Ohio took care of business in its season opener Wednesday evening, defeating an overmatched Chicago State 84-61 at Illinois. And even though the final score is what all people tend to care about, there’s a few important stats that led to the Bobcats’ blowout victory.
Here are the numbers that matter in Ohio’s season opening win over Chicago State:
8
The Bobcats weren’t bombs away from 3-point range, only attempting 19 such shots, but still made them count. Ohio knocked down eight 3-pointers, and three of them came by way of the player of the game, sophomore Lunden McDay.
McDay shot 60% from beyond the arch, and while those numbers will be nearly impossible to maintain, the young standout is showing early that he can provide the Bobcats with some of the shooting it lost last season due to Jordan Dartis’ graduation.
Complementing McDay’s attack were 3-pointers by Ben Vander Plas, Jason Preston, Miles Brown, Ben Roderick and Jalen White. If the Bobcats truly have a roster that can shoot with range, it’ll only open up their offense even more.
15
The number 15 applies to two stats in Ohio’s win Wednesday: one good and one bad.
On a positive note, the Bobcats’ 15 assists were six more than the Cougars. Preston, one of the country’s best passers last season, led the Bobcats with eight. No other Bobcat had more than two.
But while 15 assists is a stat the Bobcats hope to grow over the season, Ohio’s 15 turnovers is not. Ohio coach Jeff Boals mentioned postgame he wants to see that cleaned up before the Bobcats face North Carolina A&T on Thursday.
30
Not to be a downer, but the Bobcats should’ve defeated the Cougars by even more that they did for one major reason: free throws. Chicago State committed a whopping 30 personal fouls and kept Ohio on the charity stripe.
The Bobcats shot an underwhelming 20-33 from the line (65%) and failed to fully capitalize to the Cougars’ biggest blunder of the game. If the Bobcats don’t improve their free throw shooting numbers, it could cost them in a close game.
12
Twelve of Ohio’s 13 players scored at least one point in the win, and every player played. Boals has stressed the importance of having depth among the roster, especially this season, and Ohio flashed it today.
Not only did Ohio get a solid performance out of its leaders Preston and Vander Plas (22 points combined), it also saw freshmen like Sam Towns and Mark Sears step up as well. As the season goes on, Boals will start to feed the guys who’ve earned the trust, but for right now, having your entire team involved in a win is a plus.
58.3
If the Bobcats shoot nearly 60 percent from the field (28-48 FG) every game, I promise you that some banners will go up in The Convo next season.
From smart shooting to tough finishes under the rim, the Bobcats knew how to score the rock at an effective rate against the Cougars.
1
Stats are great, but going 1-0 was all the Bobcats cared about. Boals has again lead the Bobcats to a season-opening win. It’ll take a lot to escape Illinois with the undefeated record this week, but Ohio is off to the right start.
The Bobcats return to the court Thursday to face the Aggies before ending the week Friday against the host school and No. 8 ranked Illinois Fighting Illini.
