Ohio/Ball State
Overtime: Ball State 76, Ohio 73
Tough loss for Ohio to take. The Bobcats completey blew this one. They choked away a 9-point lead with 2:42 to play. Cooper took awful shots at the end of the regulation and overtime. For how unselfish he is for 36 minutes, he really changes his pace at the end. Interesting. This one is tough for me because this is the last game I'll ever cover in my college career. It's been fun. John Groce is talking right now. He sounds incredibly frustrated and disappointed. I would agree
Second half: Really, D.J. Cooper iso for the win again? Who knew? It failed. Freeman almost nailed one off-balance. Overtime. This is ridiculous.
36.4 Bobcats choking this one away. baltic misses a front end of a 1-and-1 and Bobcats allow and-1 for Cardinals. Ouch. This looks like Nov-Jan Bobcats, not recent team that won 10 of 13
1:49 I hate when that happens. Just as I praise the defense, Ball State scores 10 points in two minutes. Game far from over. Bobcats need to execute at both ends
3:37 As bad as Ohio played defensively in the first half, it has been just as good since the break. Bobcats have allowed only 18 points in 16+ minutes of action this half. Big improvement
5:55 Big help for Ohio tonight? Balance. Three have double figures and Freeman has 9. Inside/outside options are killing Ball State
7:52 Bobcats doing the little things now. Diving for loose balls, fighting for the extra tie up. Refs are letting them play, and the Bobcats are taking advantage of it
11:18 Four fouls on Matt Kamieniecki for Ball State. Jones has 3. Bobcats NEED to push it inside and keep pounding at these guys.
13:30 Can't say enough about Berry. How did the MAC voters not pick him for freshman team? Mind-boggling. (Let it go, Vince...)
14:46 Washington really getting it going for Ohio. He's duning all over the place and that steal he had was huge. Bobcats came out of the half with confidence and are playing well, finally
17:41 Watch out, Ball State. Ohio might be starting to make a run. Big-time drive and dish by Cooper to Washington for a slam and the foul. Bobcat fans, as much crap as I gave them (deservingly so) during the season, are really loud.
18:41 Bobcats start by going inside. That's good. Cooper driving now. Also good
First half: Ball State 36, Ohio 31
Bobcats didn't play well. Given that, to be down five isn't that bad. Transition defense was horrible. Ball State got a lot in transition afer misses or turnovers. That needs to stop. Ohio rebounded well and started to make some shots at the end. Biggest key to the second half is toughness. As cliche as it sounds, Ohio needs to punish Ball State inside.
2:17 Three guards for Ohio are in foul trouble. This is bad. Cooper, obviously, needs to stay clean in the second half
4:25 Ohio's transition defense has been awful. That's the biggest reason the Bobcats are trailing. That, and the freshmen are playing poorly. Hall and Johnson look timid and Kellogg has two fouls
7:54 A little defense will do a lot for a team. Bobcats get three stops in a row finally and cash in with seven points to make this a two-point game. Baltic stopping Jarrod Jones is a key for Ohio
11:17 Not a fan of Ohio's transition defense right now. Ball State has four 3-pointers and many of them have come early in teh shot clock. Bobcats need to get back quicker and not turn it over.
12:54 Bobcats need a team effort tonight. That includes guys such as Reggie Keely scoring and rebounding. Keely has impressed me so far. So has Ricardo Johnson's rebounding
17:40 Jesse Berry with five points early for Ball State. He's a freshman and I think he's much better than the guy (Chris Bond) from Ball State who made all-freshman team. Maybe I should let the awards thing go by now
18:44 Bobcats get off to a great start with high-energy plays. Ivo Baltic has a reverse layup and then Washington slams one home. Big-time plays for Ohio
Kent State 73, Buffalo 62
When I came to OU as a freshman, I hated Kent State viciously. As the years went on, I forgot why I hated Kent State. Sitting directly in front of a big group of "old" Kent State fans, I remember why I hated the Flashes. Their fans think they're Ohio State or something. It's really annoying
Impressed as I was by McCrea, Zach Filzen disappeared. He was Buffalo's best shooter coming in and did not produce tonight.
Really impressed by Buffalo freshman Javon McCrea. I made a mistake. He should be MAC Freshman of the Year. I don't know how I missed that one. I apologize.