COLUMBUS, Ohio — Justin Ahrens hadn’t changed anything.

He was still getting to practice early, putting shots down from 3, making sure those around him were competing as hard as they could, getting better each and every day. Off the court, he was still playing video games with his teammates, he was still praying, things he normally did to get his mind off basketball.

He was just going through the biggest slump of his college career.

“I knew it wasn’t anything that I was doing,” Ahrens said. “I was working as hard as I always have, practicing as hard as I always have.”

He knows how good of a shooter he can be. His teammates know that too, hearing the same practice with each make in practice and each miss in games: “Keep shooting. You are one of the best shooters in the country. Just keep letting it fly. Trust your work.”

Ahrens didn’t change anything about his preparation heading into Sunday’s game against Maryland. He just did like he was told, continuing to let 3-point tries fly.

“We’re telling him, ‘Just keep shooting because eventually, you’re going to get out of it. It’s not going to last forever,’” sophomore forward Zed Key said. “When that first one went down, I was like, ‘Hell yeah, he’s back.’”

The 3-point tries began to sink, one after the other. Ahrens found his rhythm, something he hadn’t had in three weeks, the last time the senior forward connected on multiple from deep.

By the time he left his home floor, Ahrens had sunk four of his seven tries from deep. It wasn’t the five 3-pointers he had in 10 tries against Towson Dec. 8, but it was a step in the right direction for a player who had only hit nine 3-pointers in 43 tries over the course of his last nine games.

“It was tough, man. Obviously when you’re not making shots, it’s my job. There’s no excuses. Nobody wants to hit those shots more than I do,” Ahrens said. “

During the last nine games, Chris Holtmann saw a player in Ahrens that hadn’t lost hope.

After playing only 11 minutes against Purdue Jan. 30 with one 3-point make on four tries off the bench, the head coach said the senior forward was the loudest, most energized talker on the practice court.

“His spirit has not waned in this stretch,” Holtmann said. “He’s been disappointed, but his work has not waned.”

But Ahrens still had to quell the doubt inside, the doubt generated with each miss, the doubt that was telling him he was useless on the basketball court.

Ahrens had something to prove, trying everything in his power to change the narrative, but falling short.

“It’s frustrating because it feels like the whole fanbase is against you when you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing,” Ahrens said.

For the senior forward, that took his coaches, teammates and family members, encouraging him, reminding him of his importance and impact to Ohio State’s success even when he’s not hitting shots, whether it’s his communication defensively or rebounding, the little things that some guys don’t bring to the floor.

Heading into the game against Maryland, Ohio State’s first game in a week, Ohio State assistant coach Ryan Pedon encouraged Ahrens to focus on three distinct things about his game: toughness, defense and rebounding.

“He said everything else is going to fall into place if you focus on those three things and play hard,” Ahrens said. “And it did.”

Ahrens’ shot was back against the Terrapins, something Maryland interim head coach Danny Manning said his team planned for, knowing the senior forward’s capabilities from beyond the arc.

Are Ahrens’ shooting woes behind him?

Holtmann feels the senior forward’s too good of a shooter for them to continue.

And while there were voices condemning Ahrens for his lack of success from deep, the head coach ensured there were more voices happy for him Sunday, more voices that were thrilled for the senior forward just like he and the bench was when he hit his first 3 of the day.

Holtmann knows Ahrens is too easy to root for.

“He’s got a lot of fans, and I believe this, that watched the game today and were thrilled for Justin Ahrens,” Holtmann said. “That’s what I believe’s out there in Buckeye Nation.

“I know he had a lot of fans that looked at that and said, ‘We’re happy for that kid because we know he struggled.’”