After suffering its first Mid-American Conference loss of the season Sunday, Ohio will attempt to get back on the winning track with a quick turnaround.
Senior forward T.J. Hall said that while the Bobcats (11-4, 1-1) only have two full days to prepare before welcoming Ball State to The Convo at 8:00 p.m., the squad is accustomed to short layoffs.
“It’s conference play, so we’ve been through it before,” Hall said. “We’ve got to adjust, take these practices seriously, just focus more in a shorter period of time to get ready for (Ball State). Hopefully everybody’s body recovered in enough time.”
Although the Bobcats and Zips played a grueling double overtime contest, Ohio committed costly turnovers, which allowed Akron to get back into the contest and ultimately come away victorious.
Senior guard Travis Wilkins said the Bobcats’ inability to close out a victory was another example of every possession’s value, especially late in games.
“Every possession throughout the game is important, but toward the end of the game especially, when the game’s on the line,” Wilkins said. “We’ve learned that we can lose by having bad possessions, but at the same time if we execute and do what we know we need to do hopefully next time we’ll come out on top.”
The Cardinals’ 3-10 record may not show their recent play, the team has fared well in its two MAC game, despite losing to Kent State and Akron by a combined 16 points.
However, Ball State, which is led by first-year coach James Whitford, has defeated just one Division I opponent this season and are 0-7 away from home.
Ball State is one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the MAC, as the Cardinals rank third with an average of 13 boards per contest.
Freshman guard Zavier Turner leads the Cardinals with a team-high 13 points per game, as he is a threat at the foul line, where he leads the NCAA in free throw percentage.
Senior center Majok Majok, ranks second on the team in points scored with pulls down more than 10 rebounds per game, which is the best in the conference.
“(Majok) does a lot of things,” coach Jim Christian said. “He’s a really good low post scorer, he really rebounds the ball. He’s got a really good ability to finish in traffic and he goes to the glass hard every possession so that’s how you do it … He’s a big key to the game.”
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