The Ohio men's basketball team will have its five-game home winning streak put to the test Saturday when Kent State visits Athens for Dad's Weekend.
The Golden Flashes (10-5 overall, 3-2 Mid-American Conference) are coming off a 76-60 loss at Western Michigan and are looking at Ohio for a bounce-back win.
The Bobcats (6-6, 1-3 MAC) are also aiming for a win coming after another close road loss at Northern Illinois. Ohio's road record dropped to 0-6 and the team's road-win drought is going on 13 months.
The Bobcats are going to have to play with the same intensity they did last weekend against Marshall if they plan on gaining another crucial MAC victory.
Coach Tim O'Shea said he is aware of the game's importance.
This is a big MAC game with both teams hungry for a win
O'Shea said. They are a good team and I'm sure they are going to come in here fired up. The game will be a bit of a war for us.
Last season, Ohio gave the Golden Flashes one of their five losses in the MAC when the Bobcats held them off by one point in The Convo. This year, however, the Bobcats won't be led by former guard Jaivon Harris' 19 points.
This season, big games are expected from Ohio's leading scorers, Mychal Green, who is averaging 14.1 points per game, and Leon Williams. Williams was held to zero points in the first half against Northern Illinois, but ended up with nine.
Williams said the second half of Wednesday's game was similar to the Ball State game.
We've played some strong second halves but we need to play a solid 40 minutes like coach has said
Williams said. I think we need to carry the intensity from (Wednesday) night so we can get back on the right track.
Guard Whitney Davis might have earned some extended playing time for Saturday when he played the best game of his career at Northern Illinois. Davis made up for his scoreless performance on his birthday against Marshall by scoring a career-high 15 points and snatching a career-high three steals against the Huskies.
He's our best defender on the ball
and he really made some things happen offensively for us Wednesday
O'Shea said. We're going to try to get him some more minutes and see if he can build on this.
The Golden Flashes' season hasn't been an easy one after their first-place finish in the MAC East last season. Three of their losses have been to top-notch teams Boston College (13-0), Marquette (13-1) and Western Michigan (11-3).
Kent State's offense is fueled by three experienced players who are scoring in double figures. Forward Kevin Warzynski leads the team with 13.3 points per game and the Golden Flashes average more than 71 points per game.
Kent State's balanced scoring could make match-ups a problem for the Bobcats, O'Shea said.
They are a funny team to match up with
he said, because Warzynski is more of a perimeter shooter than a post player at 6-foot-9.
O'Shea also knows the importance of playing at home.
I hope the students come out
O'Shea said. They could be a valuable sixth man for us.
Tip off will be at 3:30 p.m. Saturday following the women's game in The Convo.
--Nick Miller
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