For the first time since coach Bob Boldon’s first season at Ohio, the Bobcats will play a conference tournament game away from Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland.
Ohio's two losses to Kent State prevented them from a chance at the fourth and final bye in the first round, so Ohio will play Eastern Michigan in The Convo on Monday at 6 p.m.
Boldon would take the free pass to Cleveland over a play-in situation every time. But for a team that has experienced waning effort at times, maybe facing immediate urgency can be helpful.
"We'll get a lot more energy out of a basketball game this time of year than an actual practice," Boldon said.
Offensively, energy hasn’t been the problem. The Bobcats just haven’t shot the ball well consistently.
A quick turnaround from Saturday to Monday could be good for a sustained offensive rhythm. But the offensive rhythm Ohio established against Akron won’t get them far in the tournament.
Against the second-worst team in the conference, Ohio shot below 30 percent from the field and from 3-point range. The Bobcats’ up-and-down offense was indisputably down.
Boldon thinks his team’s shooting can be improved incrementally between Saturday and Monday. But for the most part, the Bobcat offense is what it is.
"We're not gonna run significantly better offense," Boldon said. "We're pretty much stuck with what we have."
Fortunately for Ohio, it might not take many points to advance past Eastern Michigan Monday night. A loser of ten straight games, Eastern Michigan is the last place team in the Mid-American Conference, and it is also the second-worst offensive team in the MAC.
The formula to stop the Eagles has been simple — force them to take long-range jump shots. The Eagles have seen plenty of zone defenses from their opponents this season. And as their 1-17 conference record shows, that scheme has been successful.
Eastern Michigan ranks last in the conference in 3-point shooting at 27 percent. When Ohio played EMU the first time, even Boldon employed zone.
He hadn’t used a zone defense in three years, but it worked. EMU finished the game with 51 points.
Another key to the first meeting between Ohio and EMU was bench play. The Bobcats dominated that category 25-1, and Boldon’s trust in his reserves has grown since then.
Even if the bench players don’t repeat their dominant performance on Monday, they might still play big minutes. Ohio needs to win four games in six days to be crowned champions, and they are heavy favorites against EMU.
If they build a big lead, Boldon might think about conserving his starters.
Right now, resting starters in a tournament game probably isn’t on Boldon’s mind. No coach will take their opponent lightly.
But Ohio is a heavy favorite. Eastern Michigan has just one win in 2017.
Barring a ground-breaking 3-point performance from EMU, Ohio will probably still end up in Cleveland.
