Ohio State Needs Kaleb Wesson to Play at an Elite Level

Buckeyes are tough to beat when junior center plays up to expectations

Ohio State knew when Kaleb Wesson showed up 30 pounds lighter this season that there would be less of him to see.

It just didn't expect to see less of him when he would be needed most.

That's what has happened too often lately to the Buckeyes' leading scorer and rebounder entering a crucial 4 p.m. Sunday tip against visiting Maryland.

Wesson, who provides 13.9 points and 9.3 rebounds on average, got played under the table on Thursday by Iowa's Luka Garza, who outscored him, 24-10, in what was supposed to be a battle of elite Big Ten big men.

Instead, Garza made Wesson look inferior by comparison, as did Minnesota's Daniel Oturu and Wisconsin's Nate Ruevers earlier this season.

Wesson did fine in his earlier matchup this season against Maryland's 6-10 Jalen Smith, outscoring him, 15-11, and neutralizing him on the glass.

That will be crucial to a win over the seventh-ranked Terrapins that Ohio State desperately needs to validate an NCAA Tournament resume that's good enough for inclusion, but a hard sell as a seed above No. 7 based solely on the Buckeyes' early-season wins.

An upset of Maryland would add some luster to the Buckeyes' cause, and Wesson could use some, too, in light of what happened to him at Iowa.

His recent struggles against Ruevers, Oturu and Garza followed perhaps Wesson's best career game in OSU's best road win at Michigan.

He scored 23 points, had 12 rebounds and limited 7-1 Jon Teske to 1-of-7 shooting that night.

But since then, he's been inconsistent, shooting 2-of-11, missing all four three-point attempts, and scoring just eight points in a loss at Wisconsin, then following two standard performances in wins over Purdue and Rutgers with the struggle at Iowa.

Garza ate him alive in the post, making seven of eight shots, while Wesson took have his 10 attempts from three-point range and made just one.

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