Coach Tim O' Shea constantly harps on the importance of defending one's home court and the toughness of playing on the road.
After Ohio's 67-49 thumping of Bowling Green last Thursday, O'Shea said aside from his team's stellar defense, one of the reasons why Falcons star Martin Samarco played so poorly ' 11 points on 4-of-20 shooting ' was that he was in a foreign gym.
He's not going to have too many nights where he goes 4-for-20
O'Shea said, but tonight was one of those nights. That's life on the road. It's always hard to go into somebody else's gym and make shots.
O'Shea is right. There is no sport where home court is more important than college basketball. Whether it be different lighting or the closeness of fans, every gym has its own quirks that make it difficult for any road team, no matter how good they are.
But don't just listen to me. Even though
I always speak the truth, the numbers don't lie either.
Although The Convo may not seem to be the most intimidating place for opponents, it has been. Since the 2004-05 season, the Bobcats are 32-3 inside the cozy confines of Athens' only dome.
Nothing is more rewarding than seeing your home team pull out a win live and in the flesh. It is especially more fulfilling when you are trying to show off your awesome school to a visitor, which is what many OU students will be doing in the next few days when men in non-hooded sweatshirts from all over converge in Athens for Dads Weekend.
Students should be disappointed, however, as they will be unable to give Pops two hours of winning basketball with the Bobcats playing in Miami this weekend.
(I mean no offense to Sylvia Crawley and her much-improved squad, who will be playing Western Michigan this Saturday in The Convo, but Ohio's women have been less consistent than the men. Since the 2004-05 season, the Ohio women are 21-14 at home, which by no means guarantees a win this weekend.)
Offending aside, both the men's and women's teams should be playing basketball in The Convo this weekend for the men who are most likely responsible for the tuition money the university receives. It's a foolproof activity that would keep the dads off Court Street for a couple hours before they relive their glory days.
Need more examples? I thought so.
Last year on Dads Weekend, 10,094 people packed The Convo to see the Bobcats dismantle Central Michigan, 76-44. The year before that, 7,192 Bobcat dads and kids took in a men's and women's doubleheader.
With this season's attendance hovering between 3,500 and 4,000, you'd think someone important would have made it a number one priority to have a game at home this weekend.
But then again, you'd think your dad would know better than to wear a sweatshirt without a hood. 17
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Andrew Gribble
