Happy Monday!

Ohio State men’s basketball’s got one more week of its regular season before the Big Ten tournament. Ohio State football is nearing the start of spring practice as the spring game inches closer and closer.

Let’s talk about it. Here are my 10 thoughts heading into the week.

And they start with what happened in College Park Sunday afternoon.

Maryland was a different team at home against Ohio State than it was on the road earlier this month.

To head coach Chris Holtmann, it was a team with a little more “bite,” showing much more physicality, toughness and competitiveness than the Buckeyes showed in the aftermath of their comeback victory at No. 15 Illinois Thursday.

It was an Ohio State team that couldn’t stop the Terrapins’ backcourt, allowing 50 points combined from Eric Ayala and Fatts Russell, who combined for eight 3-pointers on 15 tries. It was an Ohio State team that struggled down low against forward Donta Scott, setting the tone on the offensive glass and giving Maryland multiple second-chance opportunities.

Instead, it was an Ohio State team that missed open looks, beginning to settle for open 3s instead of competing with the physicality of Maryland down low. It was an Ohio State team that without the offensive consistency of Malaki Branham and E.J. Liddell had no identity.

It was an Ohio State team that wasn’t prepared.

“It was a tremendous environment, give credit to the Maryland fans. Phenomenal environment. We just didn’t… it’s on me. We have to prepare them,” Holtmann said. “We tried to make it clear to them what they were going to face: a quality group that was starting to play really good in the last month.”

What Maryland brought Sunday afternoon was nothing necessarily new.

Holtmann said Maryland did a good job trapping Liddell, getting him off his spots and making him uncomfortable offensively, something he needs the junior forward to work on ahead of the postseason.

“He has to work to get a little more involved,” Holtmann said. “He has to bring more effort in certain areas, but we have to find ways to get him in his spots.’

Holtmann said Maryland did a good job taking advantage of Ohio State’s “Achilles’ heel,” using rebounds, winning the rebound battle by five, and second-chance points—, scoring 17 compared to the Buckeyes’ six — to earn the win.

Holtmann also said that the Terrapins continued to bother Branham. After an eight-point performance against Maryland earlier this month, the Ohio State freshman guard continued his struggles, making only four of his 13 attempts from the field, clearly bothered by the defensive’s length and physicality on cuts.

“He’s had a phenomenal year, a phenomenal year for us, giving us a tremendous lift,” Holtmann said. “He’s got to learn from this and move forward. He struggled a little bit last time playing these guys. I think their length and size and physicality really bothered him.”

With a few exceptions, these are the things that work for opponents to beat Ohio State, whether it’s Iowa, Rutgers or earlier in the year against Xavier and Indiana.

Yes, Holtmann said it’s hard to win on the road in Big Ten play. The Buckeyes have split its 10 Big Ten games on the road.

Yes, Holtmann admitted Branham, Liddell and a few other players looked tired against the Terrapins, the product of ending the season with seven games in 15 days.

But the opponents’ game plan doesn’t seem to change from loss to loss.

And when the Ohio State head coach was asked if Ohio State came in with the right mindset after its emotional win Thursday, he didn’t sugarcoat it.

“Clearly not.”

Read the rest of the column here.