COLLEGE PARK, Md. — No. 12 Maryland (13-2, 3-1 Big Ten) used a strong defensive effort Jan. 7 against No. 11 Ohio State (11-4, 1-3) to win its third straight game at Xfinity Center and first against a ranked opponent this season with a 67-55 victory over the Buckeyes at Xfinity Center.

“Obviously that’s a big win for us,” Turgeon said. “I thought our fans were incredible tonight showing up and giving us a boost. I don’t want our fans to think I take them for granted, especially on a night like this. So it was a great night. We won because our defense was just outstanding. I’m encouraged because I don’t think we’re playing great yet, but we beat a really good team that I think can win a national championship if things go the right way for them in March. So great win.”

The Terps held the Buckeyes to 31 percent shooting and allowed Ohio State’s leading scorer Kaleb Wesson to net just 15 points on 13 shots. Andre Wesson and DJ Carton each scored 14 points for the Buckeyes, but the Chris Holtmann’s team couldn’t find its offense consistently on Tuesday night and the Maryland strolled to a double-digit victory.

“I think we really guarded, especially at home,” Terps’ senior point guard Anthony Cowan Jr. said. “Our fans are awesome and they were able to get in here and get loud for us. That helps a lot, especially on the defensive end.”

Cowan led his team with 20 points and netted half of that by getting to the line 12 times and hitting 10 of his free-throw attempts. Maryland also received double-digit scoring efforts from Jalen ‘Stix’ Smith (11 points) and Darryl Morsell (10). Smith added two blocks to his totals, while Morsell swiped two steals.

“I just go off of feel,” Cowan said. “I saw that I was able to get to the lane a little bit easier today so that’s just what I did, kept attacking.”

The Terps hit seven three-point shots in the first half — their most in a half this season — but finished just 8-for-18 from downtown in the win over the Buckeyes. Maryland’s strong shooting was a bit unexpected for a team that has come accustomed to slow starts, but Turgeon was not taken aback by his team’s first-half shooting performance.

“I wasn’t surprised because we’ve been shooting the ball really well in practice,” Turgeon said.

Despite losing the rebounding battle by three and turning the ball over two more times than Ohio State, Maryland led for the majority of the game and didn’t let up down the stretch against the Buckeyes.

Sophomore wing Aaron Wiggins scored seven points for the Terps on Tuesday with four of them came on two momentum-swinging dunks in the second half.

Smith’s performance defensively against Kaleb Wesson was one of the highlights of the night for the Terps. Wesson recorded right around his season averages in scoring and rebounding, but had to work hard to do so and also finished with four fouls and four turnovers.

“It was a huge physical matchup,” Smith said. “I knew going into the game that it was going to be a challenge just trying to use my speed and my quickness to get around him, but overall I think I did my best and we came out with the win.”

Turgeon repeated after the game a mantra he often uses when coaching his team when shots aren’t falling as they’d like: “Don’t let your offense affect your defense.”

The Terps have taken this advice to heart of late and are looking like one of the more dominant defensive teams in the country with an offense that’s good enough to keep them afloat.

“That’s how we always play, making sure we don’t focus on how our offense is going and make sure we’re always locked in on defense and we’re always executing and following the scouting report,” Smith said.

Riding a three-game win streak, the Terps will take to the road Friday night as they visit Iowa for their next Big Ten matchup.

A win over a top-15 opponent has Maryland feeling confident and ready to show it can take its show on the road.

“It just shows our potential,” Morsell said. “It shows that if we’re playing well defensively, communicating, and just trusting each other that we have potential to be one of the best teams in the country. But we’re not satisfied. We have a lot of work to do.”