Ohio finally got a road win at Youngstown State on Sunday, but Ohio’s luck didn’t extend beyond the weekend. Ohio was trampled 82-48 by Florida in Tampa on Wednesday night.
The Bobcats struggled all around. It was difficult for the Bobcats to keep up with the Gators due to their sheer power and size. Once the Gators figured out how to fend off Dwight Wilson III, the Bobcats’ go-to guy for any situation, it was over for them. They were outmatched.
Here’s the numbers to know from Ohio’s loss:
1
Miles Brown is usually solid and can connect from all areas of the court. However, that was not the case on Wednesday. Brown went 0-for-7 from the field and his lone point came from a free throw in the second half.
Brown has seen a decline in performance over the past week. He scored three points at Marshall on Dec. 3 and six at Youngstown State. When Brown’s 3-point shooting is off, his whole attack goes to the wayside. In both of those low-scoring games, Brown did not make a shot from beyond the arc.
14
Florida had double the points Ohio had off of forced turnovers. Ohio had seven points while Florida had 14, but Florida did commit more turnovers.
The Gators had 14 turnovers by the end of the night and the Bobcats had 12. The major difference was that the Gators were able to get their shots to fall. However, that doesn’t matter to the Bobcats because 12 turnovers is still too many. They’ve only met their goal of 10 or fewer turnovers twice this season, against UC-Clermont and Michigan.
31
Ohio shot a season-low 31% from the field against Florida. Ohio went 16-for-51 and prepared its own coffin by doing so.
The Bobcats struggle with creative shooting. Their instinct to drive into the paint often fails them and they need to think of something different. Mid-American Conference teams may not be able to guard Wilson in the paint, but strong nonconference opponents will be able to. The Bobcats need to develop their 3-point shooting before conference play.
24
Ohio has started to see what A.J. Brown can bring to the table. The freshman has scored double-digit points in his past four games and has played a high number of minutes off the bench. On Wednesday, he contributed a team-high 14 points in 24 minutes. Brown played the second-most minutes on the team.
Brown takes precise shots and knows when to ease off the gas. He has the potential to sneak his way into the starting lineup later this season if he continues to progress.
