Heading into its 2012-13 campaign, Ohio had a Sweet 16 berth in its back pocket, as well as dozens of reports proclaiming a similar ascent to the national spotlight was in store for the upcoming season.
Goals for this season’s team were clearly defined from the get-go: NCAA Tournament or bust.
All roads there are through Cleveland, where the Bobcats will look to win their third Mid-American Conference Championship in four years this weekend.
They accomplished goal No. 1, a regular-season conference crown, in their most recent outing against Miami on Saturday and have spent their time since counting down the seconds to their semifinal tipoff Friday.
Their opponent, No. 3 Western Michigan, played its first tournament game Thursday — a 15-point defeat of No. 7 Eastern Michigan, which won two tournament games to get to that point.
Ohio earned its first road win of the season in early January when it beat the Broncos (20-11, 10-6 MAC) by two points in the teams’ only meeting.
The Bobcats began this season in the shadow of their past achievement, and Ohio coach Jim Christian admitted the self-imposed pressure built up inside the Bobcats’ locker room has gotten to them at times.
“That was what we had to manage all year long: what were we trying to do, and can we still do it, whether things went well or didn’t go well,” he said.
Their ability to measure up to last year’s tournament triumphs and climb to the top of the conference again will come to a head this weekend.
To satisfy its internal expectations, Ohio must not only win two games this weekend, but three more during the course of the next two weeks.
“(We need to) win a MAC Championship and make it to the Elite Eight,” Ohio junior forward T.J. Hall said. “That’s what we want to do, and if we go farther than that, we will be satisfied with what we did this year.”
That being said, the Bobcats are awaiting tipoff with eager anticipation.
Ohio has played some of its best basketball in the MAC Tournament — it has gone 8-1 during this senior class’ tenure — and the rigors it has stood up to there will only bolster its chances at bringing home the hardware.
The Bobcats spent the bulk of their time earned as a result of their two-round tournament bye by concentrating on shoring up systematic shortcomings Christian noticed late in the year. Later in the week it shifted gears to include preparation for their potential Friday opponent.
Still, the Bobcats’ eyes are set on one thing above all else.
“All I’m thinking about is winning,” Ohio redshirt senior guard Walter Offutt said.
“I want to go in there and play loose, play free, play with my teammates and try to get this done one last time.”
Ohio senior guard D.J. Cooper — last year’s MAC Tournament MVP and recently crowned conference player of the year — said it doesn’t feel like his fourth go-around in the year-end tourney.
“You have to close the door sometime,” he said. “We don’t want to, but it’s time for a new chapter coming up soon. It’s bittersweet. We had our fun for four years, ups and downs, and we are just trying to close out on a good run.”
The Bobcats tend to turn it on when all the marbles are on the line. Distractions — past performances, seeding and expectations — are all out the window.
It’s the tournament.
jr992810@ohiou.edu
