Ohio led Western Michigan by 11 with the clock closing in on the midway point of the second half Saturday on the road.
Instead of pressing his foot harder on the accelerator, Ohio coach Jim Christian instructed his team to hang steady, be meticulous on defense and make the most of its opportunities when the ball was in its hands.
The Broncos made a late run, but the strategy proved successful, as the Bobcats (11-5, 2-0 Mid-American Conference) were able to squeak out a two-point win. They will look to extend their pristine conference mark in a bout with Northern Illinois on Wednesday.
It’s a point guard’s natural tendency to push the pace with a double-digit lead flashing from the scoreboard, but Ohio floor general D.J. Cooper, a senior guard, said Christian’s ability to rope the team in will pay dividends as the conference slate continues.
“Sometimes we tend to make home run plays, three after three, a super dunk or something like that, so we just have to take our time and take it one possession at a time,” he said.
On paper, it looks as if the Bobcats could compile a similar lead late in the game against the Huskies (3-11, 1-1 MAC).
Northern Illinois averages more than seven fewer points per game than its opponent — the worst margin in the MAC — and are one of two conference teams that score fewer than 60 points per game.
The Huskies also average 10 fewer assists per game than the Bobcats’ NCAA-leading total of 19.3 per contest.
Pick up a different piece of paper — the MAC results to date — and a more competitive picture of the Huskies is scrawled.
They bested Miami on the road in their conference-opener, and were within nine of Akron at several points in the second half Saturday. The Zips eventually emerged as 15-point victors.
It’s a possibility Ohio will have to go toe-to-toe with Northern Illinois sophomore big man Abdel Nader without the services of reserve forward Kadeem Green, a redshirt sophomore who suffered an ankle sprain Saturday after being inserted into the game early because of foul trouble to Ohio’s interior players.
Nader leads the Huskies with almost 14 points and four rebounds per game, and has the ability to drop 30 points on any given night, Christian said, noting that limiting his influence on the game is a point of emphasis for the Bobcats’ bigs.
“We haven’t done a great job against those kinds of guys,” he said.
The Bobcats, who will pass the midway point of their season Wednesday, have picked their shots efficiently of late.
Since losing to Oklahoma on Dec. 29, they have converted 52 percent of their attempts — yet another mark that will have to stay relatively constant for success in conference play.
Redshirt senior guard Walter Offutt said the Bobcats, though a senior-laden bunch to begin with, have developed throughout the season, which is helping with smart shot selection.
“When to take a good shot, when to take a questionable shot, when you’re hot, when you’re cold — I think it’s just a mindset that you have to have, and it comes with maturity,” Offutt said.
Put those things together, and Ohio will have a shot to march to 3-0 in conference play for the first time since 2006, on Wednesday.
jr992810@ohiou.edu
