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Ohio State Buckeyes at Maryland Terrapins Betting Preview

The Big Ten takes center stage on Tuesday night as the No. 11 Ohio State Buckeyes visit the No. 12 Maryland Terrapins. At home, the Terrapins are 2.5-point favorites with an over/under of 134.5 points.

Playing at home has been friendly to Maryland this season. The Terrapins suffered back-to-back road losses to Penn State and Seton Hall in December, but they’ve bounced back with a pair of home wins against Bryant and Indiana.

Before losing to Penn State, Maryland had rattled off 10 straight wins to start the season, including victories over Marquette, Notre Dame, and Illinois, so it has proven itself against quality teams.

Meanwhile, the Buckeyes have stumbled with back-to-back losses and three defeats in their last five games. For what it’s worth, Ohio State has a win over Kentucky during that stretch, not to mention victories over Villanova and North Carolina early in the season.

However, a home loss to Wisconsin last week has dropped the Buckeyes to 1-2 in Big Ten play and has them desperate for a win with three of their next four games coming on the road.

The Law Firm of Wesson and Wesson

With Ohio State, it’s all about the Wesson brothers, Kaleb and Andre. Kaleb has been one of the best players in the Big Ten this season, averaging close to 15 points and over nine rebounds per game.

Andre, the older brother, served as Kaleb’s running mate during the loss to Wisconsin, serving as an important shooter and skilled playmaker in the Ohio State frontcourt, especially with Kyle Young missing that game due to a medical issue.

Other than Young’s absence, Ohio State’s problem in the loss to Wisconsin was its outside shooting going cold. The Buckeyes have five players in their rotation who shoot better than 40 percent from the perimeter.

But the shots haven’t been falling in recent games, and Ohio State hasn’t gotten enough scoring outside of the Wesson brothers and Duane Washington Jr. To snap out of their losing streak, the Buckeyes need more scoring from their complementary players.

Plenty of Support

Maryland’s star player Anthony Cowan Jr. isn’t having any trouble getting support from his teammates these days. He and Bruno Fernando made for a great inside-outside combination last season, and Jalen Smith has had no problem filling Fernando’s void this season.

The 6-10 sophomore is averaging 13.5 points and 10 rebounds per game thus far. Cowan, meanwhile, has continued to play at a high level, averaging 16 points per game while getting his teammates involved with over four assists per night.

Oddly enough, sharpshooters Aaron Wiggins and Eric Ayala are both struggling to shoot from the outside. Both are under 30 percent from the perimeter this year after shooting over 40 percent from three-point range a year ago.

However, the tandem is still averaging over 20 points per game to give Maryland scoring options outside of Cowan and Smith. Other than the loss to Seton Hall, Cowan and Smith haven’t been forced to carry the team by themselves.

Turtle Power

The Buckeyes are struggling at the moment, making this a bad time to face a quality team on the road. Maryland is strong defensively and has a more balanced offensive attack at the moment. Bet on the Terrapins to cover the 2.5-point spread.

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