Although the Bobcats have excelled in several facets during Mid-American Conference play, winning at home has not been one of their strengths so far.
Ohio has a winning home record overall, but in conference play it is just 1-2, and junior guard Stevie Taylor said that is a statistic that needs to change.
"We dropped the last one at home (Bowling Green), and we have to protect home court,” Taylor said. “We haven’t done a good job of that, losing two games, but I think we need to get back to what we were doing early in the season and start the game off right.”
Central Michigan will enter The Convo on Wednesday seeking its first MAC win of the season after it has lost eight of its past nine games.
However, the Chippewas have proven to be an offensive threat in the MAC, as they rank second in the conference in scoring offense with an average of 74.7 points per game. Central Michigan ranks third in field goal percentage and does not turn the ball over, as it’s third in turnover margin.
Sophomore point guard Chris Fowler leads the Chippewas with a team-best 17 points per game, which is also third best in the MAC. He has also shown he can distribute the ball, as he is third in the conference in assists, with more than five per game.
“(Fowler is) a great player,” Ohio coach Jim Christian said. “He gets into the lane, drives it and finishes in traffic ... He’s the type of point guard that’s given us a lot of problems. Scoring and defensive-minded point guards have hurt us, he’s as good as any of them.”
The Chippewas’ offensive statistics don’t match their defense, though, as they are 11th in the MAC in scoring defense and sit at the bottom in field goal percentage defense.
Redshirt senior forward Jon Smith credited Central Michigan for being a solid squad that seems to always play Ohio tough, despite Ohio defeating Central Michigan 82-63 last season.
“(Central Michigan is) just one of those team in the MAC that’s real sneaky,” Smith said. “We give them a lot of respect no matter what their record is — no matter if they’re doing good or doing bad … We’re always going to see everybody’s best shot, especially at The Convo.”
Christian said that Saturday’s win against Eastern Michigan could be a positive for the Bobcats moving forward.
“Anytime you come back and win a game it could be a springboard game, if you want it to be,” Christian said. “(The Ball State and Northern Illinois) back-to-back wins could have been a springboard too, but we didn’t respond.”
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