

Photo by John Todd/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

The Big Ten Tournament might look easy for Maryland after the gauntlet of ranked opponents that the Terrapins have battled as of late.

They are in the middle of a stretch of seven games where six of their opponents have been ranked in the AP top 25 at the time of the matchup. After playing on Ohio State on Thursday, they host No. 1 UCLA on Sunday. Their first loss came during this stretch to JuJu Watkins and No. 4 USC, and they stuck around in what ended as a two-possession game. Their only other loss was the beatdown by No. 7 Texas on Monday. A 38-point loss looks jarring on the Maryland game log, but second-leading scorer Shyanne Sellers left the game in the second quarter with a knee injury and third-leading scorer Bri McDaniel didn’t suit up for the contest, as she was ruled out for the season after tearing her ACL in Maryland’s win over Minnesota.

Basically, Maryland is a very good team. They’re not invincible, but they have enough firepower to contend with any of the nation’s top rosters.

Rutgers transfer Kaylene Smikle, who’s become a premier three-level scoring guard in her third season, is one of the most underrated players in the Big Ten. She has a turnover issue, but in college basketball, what high-usage guard doesn’t? Smikle and Sellers are a tough pair to guard, but Sellers’ status for the game isn’t yet known. Her knee injury was due to contact, which actually tends to be better than non-contact knee injuries, but an injury update has yet to be provided.

Will injuries give the Buckeyes the advantage?

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: JAN 05 Women’s - Northwestern at Ohio State — Despite missing Ohio State’s loss to Penn State, Jaloni Cambridge was named Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week.

It’s not fun to view advantages due to injury, but Ohio State will certainly have a leg up on the Terrapins if Sellers is sidelined. The lopsided loss to Texas showed as much. However, the Buckeyes may be coming off of an equally concerning result. After charging out to a 17-0 record, Ohio State finally lost a game to… Penn State? Not only is Penn State 10-9, they were on a seven-game losing streak before beating Ohio State. It was the program’s first top-10 win since 2012.

One of the Buckeyes leading scorers, freshman Jaloni Cambridge, was out for the Penn State loss, but Ohio State is a score-by-committee roster. They have five players averaging double-digit points per game, and three scoring over 15 points a night. They’re the 10-best scoring offense in the country, and do most of their damage inside the arc. They aren’t a poor shooting team, but shoot significantly fewer 3s than many of their Power 5 counterparts.

Which team might have the edge?

The Buckeyes want to play fast, and their offense putters to a halt when slowed down. Maryland seems more comfortable at either tempo, but like the Buckeyes, they don’t hunt 3-pointers. They seem to handle offensive adversity better than Ohio State, but have an indisputably worse defense. Both teams embody physicality, especially at the guard position. For fans of athletic dribble-drive basketball, or fans of college hoops in general, this matchup is a must-watch.