Ohio dropped to 3-6 in the Mid-American Conference with a 90-79 loss to Eastern Michigan Tuesday night.
It was the first time in Mid-American Conference play this season that the Bobcats have lost to a team with a worse conference record than them, and they are now firmly locked in a fight near the bottom of the conference standings.
Here are the numbers to know from Tuesday’s loss:
54.2%
Eastern Michigan made 54.2% of its 3-pointers Tuesday, which is the second-highest percentage for one of Ohio’s opponents this season and just the third time Ohio has allowed an opponent to shoot over 50%.
In contrast, the Bobcats shot just 32.3%, which is not a terrible percentage, but not enough to win when the Eagles made more than half of their 3-pointers. The Eagles also hit 13 3-pointers to the Bobcats’ 10, which just about makes up the difference in the final score.
29
The number of points scored by Tyson Acuff, the Eagles’ second-leading scorer this season. Acuff was 8-of-12 from the field and a blistering 6-of-8 from behind the 3-point line and added six assists to his career-high in points.
The biggest task for the Bobcats Tuesday was always going to be slowing down Emoni Bates, and while they did a decent job of it — Bates had 19 points on 7-of-14 from the field and 2-of-6 from beyond the arc – they allowed Acuff to pick up the slack for the Eagles.
45%
Ohio was just 9-of-20 from the free throw line Tuesday, good for an abysmal 45%, its lowest mark of the season. 11 missed free throws in a game that Ohio ended up losing by 11 is going to be a tough pill to swallow.
The misses were not concentrated, however, as the Bobcats had three different players miss at least three free throws: Dwight Wilson III, Jaylin Hunter and Miles Brown. It is not a huge surprise for Wilson to miss some free throws, as he has shot just 65.2% from the line this season, but Hunter and Brown both shoot at least 75% and combined to go 4-of-10 Tuesday.
9
Wilson posted his ninth double-double of the season, moving him into a tie for 23rd in the nation. It was a vintage Wilson performance, putting up 23 points and 12 rebounds on 10-of-12 shooting.
At 63.7% for the season, Wilson currently ranks 11th in the nation in field goal percentage. However, it will be disheartening for Ohio that it was unable to come away with a victory despite yet another excellent performance from Wilson.
wc425318@ohio.edu
