The Bobcats lost their sixth straight game on Friday, begging the question: “where do they go now?”
Ohio’s frustration level has hit a new level after its loss to Akron on Friday.
The Bobcats dropped the game to the Zips on the road, which may end up serving as a refresher, as the Zips (18-11, 9-7 MAC) are one of the teams that the Bobcats are likely to face in the first round of the MAC Tournament. But in Akron, the Bobcats looked far from fresh or energized in the second half, something that has been missing all season.
Sophomore forward Antonio Campbell seemed to be at a loss for words when trying to explain why the same problems have continued to happen throughout Ohio’s losing streak, which sits at six games.
But with the same eight players seeing all the time on the court each game, freshness has become a problem, which has been the main issue for why the Bobcats (9-18, 4-12 Mid-American Conference) have been giving up insurmountable runs in second halves of games this season.
It’s now been more than three weeks since they won their last game, which came on Feb. 7 against Eastern Michigan.
“Not winning a game in three weeks, of course it's going to frustrate your players and force your coaches to sweat,” Campbell said after Friday’s game. “It’s just the little things. Little things are hurting us.”
Campbell has been a rock for Ohio all season, the player who you can almost assume at this point will produce no matter the final score. His nine double-doubles this season lead the team, while he also sits in the top 10 in the conference for rebounds (7.3 per game), 3-point percentage (.395) and blocked shots (1.1 per game).
However, as he’s reiterated all season long, he wants to win more than rack up his stats, especially amid the program’s longest MAC losing streak since 1981 — which took place 13 years before Campbell was born. He’s simply “just trying to play, man.
“I’m a sophomore, I got a little experience at the end of the season last year, but I’m just trying to get out here and get more experience and bring it into next year,” he said. “Try to be a leader for sure.”
With Campbell being a sophomore and becoming one of Ohio’s go-to guys, that’s when some of the problems lie. His productivity has been crucial for the Bobcats, but they only have three seniors, who have all had numerous ups and downs this season. The younger players have been relied upon throughout the season, with three different Bobcats’ freshman making starts throughout the season.
With two regular season games remaining, followed by the MAC Tournament, which could be over by next Monday night for Ohio, something has to happen.
The underclassmen can hit the weight room in the summer, coach Saul Phillips can recruit in the summer and the Bobcats can look forward to getting Kenny Kaminski and Jaaron Simmons next year — but this current team can only do something about the season that they have created now, as it could be over in a week’s time.
“That’s one of the effects in the transitions in coaching, you get decommits and now you’re scraping together what you can in terms of depth,” Phillips explained. “We’ve got some freshmen who are pretty good but we also got some freshmen that are hitting the wall a little bit. No question about it. (But) that can be taken care of real simply.”
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