Maryland men’s basketball is coming off of one of its most impressive weeks in recent memory and is starting to get some national attention.

The Terps slotted in at No. 18 in Monday’s AP poll and are fourth in the Big Ten at just past the halfway point of conference play. They play at Ohio State on Thursday in search of their fourth straight quad one win.

Before then, take a few minutes to catch up on all the latest men’s basketball news.

Ranked at last

The Terps were on the cusp of entering the rankings a few times this year — coming in two spots away last week and one spot off before their West Coast trip — but have finally cracked the top 25.

Maryland was unranked in 38 consecutive polls, spanning nearly two years.

That clearly bothered some players. Junior forward Tafara Gapare tweeted “Rank us.” less than 15 minutes after Maryland’s win over then-No. 17 Wisconsin.

[Maryland men’s basketball used 11-0 ‘kill shot’ run to beat No. 17 Wisconsin]

“Everyone wants to get ranked,” sophomore guard Rodney Rice said. “It is about time, but we just gotta keep our foot on the pedal and keep going.”

Many metrics rank the Terps higher than the AP poll, including the NET, BartTorvik, EvanMiya and Haslametrics. KenPom has Maryland at No. 18 and ESPN Basketball Power Index ranked it No. 19.

The Terps haven’t been ranked higher since Dec. 5, 2022, when they won the first eight games of Kevin Willard’s tenure.

Schedule drama

Before Maryland won two straight road games at then-No. 17 Illinois and Indiana, athletic director Damon Evans made it clear he didn’t love coach Kevin Willard’s words about their previous road struggles.

Willard said the schedule can dictate how the team plays. ” Evans later said during a radio appearance that he doesn’t “believe in excuses.”

The coach expanded on his comments after the Terps’ win over the Badgers on Wednesday, saying his role is to help the team understand who and where they’re playing.

[Second-half surge pushes Maryland men’s basketball past No. 17 Wisconsin, 76-68]

“You look at teams winning and losing, there’s a lot that has to do with who they’re playing, where they’re playing and how they’re playing,” Willard said.

He seemed to think the media misconstrued that sentiment.

“My job as a coach is to make sure that your team [understands], I don’t care if you guys understand or not,” Willard said. “When I say it in the media and I say it to you guys, you guys just type it up thinking, ‘the typical bullshit.’”

Willard said he knew January would be tough because of how much time they spent on the road, but his team still finished with six wins in its last seven outings.

Another test

Maryland plays its first of three repeat opponents on Thursday, going to Columbus to face Ohio State after an eight-day break for Maryland. The Terps clobbered the Buckeyes, 83-59, at Xfinity Center on Dec. 4.

Ohio State has been streaky lately. Before its loss at Illinois on Sunday, it won three straight — including a road win over then-No. 11 Purdue — right after losing three consecutive games.

The Buckeyes’ main strength in December was their shooting. They made at least 10 3-pointers in five of their seven contests before playing Maryland, but have only done so twice in the 15 games since.

One of the more intriguing matchups will be at point guard between Ja’Kobi Gillespie and Ohio State’s best player, Bruce Thornton. Gillespie outplayed Thornton in December, holding the Buckeyes star to one of his worst outings of the season.

Ohio State is a two-point favorite, according to KenPom. The site only has Maryland as an underdog in one other of its eight games.