Ohio won its most important game of the season Friday night. Confidence in their shooting ability and another rebound victory elevated the Bobcats to a 76-75 road victory over Buffalo.
Here are the numbers to know from the Bobcats’ 76-75 win over the Bulls:
52.5
Ohio (10-6, 6-4 Mid-American Conference) has the fifth most productive offense in the MAC, but many of its losses came from a lack of shooting accuracy. In all four of its conference losses, Ohio had a field goal percentage of less than 45%. On Friday, Ohio’s 52.5 field goal percentage nudged them above the Bulls in the end. Coach Jeff Boals has emphasized in recent weeks that while he wants his offense to be more aggressive, Ohio’s best bet is to be deliberate with the shots it takes.
The Bobcats are making headway with their recent struggles beyond the arc, as well. Ohio went 6-for-20 beyond the arc against Buffalo (6-6, 4-4 MAC), its best night for 3-pointers since Kent State.
38
After its loss to Kent State, Ohio realized that in order to stand a chance in the MAC, it needed to win the rebound battle. Its three-game win streak has shown just that. Ohio has been grabbing boards and turning them into baskets. The Bobcats outrebounded Buffalo 38-34 on Friday, another step on the road to becoming a more confident team in the paint.
What makes that stat even more impressive is that Buffalo entered the game averaging a league high 42.5 rebounds per game. Ohio was 11th out of 12 teams in the statistic.
4
Against conference opponents, the Bobcats will slip and experience a flare up of fouls that comes back to bite them and cost them the game. While they pulled out the win Friday, foul trouble reared its ugly head again. The Bobcats were hit with 20 fouls on Friday, above their average of 16.5 per game. Jason Preston, Ben Roderick and Ben Vander Plas each ended the game with four, the most in a game for the trio this season.
21
Dwight Wilson is the dog in the paint that Ohio needs. Wilson is the only senior on the team, and as such carries with him the confidence that four years of college basketball brings. Being 6 feet, 8 inches tall and 250 pounds doesn’t hurt either. He has been Ohio’s go-to man in the paint this season, and his numbers reflect that. Wilson scored 21 points against Buffalo, including the game-winner, his third-highest scoring night of the season.
Wilson is the lynchpin of Ohio’s aggressive offense. He knows he’s got a size advantage, and will gladly use it to rack up points when Ohio needs a boost.
3
Ohio has been on a short roll over the course of a week. Three straight wins is the longest win streak Ohio has had since it won its first four games of the 2019-2020 season. The Bobcats are past the halfway mark of the season, and a three-game win streak bolstered by a monumental conference win will make the last four weeks of the regular season fun to watch.
