B1G Thursday Recap: The Logjam Continues

Now that the weekday games are over, 7 different teams have just 3 losses in conference play. This group trails only Wisconsin (6-1), for the least amount of B1G losses. The newest member of the logjam? Maryland, and their third loss was not nearly as close as you'd think.

Game of the Night: #16 Maryland @ Ohio State

What was supposed to be one of the best games of the week turned into blowout. Ohio State started out cold, and Maryland started even colder, but a Dez Wells three with 7 minutes left made it 16-15 game. Unfortunately that was as close at the Terps would get as OSU immediately went on a 12-0 run. The Buckeyes would take a 34-26 lead into halftime, and in the second half it got ugly as OSU rolled to an 80-56 victory.

As with most Ohio State games this season, tonight turned into the D'Angelo Russell show. The freshman scored 18, grabbed 14 rebounds and tossed 6 assists, while rival frosh Melo Trimble was practically non-existent. Fellow Buckeyes, Marc Loving and Jea'Sean Tate added 19 and 16 points respectively. The Terrapins were led by Jake Layman with 10 and Dez Wells with 12. Both teams will now get the weekend off. Next up for Ohio State is a trip to Mackey Arena to face fellow 3-loss team Purdue on Wednesday, while Maryland will take on Penn State at home on the same night.

The Rest

Michigan State @ Rutgers

Rutgers broke out the black uniforms at home on Thursday, and maybe that should have been a sign of the somber affair that was about to occur. The Spartans were sloppy at times, but were still able to acquire, maintain and expand their lead consistently throughout the game. MSU had 17 turnovers, but they dominated on the boards 43-28 and shot 50.9% (27-53) from the field compared to the Knights' 29.1% (16-55). The 71-51 loss was the fifth in the row for RU, and the second-worst home loss this season.

The lone positive for Rutgers was the play of Kadeem Jack 's play. Jack scored 17 points and snagged 7 rebounds. Leading scorer Myles Mack was held to just 7 points on 2-10 shooting. For the Spartans, Branden Dawson continued to have and All-B1G type of season with an impressive 17 & 11 stat line, although he was involved in an early scuffle that led to a flagrant foul on him and a technical called on Rutgers' Junior Etou. The leading scorer for Michigan State was Bryn Forbes with 18, while Travis Trice scored 10 points of his own while dishing out 5 assists. The Spartans will try to make it two in a row as they host rival Michigan on Sunday. For Rutgers, their next challenge is a big one as they travel to Assembly Hall, after just one night off, to take on what will surely be a motivated Indiana team looking to bounce back from a losing streak of their own.