There’s something about midweek games that plagues Ohio.
Coach Jim Christian and the Bobcats will look to snap a stretch where they’ve lost four of their past five weekday games, when they host Mid-American Conference East Division leader Buffalo.
Although Christian acknowledges that Ohio has appeared to play better on the weekends, winning each of its past six Saturday contests, he’s doesn’t know if there’s any particular explanation.
“I have no idea,” Christian said. “I wish I could tell you. We get the same amount of time between the Saturday game, probably more time. … It’s not motivation. I have no idea.”
The team Ohio will look to shake its midweek blues against is a Buffalo squad that it took down by three points in comeback fashion on the road on Feb. 15.
The Bulls have rekindled a previous hot streak since losing to the Bobcats, winning their past two games against Akron and Kent State. Buffalo scored an average of 84 points in the wins.
Ohio senior forward Jon Smith, who scored 16 points and grabbed 12 boards against Akron on Saturday, said that planning for the Bulls hasn’t been much different the second time around.
Ohio will look to focus its defense on Buffalo senior forward Javon McCrea, who tallied 18 points and eight rebounds in the teams’ last matchup.
“What he does in the paint, as far as finishing goes, we have to control all that,” Smith said. “We can’t let him get his own rebounds. We can’t let him get us in foul trouble. … We’ll try to make the game plan around him a little bit.”
And if the Bobcats can contain McCrea, who Christian thinks is among the best players in the conference, Christian likes his team’s chances.
“At this point in time, I don’t think if anybody’s key players don’t play well, they have a chance to win,” Christian said. “You could take any team you want. Take their best players. If they don’t play well, it’s going to be difficult for them to win.”
Containing the 6-foot-7 forward will be a tall task for an Ohio team that is hampered by injury.
Christian said that eight of the team’s 14 players were in the training room Sunday after beating Akron 66-50 the previous evening.
“We’ve got guys wearing down,” Christian said. “We’ve got guys banged up. We’ve got two guys with fractured fibulas. The fact (is) that we haven’t been able to compete in practice the way we would like to because we just don’t have bodies. We don’t have guys healthy.”
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