Ohio travels to the Virgin Islands to play Tulsa and other difficult out of conference teams.
Ohio coach Saul Phillips has a variety of sunblocks prepared for his team's trip to the Virgin Islands this weekend.
The Bobcats will fly out to St. Thomas for the 2015 U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam after Ohio started its season 2-0 for the first time in three years earlier in the week. The Bobcats will be in the Virgin Islands from Nov. 20-23.
"I've never been to the Virgin Islands, this is going to be fun," Phillips said. "I've been pretty much everywhere, well, I've been to a lot of places. I've never been to the Virgin Islands. This is new to me. This is fun."
"Fun" is an accurate adjective to describe the Bobcats start to the 2015 season.
After falling behind early against Tennessee State on Monday night, freshmen Jordan Dartis and Gavin Block energized Ohio off the bench, combining for 29 total points and aiding the Bobcats in a 75-67 win.
Just two days earlier, it was a different bench player who gave Ohio its first win of the season. This time it was Wadly Mompremier, who recorded his first double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds against Florida Gulf Coast. Mompremier's spark off the bench powered the Bobcats past the Eagles 85-75.
Despite such a small sample size, Ohio has averaged 80 points per game this season with guard Jaaron Simmons leading the Bobcats with 17.5 points per contest.
Phillips said he thinks Ohio's offense is "slightly" better than its defense, as the Bobcats' sets are fluid.
After Tennessee State, Phillips said his starting five of Simmons, Kenny Kaminski, Khari Harley, Treg Setty and Tony Campbell is the best defensive set for the Bobcats, but the second-year coach isn't shy about relying on different looks from the bench.
Either way, Ohio has won games with depth — something it will need to rely on against, what Philips said is, the "hardest competition" Ohio will see all season in the Virgin Islands.
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Ohio will play Tulsa, which upset Witcha State on Tuesday, 77-67. Witcha State made the 2015 NCAA Tournament regional semifinal in March, eventually losing to Notre Dame.
Ohio's other two-three opponents are yet to be determined, but other teams included in this year's men's tournament are: Florida State, DePaul, Hofstra, South Carolina, Indiana State and Norfolk State.
"If you're going to go ahead and take on some studs, then you might as well do it in that kind of setting," Phillips said. "I'm all for that."
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