The Bobcats are seeking revenge Saturday against Eastern Michigan.
When Ohio left Ypsilanti, Michigan last Tuesday, it left with dark memories.
Sophomore forward Antonio Campbell literally has dark memories from the Bobcats’ loss to Eastern Michigan.
“They started off with the lights on during warm-ups, then they turned them off for some reason — I have no clue why — it was really dark,” he said. “It kind of just made us feel different. The game didn’t feel too real.”
The Bobcats (8-12, 3-6 Mid-American Conference) lost by 36 points, which was four points shy of their offensive output. It also was Ohio’s worst loss of the season.
The Bobcats will get to play in their own gym for a rematch Saturday, coming off a comeback victory on Wednesday against MAC rival Akron.
Campbell, who said Ohio is seeking revenge, hopes the Convo crowd will give Ohio energy — something he said was lacking at Eastern Michigan because it “didn’t have a crowd” of its own.
“We’ve got something to play for — they beat us by 36 points. We aren’t going to let that happen again,” Campbell said. “They come into our place, we’re going to beat them by 36 points.”
Ohio coach, Saul Phillips, doesn’t care about margins of victory, or loss, because the result is all that matters. He just wants his team to win consecutive games for just the second time this season.
Phillips doesn’t count victories as a winning steak until teams reach five games, but he would like Ohio’s three-game home stand to be a positive swing, after losing six of eight games before Wednesday.
“We got beat by 36 because we deserved to get beat by 36,” Phillips said. “I think we can play better than that and I hope it’s good enough to get a win if it’s by one, if it’s by 10, if it’s by 38 — it doesn’t matter.”
During that first meeting, the Bobcats missed their first 15 3-point attempts. Eastern Michigan didn’t fare much better by making three of 17 attempts, but each of the Bobcats’ past two opponents have attempted at least 30 shots from beyond the arc.
Ohio’s defense is designed to protect the rim first and foremost, but it’s focusing on contesting better outside shots, having allowed 43 percent of those attempts to fall.
Led by redshirt senior guard Javarez “Bean” Willis’ 31 points on Wednesday, Ohio was able to equalize Akron’s 18 made 3-pointers. Still, Phillips doesn’t want Ohio to rely too much on making outside shots.
“If you don’t have some semblance of balance, you’re just susceptible to dry spots in a game,” Phillips said.
The Bobcats also came off with a positive win before their first game against the Eagles, after senior forward Maurice Ndour made a game-winning dunk to defeat Buffalo. Because the momentum didn’t carry over, Phillips is challenging Ohio’s pride a different way in preparation of Saturday.
“You show them the tape of how you got beat by 36. Thirty-six is the number,” Philips said. “There’s no way around it, and if that doesn’t get you pretty locked in to play the next one, then I don’t know what would.”
@chadlindskog
cl027410@ohio.edu
