Watching Maryland take the floor against Ohio State on Thursday felt like the entrance of Ivan Drago before his climactic fight with Rocky Balboa in "Rocky IV."
Drago had been built throughout that movie as more robot than human. He killed Rocky’s rival-turned-mentor, Apollo Creed, in the second round of an exhibition bout. As Creed lay bleeding and breathless in the ring, Drago stated five words devoid of emotion into a microphone and television cameras, “If he dies, he dies.” The movie’s famed training montage contrasted Rocky running up mountains and chopping wood with Drago having steroids injected into his thigh and a surrounding of machinery for every run, punch and weightlifting rep.