When looking at the schedule, Maryland and Louisville tend to pop out, especially when a rebuilding team such as Ohio plays the ranked schools within 10 days of each other.
With a combined 14-2 record, the ranked teams headlined a difficult non-conference for the Bobcats, whose strength of schedule is No. 47 out of the 349 teams in the division.
This has been a tall task for Ohio (3-3) to overcome, especially since former coach Semeka Randall’s staff put the schedule together and the team is still working out the kinks of coach Bob Boldon’s motion offense.
“Maryland and Louisville are ridiculously good,” Boldon said. “We’re not to that level yet. I thought we competed much better against Maryland than we did against Louisville, which was encouraging. They showed some signs of improvement.”
Those signs of improvement were apparent against Maryland, as the Bobcats jumped out to a 14-11 lead before a 26-5 run by the Terrapins. However, the second half was almost even, as Maryland outscored Ohio by just five points.
These tough games have also showed glaring holes that the Bobcats hope to suture up before heading into Mid-American Conference play. The major focus is on the defensive end, where Ohio is allowing more than 74 points per game.
“Our defensive numbers have been terrible, so we need to improve that number,” Boldon said. “We need to become more efficient offensively, shoot the ball a little bit better, run things a little bit better, be a little bit more organized and rebound the ball significantly better. There were a lot of deficiencies that were pointed out to us in the first six games that we are trying to fix in the next five.”
Life on the road will continue for the Bobcats on Thursday when they play in-state foe Cleveland State. It will be the team’s sixth consecutive game away from The Convo, where Ohio will play just two non-conference games.
“I don’t have a problem with being away,” sophomore guard Kiyanna Black said. “Being away so much is something that I don’t like and this is my first time doing it, so everything is new.”
The road schedule challenged the young Bobcat roster, but outside two games against the University of Illinois at Chicago and Louisville, they rose to the challenge.
The freshman class accounts for more than one-third of Ohio’s scoring, including two players who have started every game this season: Destini Cooper and Quiera Lampkins.
With five games remaining in the non-conference before MAC play begins, Boldon is still looking for progress every day from now until Jan. 4 when the Bobcats opens their MAC schedule against Northern Illinois.
“We still have a lot of good teams left to play,” he said. “I think it will be really good for us. The whole non-conference is for us trying to get better. I think we have gotten better from day one and we still have a long way to go, so hopefully we can continue to do that.”
ak840511@ohiou.edu
@Kovarandrew
