Buckeyes Supporting Cast Come Up Big in 82-67 Win Over Maryland

Justin Ahrens and Zed Key combine for 28 points for Ohio State

Spencer German | Feb 6, 2022

It's hardly a secret at this point: the Buckeyes go as senior E.J. Liddell goes, and in a 82-67 win over Maryland, Saturday, Liddell's 24-point, 11-rebound performance certainly set the tone for the Scarlet and Gray, which improved to 10-0 at home this season.

While Liddell has remained one of the most consistent players in the country though, the Buckeyes have had to weather streaky play from many of the other key contributors around Liddell.

Take freshman Malaki Branham for example, who dropped 20 in last Sunday's loss to Purdue but struggled from the floor against Maryland shooting 3-of-12.

Amidst Branham's struggles though emerged Zed Key and Justin Ahrens, both of whom have struggled in spurts of late. Against the Terrapins though, the duo combined to shoot 10-of-14 from the floor for 28 points. Their 14 points a piece were a much-needed contribution to Liddell's 24.

"Good production from a variety of guys," head coach Chris Holtmann said afterward. "Thrilled for Justin [Ahrens] because I know he's really been really putting in his work. He gave us a great lift and he's a pros-pro so I expected he was going to snap out of this. He's just gotta keep going."

For weeks the Buckeyes have sorely missed Ahrens’ usual contributions from beyond the arc. For his career, the senior has knocked down more than 40-percent of his threes. However, this season he was making just 34-percent of his threes. Since the new year, he's made just eight of his 38 three-point attempts.

"That's the guy."

Justin Ahrens hits a beauty of a 3 for @OhioStateHoops. pic.twitter.com/z53BgMSPsQ
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) February 6, 2022

"I'm a shooter so when I'm not making shots I feel like I'm almost useless out there," Ahrens said of his cold streak in recent weeks. He finally snapped out of it, to the beat of a blistering four-of-seven effort from long-range, a nearly 60-percent.

"To have my teammates believing in me even throughout that stretch when I couldn't really get anything to fall, that helped me a lot," Ahrens explained. "I continued to take it one day at a time and I think that's what really helped me come out and do what I did today."

Key's contributions can't be understated either as the sophomore scored three straight buckets in the first five minutes of the game. That was just the beginning of what wound up as Key's highest-scoring performance since dropping 20 points against Duke back on Nov. 30.

"After the Purdue game the coaches told me I needed to be more consistent with my play," Key said. "We came out the jump ready to go. People were hitting shots, Justin came in and started hitting threes, the crowd got behind us. We were feeding off the crowd and kept it going."

"Zed [Key] I thought had some really good moments," Holtmann explained. He has to be consistent, that's the sign of growth as a player. He's had some tremendous games but what we're looking for from his is consistency on the defensive end, the offensive end but most importantly his effort. I expected him to play better, but come tomorrow at practice what is his preparation going to be?"

While Holtmann continues to challenge Key that word 'consistency' is something this entire Buckeyes team needs to harness with the final month of the regular season upon them. March is lurking, and just how long Ohio State will be dancing may be determined by how consistently the supporting cast around Liddell shows up.

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