Going into last week, Melo Trimble had won a majority of his individual matchups as a freshman at Maryland, including several in the Big Ten.
Trimble was then badly outplayed by Indiana's Yogi Ferrell and outscored by fellow freshman James Blackmon Jr. in a 19-point romp by the Hoosiers on Thursday in Bloomington. Trimble allowed Northwestern's Bryant McIntosh to do the same until the last few minutes of a 68-67 win Sunday at Xfinity Center.
The 6-foot-3 point guard will have another difficult test Thursday at Ohio State. Not only will Trimble be matched up with senior Shannon Scott, his performance against the Buckeyes will be measured in terms of how he and fellow freshman D'Angelo Russell do in a nationally televised game.
Trimble admitted Wednesday in College Park that the recent high-profile matchup with Ferrell might have taken him out of his game. Maryland coach Mark Turgeon had a talk with his point guard after the 6-foot Indiana junior outscored Trimble, 24-10, in a matchup of the Big Ten's top two point guards. Trimble responded with 27 points in the wild win over Northwestern.
"I kind of had more at Indiana against Yogi, I felt that it was between me and him," said Trimble. "Coach Turgeon called me out on it, and he was right, he just wanted me to just play my game and don't worry about that because I'm going to do good regardless and he relies on me."
Trimble doesn't have the same jaw-dropping stats as the 6-4 Russell, a preternaturally polished left-hander who is third in the Big Ten in scoring (19.4) and tied for third in assists (5.1). Trimble is seventh in scoring (16.3), second in free-throw percentage (87.9) behind Ferrell and first in free throws made (122).
While it seems likely that Scott will guard Trimble, and Maryland seniors Dez Wells and Richaud Pack will try to slow down Russell, who is scoring nearly 24 points per game in the Big Ten, their individual performances will go a long way in determining the eventual outcome of the game.
Familiar with Russell from the Amateur Athletic Union circuit, Trimble said: "He's a really good player and I respect his game, but it's not just about me and D'Angelo, it's about Maryland and Ohio State."
Ohio State coach Thad Matta said Monday on the Big Ten coaches' teleconference: "You're looking at two very, very talented freshmen. They're playing big roles for their team. In terms of what we're going to see, hopefully we're going to see a little more out of D'Angelo than him [Trimble]."
That seems possible, given the numbers Russell has put up in league play.
Stopping Russell usually has been the key to beating the Buckeyes. Except for their loss to Iowa, in which Russell finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds, opponents have held him to a little more than 13 points per game when they have beaten Ohio State.
"He's special, he's really really good, he's got all parts of the game, he can shoot 3s, he's got mid-range, he can get to the rim," Turgeon said Wednesday before practice. "And he's a tremendous passer. He had 10 assists [against Indiana] the last game. He's really a complete player."
Said Matta: "He's very comfortable with what we're doing, D'Angelo has a great understanding of the game of basketball. He's a very diligent worker in terms of doing the best that he possibly can. He wants to be a great player, before practice, after practice, you see him in there working. That's the biggest difference. He's a guy who's fun to play with. He makes our team and his teammates better when the ball is in his hands, which really makes him special."
Much like Trimble, Russell "is so smooth, he doesn't look fast, but he's fast," Turgeon said. "He's a tough matchup. They do a lot of good things for him, he's great in transition, great off ball screens, great one on one. It'll be a challenge for us. We'll have to all be dialed in trying to slow him down. Ohio State's got a lot of good players, it's not him, so you have to make sure you're containing the other guys too."
Matta said it's easy to compare the two players for the impact they have had on their respective teams.
"You look at the plays that these guys are making and both look like they have a great understanding," Matta said. "They've really adjusted to the college quicker than most guards do. I look forward to watching those guys Thursday."
So does Trimble, though with a different mindset than the one he had going into Indiana.