The Bobcats have been stuck in a rut.
It’s no secret that they’ve struggled recently, losing their last five games, but coach Bob Boldon is optimistic coming into Thursday’s clash with Buffalo.
“I think we’ve played good basketball in every game that we’ve played,” Boldon said. “We’re trying. The easy answer is ‘shoot the ball better,’ but we’ve got to get better defensively on a consistent basis.”
The Bulls have been a team that scores more points in the second half than the first, and the Bobcats’ problem has been preventing second half scoring.
In the past five games, Ohio have given up 37 or more points in the second half to their opponents, which has cost them big wins over Bowling Green and Toledo.
“We happened to play the four best teams in the conference,” Boldon said.
“Again, we’ve come up short. Even at Central, I thought we played good basketball. We just gave up too many points in transition and we couldn’t finish them off. There’s been effort.”
The Bobcats are traveling up to Buffalo to play the Bulls, who have won five of their last six but are statistically very close to the ’Cats.
A lot of Ohio’s success depends on how well it can contain junior forward Kristen Sharkey in the paint. Through 20 games, Sharkey has averaged 14.7 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.
Sophomore guard Mackenzie Loesing leads Buffalo with 17.5 points per game and senior guard Margeaux Gupilan posts 7.8 points with 4.5 assists.
Boldon has said that he prefers high-percentage shots like layups, but when opponents sit in zone, the Bobcats have to shoot from the perimeter. Against Buffalo, that might be a good thing.
When opponents play the Bulls, they average 32.9 percent from behind the arc, compared to Buffalo’s 27.7 percent.
But ultimately for Boldon, it comes down to defense.
“We’ve guarded well in the first half and in the second we haven’t been as good,” he said. “So just being more consistent is the big thing.”
Up Next
Who: Ohio (8-12, 3-6 MAC) at
Buffalo (12-8, 5-4 MAC)
When: Noon, Thursday
Where: Buffalo, N.Y.
@charliehatch_
gh181212@ohiou.edu
