If there were ever a moral victory for this edition of the Ohio State Buckeyes men’s basketball team, then what was displayed on the floor at the Xfinity Center might be just that. Playing in a road contest against a No. 24-ranked Maryland Terrapins squad, a win definitely would’ve helped the NCAA Tournament résumé for the Bucks.
However, that was before the news came that guard C.J. Jackson was going to miss the contest because of a shoulder injury. Doing some quick mental math, the subtraction of Jackson plus the real potential of Kaleb Wesson fouling out equaled a desolate hypothesis: Ohio State was going to get smoked.