With a win Ohio might be in the MAC Tournament.
This is it. Ohio's season finale at Kent is its last chance to get into the Mid-American Conference Tournament with a No. 8 seed — the last seed.
After practice Wednesday, it took coach Aaron Rodgers almost three minutes to explain every situation that would result in the Bobcats (5-12, 3-7 MAC) making the postseason, but the presiding thought remains the same: end the season with a win.
"(The team) understands that we are in a de facto playoff game because we have to win," Rodgers said. "I think they recognize what's ahead of us, and the fact that we are able to play for a postseason and have something to play for is motivating them."
The fact remains that a win guarantees Ohio a spot in the MAC Tournament and if it loses, it will have to rely on Akron losing to Buffalo, Eastern Michigan tying Bowling Green and Northern Illinois and Western Michigan tying, as well.
If that sounds confusing, that's because it is, and when you throw in head-to-heads, goal differential and other determining factors, the field only gets muddier.
But Rodgers isn't one to rely on other teams for his own team's success, and he said that the Bobcats have everything to play for, while Kent may just be looking to close out the season.
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"We have to be able to fight a little bit harder," Rodgers said. "(Kent is) already in the MAC Tournament, so they might be playing for a chance to be a top four seed. But we're playing for our lives."
It is an especially big game for the Bobcats who may be playing their last game in green and white. For seniors Grace Campbell and Leah Sandercock, as well as redshirt juniors Holly Harris and Carly Manso, Thursday's game may have special meaning, but Rodgers hasn't put too much thought into it.
"We haven't really talked about that because we want to win, and we don't want to put that kind of thought in their head," he said "I want them to be able to keep that motivation and think that we can still play on Sunday in the MAC Tournament."
For the rest of Rodgers' young team, it will be a chance to build for the future. Five players will return as seniors next season, with eight coming back as sophomores. For those players, the game will be an announcement to the MAC of Ohio's intentions next season.
And after missing the postseason every year since Rodgers' first year in 2013, Thursday's game against Kent will either end that streak or be another bump on the way to a MAC title contention for the Bobcats.
@kellenbecoats
