Valuing every possession is a fundamental rule of basketball.
And that strategy will be even more important Wednesday when Ohio hosts the Virginia Military Institute, one of the most fast-tempoed and highest scoring teams in the nation.
The Keydets push the pace by averaging an NCAA-best 88.9 points per game, including 108.5 points per game in CollegeInsider.com Tournament action.
“The point of basketball is to score, and it seems like that’s what they want to do,” said Ohio redshirt sophomore forward Treg Setty. “I trust our defense and I trust our offense, and our coaches to give us a good game plan.”
Although Ohio hasn’t faced VMI since 1972, its contest against the Keydets could potentially be historic, as a win would be the first time in program history the Bobcats have won three postseason tournament games. A victory would also send Ohio into the CIT semifinals with a game broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
Ohio Athletics has pulled $36,000 from the Post Season Opportunity Fund for each of the first two games the Bobcats hosted and will pay the same amount for Wednesday’s contest.
That figure is the cost before game revenues such as advertising and ticket sales, though an average of slightly fewer than 3,400 people have attended the first two games. Athletics did not return a request by The Post for revenue earned from the games.
VMI enters the matchup after defeating Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne 106-95 on Saturday. Senior D.J. Covington paced the Keydets by setting a CIT single-game record with 41 points. He leads the team with 19.9 points per game while averaging nine boards per contest.
Christian said Covington, a 6-foot-9 senior, is a dangerous and multifaceted offensive threat.
“I think he’s just a really difficult guy to guard because he’s big, he’s strong, he can put it on the floor,” Christian said. “There’s nothing he doesn’t do offensively.”
Keydets freshman guard QJ Peterson is also a threat, ranking second on the team in scoring, with 19.8 points per contest. Ohio senior guard Nick Kellogg said the Bobcats have not faced many teams that like to play as quickly as the Keydets do.
“We haven’t played that type of team all year,” Kellogg said. “So I think it will be a really good test for us, a team that plays this type of pace, speed and press the whole game and shoot relatively early in the shot clock.”
Although the Keydets pose a formidable threat, Ohio redshirt junior guard Javarez “Bean” Willis said the Bobcats have momentum after winning two straight CIT contests.
“Once you win one or two games, then why not go ahead and win it all?” he said.
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