Despite continuous struggles, the Bobcats’ main focus is the MAC Tournament.
Having lost consecutive games yet again, Ohio’s nerves are raw heading into the final three weeks of the regular season.
After losing a double-digit lead Saturday at Miami, after which coach Saul Phillips called out his team for not having one another’s back, tempers flared at the start of the Bobcats’ practice Monday.
“I don’t need a bunch of guys comfortable with what went on Saturday,” Phillips said. “I guess they just needed to have it out pretty good.”
But Phillips then called the practice therapeutic, and he understands why Ohio (9-14, 4-8 Mid-American Conference) has been frustrated. Last season the Bobcats won 25 games and 11 of their 18 regular season MAC contests. Eight players have returned to the roster this season with increased roles, which haven’t translated to wins on the court.
Then again, the regular season doesn’t really matter.
No MAC team has received an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament since 1999. The regular season is simply preparation for the win-and-advance MAC Tournament, which will begin for the Bobcats at a campus site March 9.
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The Bobcats have been playing for the MAC Tournament since it began 0-4 in conference play. Of course, they would have liked to win more games up to this point in the season, but they’re learning, and there’s still time to figure out how to win.
“We’ve got to learn from our mistakes and learn how we lost the game, but it’s just always ‘move forward,’ ” redshirt freshman Khari Harley said. “Never dwell on it too much.”
Phillips would also like to win regular season championships, but he knows that’s not exactly the utmost goal for players at any MAC school.
“I don’t like that mindset, but it’s not hard to change gears,” he said last week. “You tell me what place the Sweet 16 team finished in … they weren’t hanging banners for the third-place finish.”
When Ohio made the Sweet 16 in 2012 it was the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. When the Bobcats made the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2010 they were the ninth seed. That team won four games during the MAC Tournament after starting 0-4 to begin regular season conference play.
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Phillips said he knows his team is disappointed, but also said it should be that way based on how the season has gone.
Luckily for Ohio, there are six games left, including Wednesday’s on the road against Western Michigan, a team Phillips is familiar with after coaching a game in Kalamazoo, Michigan, last year with North Dakota State.
The Bobcats have a chance to redeem themselves and continue to figure out how to play as a group before they’re forced to win to keep their season alive.
“We’ve just got to help our teammates a little bit more,” Harley said. “We’re all in this together. We’re a team.”
@chadlindskog
cl027410@ohio.edu
