Having lost its first four MAC games, Ohio is trying to regroup to improve in the future.
Despite a four-game losing streak to begin Mid-American Conference play, Stevie Taylor is still having fun playing basketball.
It hasn’t been easy, but he’s a senior leader and wants to remain level-headed with 14 games remaining before the MAC Tournament.
“At the end of the day you’re losing and that’s not fun at all,” Taylor said. “I’m not going to let anything distract me from having fun and take away the joy of this game, because at the end of the day this is something that I do love.”
After suffering their worst loss of the season against George Washington in December, the Bobcats (5-10, 0-4 MAC) went to dinner together and attempted to find their identity as a whole. The next day Ohio had its best offensive performance this season in a 21-point win against DePaul.
Taylor and coach Saul Phillips know the Bobcats aren’t going to rid themselves of their problems overnight, but Phillips is trying day-by-day and has assigned each player two aspects of his game to work on during practice Monday.
Taylor, who moved out of the starting rotation in December, is focusing on decision-making and creating for others. He was one of just two Bobcats to score in double-digits during Saturday’s loss to Kent State.
The Bobcats didn’t score until about six minutes into their game against the Golden Flashes and finished having made just 34 percent of their field goals.
“I’ve never had a team struggle this much offensively,” Phillips said. “When it goes bad for this group it’s tough.”
Ohio is fifth in the MAC in field goal shooting and eighth in scoring. Phillips said a way to curb the Bobcats’ shooting woes is to grab more offensive rebounds and get to the free throw line more often.
“I had a computer that I had an interesting relationship with. Every once in a while it would black out, and I would hit the side of it and it would work,” Phillips said. “We’re hitting the side of it right now to see if it’ll work.”
But if history is any indication, Ohio has plenty of time to start winning. Although winning in conference play determines seeding for the postseason, the MAC is a one-bid league and winning the MAC Tournament is essentially a team’s only way to get to the NCAA Tournament.
The last time the Bobcats lost their first four MAC games was 2010, when they eventually won the MAC Tournament and upset third-seeded Georgetown in the NCAA Tournament.
“You’ve got to take a day at a time to get better. You’re not gonna turn it around in our practice, you’re not gonna turn it around in one game,” Taylor said. “Yeah, we’re taking Ls early, but who's to say, come March something might happen.”
For now, Ohio will try again for its first MAC win Wednesday against Ball State (7-8, 2-2 MAC) on the road.
“They need to feel a win right now, regardless of what type of win it is,” Phillips said. “If they were playing air hockey upstairs they would need a win in that right now.”
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