The Bobcats lost to Central Michigan just one week ago, but they will be looking to come out on top in the rematch game on Tuesday in The Convo.
Last Tuesday the Bobcats were three days removed from a two-game skid in Michigan.
Ohio wanted to stay away from the state, after being beaten by 36 points against Eastern Michigan and then suffering another loss to Central Michigan just four days later.
But after returning home and defeating Akron and Eastern Michigan, Ohio (9-12, 4-6 Mid-American Conference) has the chance to cap a three-game homestand without a loss. A win against Central Michigan on Tuesday would mark two redemption wins against the Michigan teams.
Coach Saul Phillips is a little more relieved the Bobcats didn’t lose as bad to the Chippewas (16-5, 6-4 MAC), who won 74-69 against the Bobcats. Central Michigan has averaged almost 81 points per game, which is sixth-best in the nation.
“I’m worrying about how to get six points better and not 36 points better,” Phillips said. “That’s a little more comforting.”
That nationally ranked offense has been led by Chris Fowler, a junior guard. He’s been one of the top point guards in the nation, with the NCAA’s 13th-best six assists per game. He also sits at third in the MAC with 15.8 points per game. Against Ohio he led all scorers with 17 points and added six assists.
Fowler’s play stands out the most to Phillips because of his ability to “quarterback” the offense, with vision and patience.
“Three-quarters of point guards out there get to read ‘A,’ maybe get to ‘B,’ but rarely get to ‘C’ in a progression,” Phillips said. “He gets to ‘C’ and ‘D’ often in his reads.”
“You gotta shade him, but the problem is when you do that you’re shading off a shooter. So you’ve got to be able to ride that line between giving him enough help and being able to recover with a high hand.”
The Bobcats are looking to win three straight games for the first time in the season, but they don’t want to feel too comfortable because they’ve only won consecutive games twice. The first time they won two in a row was followed by their worst loss of the season to Eastern Michigan.
“We can’t be relaxing too much because we’re still the hunters in this league,” senior forward Maurice Ndour said. “But I think everybody is feeling good, we’re doing a much better job in practice and taking things away from the other team.”
Because Ohio is three games out of first place in the MAC, Tuesday’s game is important to the Bobcats before hitting the road again.
“We lost to them in a close game at their place,” Ndour said. “This is definitely going to be a good one and I definitely think we’re going to need this one before we head on the road.”
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