Ohio’s off to its best start to a season since 1995 and hopes to continue it Saturday against Central Michigan.
To anyone other than the players, coaching staff or personnel close to the team, Ohio’s already confirmed winning season has been a startling turnaround from the program’s low point two years ago.
But this isn’t the same basketball program.
Barring four players, it’s a completely new roster and coaching staff that have brought the Bobcats not only to Mid-American Conference relevancy, but to a two-game lead in the MAC East and the conference’s top spot overall.
That’s why Saturday afternoon in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, will be somewhat of a role reversal, compared to anything this team has experienced before.
When the Bobcats travel to Central Michigan, it will be the Chippewas focusing more on shutting down the visitors than the contrary.
During the team’s previous matchup on Jan. 17, Ohio romped over the preseason MAC favorites 71-51, stifling WNBA prospect Crystal Bradford to eight points. After starting the game on a 14-1 run, the Bobcats cruised to the final buzzer in what coach Bob Boldon referred to as his biggest win during his two years in Athens.
“I guess there was a little bit of hope that (Bradford) wouldn’t make all of them,” Boldon said after the Jan. 17 contest. “A lot of it was just she missed shots, you know? We play them again in two weeks and that could be the complete opposite.”
Since that night, Ohio has gone on to 3-0, including wins at Ball State when they led the MAC West and Wednesday night over Akron, propelling the Bobcats further up the standings.
Both of those wins included 15-point leads that evaporated as the game wore on, eventually finishing with Ohio pulling away.
“I worry about our defensive intensity to start the second half,” Boldon said Wednesday. “It’s something we’ll address. Whether we won this game or lost this game, there were going to be things we did well and poorly. And we need to address those things in practice.”
He also said his team played great basketball for 35 minutes, but let the Zips come back in the other five.
Going up against a team such as Central Michigan, he acknowledged it would take a complete game from everyone involved — which is exactly what his team has done all season.
Sophomore guards Yamonie Jenkins and Quiera Lampkins said the team has been a lot more focused on their opponents than last year, citing maturity as a major factor.
“In our off season, I feel like all of us put in work to get better,” Jenkins said. “You can tell skill-wise we’re way better than we were last year. We really do buy in and believe everything the coaches say.”
Come Saturday, Ohio’s main focus is to construct a solid lead, fortify it and qualm any rendition of momentum Bradford and the Chippewas can muster.
Then again, the Bobcats are used to letting opponents slip back into games.
@charliehatch_
gh181212@ohio.edu
