Ohio earned its second win against Buffalo this season Wednesday by edging the Bulls in nearly every major statistical category, but Buffalo still has completed one feat that Ohio has not.
The Bulls are the only team in the Mid-American Conference that has beaten league-leading Akron, something Ohio (22-6, 9-4 MAC) will attempt to do when the Zips (20-8, 12-1, MAC) come to The Convo Sunday.
Four days after defeating the Bobcats Jan. 14, the Zips traveled to Buffalo, and dropped an 82-70 decision.
Against Ohio, Akron shot 45 percent from the field and 27 percent from 3-point range. Against Buffalo, the Zips shot a similar 44 percent from the field, and 29 percent from 3-point range.
But the box scores from the two games present one staggering difference.
In the loss at Buffalo, Akron drew only 15 fouls, and went to the free-throw line just 13 times, converting on nine attempts.
But against the Bobcats, the Zips drew 30 fouls, and went to the charity stripe an incredible 44 times. Akron attempted four more shots from the free-throw line than it did from the field.
“When you call that many fouls, it starts to center around the free throw line,” Ohio guard Walter Offutt said after the loss to Akron. “The most aggressive team usually wins the game.”
Four Ohio players, including Offutt, fouled out during the road contest against the Zips.
“I thought our guys exhibited a lot of toughness and a lot of togetherness,” Ohio coach John Groce said after the loss. “It was a very difficult game to play with 51 fouls being called — there was really no flow to the game or rhythm in the game.”
The Bobcats are the only MAC team to have outrebounded Buffalo this season, and did so in both wins. But rebounding was an area where the Bobcats struggled last time they faced the Zips.
Akron pulled down 11 more rebounds than the Bobcats and edged them on the offensive glass, as well.
Groce said the ability to compete on the glass would be important in Ohio’s upcoming games.
On the line for the Bobcats is a chance to remain in second place in the MAC and to stay on pace to earn a three-round bye in the conference tournament next month. For the Zips, one more win will clinch the No. 1 seed.
In order to remain in second place, Ohio will have to contain Akron center Zeke Marshall, something the Bobcats failed to do in their last attempt. Marshall scored 17 points before fouling out of the contest.
Despite having no player ranked in the top 20 in the MAC in scoring, Akron ranks first in the conference with more than 73 points per game.
Much of that production comes from beyond the 3-point arc, where the Zips lead the conference with a shooting percentage of 37.1.
Sunday’s contest will be the final regular-season game at The Convo this season, where the Bobcats are undefeated against MAC opponents.
A win would be Ohio’s 16th home victory of the season, extending the single-season home wins record the team set last weekend against North Carolina-Asheville.
ro137807@ohiou.edu
