Jim Christian has preached that the reason he scheduled Northern Iowa, Ohio State and Valparaiso to begin the season is because he wants to see how his team responds to a challenging schedule.
Although the Bobcats (1-1) shined against the Panthers and fell to Ohio State, Valparaiso (2-1) is the next test looming for Ohio on Sunday. Christian, Ohio’s second-year coach, described the Crusaders as a well-rounded basketball team that has size and solid guard play.
“Our effort level’s been great and our understanding now just has to keep getting better each game,” Christian said. “So I think there’s a lot of things we can learn from (Ohio State) that we need to do better to beat a team like (Valparaiso). That’s the reason why we want to play three teams who are used to winning.”
The Bobcats encountered foul trouble against Ohio State, as five players fouled out of the contest in the second half. Ohio senior guard Nick Kellogg said the guards have to do a better job this game of not letting teams get inside.
“We’ve just got to take more pride in keeping the ball in front,” Kellogg said. “Staying out of the lane, keeping it out of the lane and using our feet more than our hands, because obviously they’re calling (games) a lot tighter this year.”
Valparaiso lost to Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season and is led by a transfer-heavy roster this year. The Crusaders receive the majority of their scoring from senior guards LaVonte Dority and Jordan Coleman, who average 14 and 15 points a game, respectively.
"(Valparaiso’s) got a lot of height,” Ohio junior guard Stevie Taylor said. “We’ve seen that, but at the same time if we can play like that like we played against Ohio State, I think we’ll be fine. It just makes us more hungry. Obviously our schedule’s not weak so we just want to come out here and prepare every day and just get better.”
The Crusaders will enter The Convo on the heels of a 64-52 loss at Illinois on Wednesday, but were led by Coleman’s 18 points.
Taylor said the Bobcats’ loss Tuesday will fuel the team to any challenges the Crusaders bring.
“We were down by 17 (against Ohio State), I think last year if we were down by 17 we would have quit,” Taylor said. “We’ve got a lot of hungry guys out there and a lot of determination. I think that was a big factor in what led the comeback. We just all stuck together. ”
Ohio and Valparaiso have not played since the 2010-11 season, when Ohio won 78-75 in The Convo. Six Bobcats finished the game with double-digit points, but none of those players are on Ohio’s roster this season.
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