They may not say it, but the Bobcats’ defense is zoning in on one player Tuesday night in The Convo: Chippewa guard Marcus Keene.
Keene is the nation’s best scorer and there’s hardly an argument to prove otherwise. His 30.2 points per game is the most in the NCAA. The second-best is South Dakota’s Mike Daum’s 23.8. Keene may be the first player in 20 years to average 30 points per game if he continues at this pace, according to ESPN.
Tuesday, Ohio’s Jordan Dartis will have the luxury of guarding Keene. And he’s got about 24 hours to prepare.
Ohio (14-7, 5-3 Mid-American Conference) vs Keene, and Central Michigan, is at 7 p.m.
“Just get him out of his comfort zone,” Dartis said. “You guys have all seen clips, you see what he does, just try to make him as uncomfortable as I can.”
Dartis is one of Ohio’s better perimeter defenders. He occasionally chats with his opposition at the top of the key during games.
Yet, Dartis and point guard Jaaron Simmons will have to lock in on Keene.
Ohio coach Saul Phillips said Monday that the Bobcats won’t change its defense systematically — it’s too late in the season for that — to guard the undersized shooting guard.
The Bobcats used Monday’s practice to imitate Keene and Central Michigan’s quick-paced offense that leads the MAC in scoring (89.6), free throw percentage (78.7) and 3-point field goals made (288). It also ranks near the top, conference-wise, in rebounding offense (third, 39.7) and turnover margin (second, +2.35).
Ohio’s ball handlers brought the ball up just to pull up or push the tempo to replicate Keene’s fast play. Keene has made 225 field goals this season — 63 more than Jimmy Hall’s 162, who has the second-most field goals made in the MAC.
Central Michigan's adjusted pace is 75 possessions per 40 minutes (seventh-best in the nation) according to Ken Pomeroy.
“Defensive transition is of the essence,” Phillips said.
Or simply, Ohio may just have to live with the fact that Keene, a transfer guard from Youngstown State, will score in bunches.
“There’s going to be a lot of possessions,” Phillips added. “They play very fast. Concentrating on that next possession and not too caught up in where you are at or what’s going on. I won’t bother looking at the scoreboard until we get down toward the end.”
Regardless of how well Keene does against Ohio, though, the Bobcats will have a chance of their own to tally an abundance of points.
Central Michigan’s defense is the worst in the MAC. It surrenders 84.4 points per game, last place in the MAC and the seventh-worst in all the NCAA.
Simmons, Ohio’s best player, is coming off the best game of his career. He’ll have another chance to repeat his historic performance last Saturday.
“It’ll be a tough one, but we gotta stay consistent,” Simmons said. “Stay locked in on team defense.”
