Ohio and Ohio State hail from the same state, but the schools haven't played on the hardwood for 19 seasons.
However, they will meet Tuesday for the first time since the Bobcats defeated the Buckeyes 78-67 and trio from Ohio State talked about playing Ohio after practice Monday.
Jeff Boals, a Buckeyes assistant coach who was a member of that 1994 Ohio squad, said it was not only memorable because he didn’t get to play for the Buckeyes collegiately, but also because of the impact Gary Trent, who finished with 26 points and 15 rebound. Boals came off the Bobcats bench and scored 14 points and added eight rebounds.
“Coach Hunter said ‘hey, if you’re not going to shoot, we’re going to sit you down,’ so I started shooting every time I got the ball and scored 12 points in the second half,” Boals said. “When you play with a guy like Gary Trent it makes things a lot easier.”
Boals said he intently follows the Bobcats' program, but he is looking at the matchup against his alma mater Tuesday as just another game. He has coached opposite the Bobcats multiple times during stops in Marshall and Akron.
“I think my first year when I was at Marshall I was on the other side of that and it was nerve racking, because it’s the first time on the visitors bench,” Boals said. “You see a lot of familiar faces, people that were there when you played, but I’ve since played OU a lot being at Akron, being at Marshall. Its another game on our schedule, obviously it’s my alma mater, but that’s how were looking at it.”
Ohio State head coach Thad Matta said he has been impressed with Ohio on both sides of the ball.
“Their execution is really good on offense,” Matta said. “They’ve got veteran guards, guys that have been in the program for a while, the young man they’ve added the junior college transfer (Maurice Ndour) is really playing at a high level but defensively they’re moving around, flying around. They play with a lot of energy and that was a great win for their program on Saturday over a good Northern Iowa team.”
Aaron Craft, Ohio State’s senior guard, said he is familiar with the Bobcats’ central Ohio players: senior guard Nick Kellogg and junior guard Stevie Taylor, who train with each other during the summer.
“They’re competitive,” Craft said. “Anytime they’re around (in the summer) they’re always welcome. “We want great games to go on in the summer and if they’re here then we want them to come in and we can play with them.”
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