Ohio will host Miami on Wednesday night in The Convo.
From now until the first week of March, Ohio needs one thing: normalcy.
With a one-game lead at the top the Mid-American Conference standings, going unbeaten the next six games would give Ohio consecutive conference regular season titles and the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament.
It’s pretty straightforward. It also helps that starting Wednesday, Ohio will embark on the easiest portion of its conference schedule.
The Bobcats (19-4, 11-1 MAC) will host the Miami RedHawks (9-14, 3-9 MAC) in The Convo on Wednesday evening.
Their records are pretty revealing.
Even though Ohio was upset at Buffalo, a team that had lost five-straight entering the game, the Bobcats simply struggled to make shots and were without junior forward Jasmine Weatherspoon — their most influential defensive player.
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But Weatherspoon's absence was just for one game and the team recovered. Since her return, Ohio has outscored opponents by 45 points the last two games combined. With Weatherspoon back, however, Ohio's final stretch could be more smooth sailing.
Here are a few notes entering Ohio's matchup with Miami:
KB’s campaign
Senior guard Kiyanna Black and junior guard Quiera Lampkins have been fairly equal in team contributions this season. With six regular season games left, their contributions should continue to lead the Bobcats.
But coming off a 38-point performance against Toledo this past weekend, Black is widening the gap. She now averages almost 19 points per game while Lampkins averages 14.
Black is third in the conference in scoring and has a strong case to be the MAC Player of the Year. After all, she’s been the MAC East Player of the Week four times this season.
Yet her main obstacle is the MAC Player of the Year-favorite, Ball State guard Nathalie Fontaine. The Stockholm, Sweden, native averages 21.5 per game and has been named the MAC West Player of the Week five times this season. Last week, she surpassed 2,000 career points.
High five
Ohio has a five-game lead in the MAC East. Technically, that doesn’t matter when it comes to conference tournament seedings, but it does offer some insight.
First off, the five remaining teams on the Ohio schedule are all in the East Division, which proves the Bobcats went through the West portion of their schedule unscathed. Buffalo, which beat Ohio, plays in the East.
With all the MAC West teams still needing to play one another, that could lead to another Central Michigan (11-2 MAC) loss, which would give Ohio more breathing room to win the regular season title.
Sound somewhat confusing?
It is, but it indicates that Ohio’s chances at winning the conference should only increase with each game.
Upset risk Wednesday?
For Ohio, it's unlikely.
The last time Miami beat Ohio was in Oxford on March 8, 2014. The game concluded coach Bob Boldon’s first year at Ohio. The team finished the regular season 9-20.
By that time, Boldon joked about wanting to play at Western Michigan over Toledo in the MAC Tournament because the Kalamazoo, Michigan, hotel had a Ping-Pong table.
In all likelihood, Boldon won’t have to worry about an away game in the MAC Tournament for the rest of his Ohio career.
@charliehatch_
