Value City Arena - Columbus, OH
Tip-off: Thursday, 7:00 p.m. ET
Line: Ohio State -7.5, Total: 137

No. 16 Maryland looks for a big road victory in the Big 10 as the Terrapins travel to Columbus to take on Ohio State on Thursday night.

Maryland (7-10 ATS, 8-7 OVER) has been one of the biggest surprises of the college basketball season, as the Terrapins have been very good in their first year in the Big 10. Two of the three losses for Maryland are against ranked teams (Virginia and Indiana), with only a loss to Illinois looking bad on the team’s tournament resume. The Terrapins made a statement in their first Big 10 game, as they went to East Lansing and picked up a 68-66 road victory in double overtime. The team did not play its best in a 68-67 victory over Northwestern, but Maryland has been very good bouncing back from a tough game (8-1 SU after ATS loss) this year. Ohio State (9-10-1 ATS, 10-8-3 OVER) has been terrific at home this year, going 14-1 SU and 8-6 ATS. The lone loss was to Iowa, a team that has given the Buckeyes fits the past two years. In their last game, the Buckeyes looked dominant in a 19-point win against Indiana. If Ohio State is able to get the win, it would be the first time since Feb. 2014 that the team won consecutive games against top 25 teams.

Can Ohio State cover the big spread against the No. 16 team in the nation? For the latest college basketball picks, check out The Platinum Sheet for all the StatFox Experts selections every week throughout the entire 2013-14 season. The experts have been heating up since Dec. 23, combining for a 59% ATS mark (80-56) in college basketball Best Bets. StatFox Gary is a stellar 67% ATS (18-9) during this timeframe to improve to 63% ATS (36-21) for the season. StatFox Brian is 65% ATS (15-8) in Best Bets since Dec. 28 to put him at 56% ATS (32-25) this season, while StatFox Zach is on a 63% ATS (12-7) Best Bets run since Jan. 1 and has a 56% ATS mark (32-25) this season. StatFox Dave is also heating up with a 62% ATS (8-5) mark in Best Bets since Jan. 13, and StatFox Scott is a strong 63% ATS (17-10) in Best Bets since Dec. 23.

The Terrapins had a lot of players transfer from their team, but the balanced offensive attack has helped the team rank 71st in scoring (72.5 PPG), 88th in rebounding (36.6 RPG), 118th in shooting (44.5% from the field) and 260th in assists (11.5 APG). There were some question marks on how good this Maryland team would be, but they have quickly silenced their doubters. One player that Maryland coach Mark Turgeon knew he would have back is SF Dez Wells (13.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG and 3.2 APG), who brings toughness to the Maryland team. Wells, a Xavier transfer, made the game-winning shot against Northwestern on Sunday, tipping in the ball with 1.3 seconds remaining. On most nights, he guards the opposing team’s best player, and also shoots 50% from the 3-point line. While he was a known commodity, freshman PG Melo Trimble (16.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG and 2.9 APG) has been better than advertised. He is an extremely confident player, and he has the ability to score from anywhere on the court (40% threes). At 6-foot-2, he has great size for the point guard position, and he is looking to attack his defender at any time. F Jake Layman (14.3 PPG, 6.9 RPG and 51% from the field) is a versatile player who does a nice job of finding the mismatch. If teams are too worried about Trimble driving, Layman is fully capable of hitting the 3-point shot (40% threes). As a team, the Terrapins rank 48th in 3-point shooting (37.6%), making them very difficult to guard. The Terrapins also allow just 63 PPG, which ranks 97th in the country.

Thad Matta has one of the best offensive teams that he has ever had at Ohio State, as the Buckeyes rank high in many offensive categories. The Buckeyes rank 3rd in shooting (51% from the field), 13th in assists (16.8 APG), 16th in scoring (80 PPG) and 155th in rebounding (35.2 RPG). SG D’Angelo Russell (19.4 PPG, 5.2 APG and 44% threes) has been incredible at the start of his freshman year, and him and Trimble could be in a competition for Big 10 player of the year. He was known as a scorer coming into college, but it has also been his passing that has made him a very difficult matchup for opposing defenses. PG Shannon Scott (8.1 PPG, 6.7 APG and 2.0 SPG) is a guy who does a nice job of getting the Buckeyes into their offense and calming the team down when things get tough. As good as Maryland has been at hitting the 3-point shot, the Buckeyes have been even better (38.6% threes) which should mean this game will be a high-scoring shootout. SG Marc Loving (11.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 50% threes) is one of the best shooters in the country, and he plays extremely well with Russell and Scott dominating the ball. He is another player that thrives in transition, so Ohio State will certainly be looking to create a lot of turnovers.