Ohio will try, for the fourth time, to win its first Mid-American Conference game on Saturday against Kent State.
Ohio needs a victory and it needs one soon.
Head Coach Saul Phillips doesn’t just want a moral victory, he wants a real one: a Mid-American Conference win. The Bobcats have lost each of their past three games to start conference play, including Wednesday’s seven-point loss to Toledo after falling to Bowling Green by 15 last weekend.
Phillips, seeking his first-ever MAC win, said each of the past two losses hurt the same, but it’s also only been three games. There are 15 more to play before the MAC Tournament and the Bobcats will have another chance to get their first conference win Saturday against Kent State.
“We’ve got to find a way to pick ourselves up because this is difficult,” Phillips said. “It would be silly for us to do anything but come back and work our butt off.”
Although Phillips may not want any moral victories, Ohio (5-9, 0-3 MAC) took strides toward improving during Wednesday’s loss.
The Bobcats shot 50 percent from the field and dished a season-high 16 assists. Ohio also led by as many as eight points in the first half and after falling behind by eight in the second half, it took the lead back with 13 minutes to play.
That energy and effort, which had been missing in the previous two games, wasn’t enough for an Ohio victory after multiple players got in foul trouble. The Bobcats committed 20 fouls, compared to just 10 by Toledo. In turn, the Rockets scored 18 points at the free throw line while the Bobcats scored just nine.
“We’re gonna put it behind us and go get ready for Kent,” senior guard Stevie Taylor said. “We can’t let this affect the Kent game or that’s on us. We’re gonna regroup and see what kind of team we are.
“You approach every game having a mindset like ‘we want to win this game’ and that’s what we need to do, we need a win very bad.”
Kent State (11-5, 2-1 MAC) has won consecutive games, including Wednesday against Eastern Michigan — the only other winless team in MAC play. The Golden Flashes split last year’s series with Ohio, the road team won in each of the two matchups.
Phillips said the Bobcats need to make more “winning plays” to be successful. He used an example of turning an opponent's missed layup into a 3-pointer. But, Ohio also needs to avoid getting into foul trouble.
Senior forward Maurice Ndour committed his fourth foul with 14:19 remaining Wednesday, which forced Ohio to adjust its defensive matchups. He scored 16 points, but the Bobcats were at a disadvantage after he was taken off coverage of Toledo’s J.D. Weatherspoon, who scored a game-high 19 points.
The Bobcats are seeking their first road win and first MAC win on Saturday — hoping for something positive in the midst of six losses through their past eight games.
“We’ll keep fighting, I promise you that,” Phillips said. “I would guess you’re going to see a team that’s ready to come out of the locker room on Saturday.”
@chadlindskog
cl027410@ohio.edu
