By the transitive property, Ohio is 29 points better than Morgan State.
Each team squared off with Ohio State earlier this season, but the teams had varying results, as the Bobcats dropped their game against the Buckeyes by a 10-point margin, while the Bears were throttled from the opening tip in Columbus, losing by 39 points.
But previous results won’t matter when Ohio (2-1) hits the road to Baltimore, Md., for its second attempt at a road win on Wednesday, taking on winless Morgan State (0-3) in the second matchup between the schools in three seasons.
Ohio won the previous matchup in 2011 at The Convo by a score of 61-53.
One point of emphasis for the Bobcats will be containing Morgan State senior guard Justin Black, who is averaging 21 points per game this season and put up a career-high 28 points in a 95-75 loss to Towson last week.
Coach Jim Christian has been happy with how the Bobcats have contained the opposition’s best players thus far, but felt his defense has failed to do that in the second half against Valparaiso, when Ohio allowed guard LaVonte Dority to score 15 points during the final 20 minutes.
“We’ve done a pretty good job on their best player,” Christian said. “You’ve got to understand who you’re playing, you’ve got to really understand what he does well. Guys like (Black), they’re going to score. We’ve just got to make him earn every point and be there so he doesn’t get easy baskets early in the game.”
In addition to containing Black, junior guard Stevie Taylor said one of the most important aspects Ohio needs to build on its finishing what it started.
He said Bobcats need to put together a full game and put teams away when they put together a big lead early in the contest. “The main thing is, if we get a lead, we’ve got to keep it on teams,” Taylor said. “We can’t give up. We’ve got to keep playing the whole 40 minutes.”
And despite the fact that Ohio is traveling to face a team that has lost its first three contests by an average of 22 points, senior guard Nick Kellogg said it’s important for the Bobcats to maintain focus and try to get off to a fast start on the road.
That is something Ohio failed to do against Ohio State, allowing the Buckeyes to score the game’s first nine points.
“Especially on the road, you don’t want to dig yourself in a hole on somebody’s home court,” Kellogg said. “It’s important for us to get off to a good start and just maintain that throughout the game.”
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