Ohio will look to stop Akron and its high scoring offense Wednesday in The Convo.
Ohio’s matchup with Akron on Wednesday is its most important game of the regular season.
Forget about Ohio’s wins over Central Michigan or Toledo; the Bobcats’ bout with the Zips on Wednesday could be an indication of who will go into the Mid-American Conference Tournament as the No. 1 seed in March.
“(The Zips) are a very good basketball team and are very well coached,” said coach Bob Boldon. “We just have to figure a way to just slow them down.”
Although the Bobcats are amid a five-game winning streak, their second-longest this season, the Zips are possibly Ohio’s most difficult opponent this season.
Akron (15-3, 5-2 MAC) leads the MAC in scoring, averaging 79 points per game and will look to utilize the MAC’s leading scorer: senior forward Sina King. King averages 20 points and nine rebounds per game. Akron has beaten Ohio in the previous six meetings. The last time the Bobcats defeated the Zips was in January of 2012.
“We stick to our principles in every game we play, so as long as we do that, we’ll come out on top,” said sophomore forward Jasmine Weatherspoon.
Akron’s offense has two of the MAC’s best scorers, King and junior Anita Brown. And the Zips are coming off a 74-72 win over Central Michigan. The Zips tied a school record with 13 threes against the Chippewas, despite attempting 32 threes.
Ohio (15-3, 6-1 MAC), which has the second-best defense in the conference, will attempt to control the flow of the game by cutting out the paint and limiting 3-point attempts.
“We’re prepping for (Akron) just like every other game,” said sophomore guard Quiera Lampkins. “We’re focusing on their shooters and best players. They’re a good transition team, and they score a lot of points, so we’re focusing on stopping that.”
Akron leads the MAC in scoring percentage (.458) and is second to Ohio in 3-point percentage (.331), while Weatherspoon said second-chance points and offensive rebounding will be focal points to the Bobcats’ offense.
After beginning their season with a rapid, quick offense, the Bobcats have slowed their tempo down and have modified a more balanced attack as of late.
In its first nine games, Ohio averaged 78 points per game. In the past nine games, however, Ohio has scored an average of 13 fewer points at just 65 per game.
Against Ball State on Saturday, Ohio scored 28 points inside the paint and shot six for 23 from beyond the 3-point line.
“We’ve been playing better teams, so better teams know where to stop us at,” Lampkins said. “(They know) to stop us in transition they have to play zone, and I think we’ve gotten away from the transition, so that’s something we (have) got to work on.”
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