Playing an Atlantic Coast Conference team in The Convo for the first time in school history, the Ohio men's basketball team gets a rare chance to face a marquee opponent at home.
Ohio (9-15 overall, 6-9 Mid-American Conference) faces Virginia (14-11, 5-8 ACC) in a game that could help Ohio gain some momentum for the month of March, despite the fact that it is a non-conference game.
"The incentive with this game is for us to get on a roll to go into the MAC Tournament," Ohio forward Steve Esterkamp said. "If we get a win against Virginia, an ACC school - that would boost up our confidence."
Ohio coach Tim O'Shea said he is proud of the team's effort leading up to the Virginia game, despite the 84-82 overtime loss at Akron Sunday. The team was given the day off on Monday, but voluntarily decided to come in to look at the scouting report for the Cavaliers.
"With the day off, the energy level should be great," O'Shea said. "They all said tomorrow is an off day, but look, we want to come in and hear about Virginia - they're all very determined to continue to play."
Regardless of how the season has gone so far, O'Shea said the team is excited to face Virginia.
"It's a rarity that you would get a home game with a school like Virginia," he said. "It just doesn't happen very often.
"This is a great opportunity for us to play a national power on our home court; everyone wants to play in this one. Every kid on our team that looked into February and saw a chance to play an ACC team in The Convo - their eyes lit up."
Virginia forward Travis Watson is drawing the most attention from Ohio in pre-game preparation. Watson averages 13.6 points per game and 10.4 rebounds per game. He and forward Elton Brown will pose the biggest threats to Ohio's big men, but Ohio forward Brandon Hunter said he is up for the challenge.
"I'm really looking forward to it; hopefully they'll let us play physical," Hunter said. "Watson is a pretty good player, Brown is a pretty good player, they're both pretty big and mobile."
Virginia poses a size problem for the Bobcats, with five players who play significant minutes and are 6-foot-7-inches tall or larger. Esterkamp said he looks forward to the challenge of going against the bigger post players.
"I like playing against people who are bigger and stronger than me," Esterkamp said. "I like to show them that I can play with them."
Despite the fact the Virginia game won't affect the postseason picture, Hunter said the team would be ready to play.
Ohio faces Virginia at 7 p.m. tonight in The Convo.
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Chris Littmann
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Ohio forward Brandon Hunter looks to move the ball toward the basket against Western Michigan on Saturday at The Convo. Hunter was named Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week for the period of Feb. 17-23.
