It’s evident that energy and effort are focal points for Ohio following its loss in Wednesday’s Mid-American Conference opener.
Maurice Ndour, a senior forward, wishes he had the answer to why the Bobcats lost to Northern Illinois, despite jumping out to an early lead.
“Sometimes we give 100 percent and sometimes we don’t,” Ndour said. “That’s something you can’t teach anybody, you can’t teach effort to anybody, that stays between each and every one of us. I just hope that they get it and know that it’s conference time, the team with the most energy is going to win most of the time.”
Saturday, Ndour and the Bobcats will try again to win their first MAC game, as they’ll play on the road against Bowling Green (9-3, 1-0 MAC), a team riding a three-game winning streak, including road win against Kent State in its MAC opener.
Ohio (5-7, 0-1 MAC), however, has been inconsistent throughout the season and has yet to string two-straight wins together. The Bobcats have responded well after losses by losing consecutive games only once — one of those coming in overtime.
Despite Wednesday’s loss, the Bobcats have 17 games remaining in a conference full of parity, where anyone can win on any given night.
“If you’re going to triple-bogey, then triple-bogey the first hole because you’re going to have time to make up for it,” coach Saul Phillips said. “We’ve responded in the past well after a tough loss — it’s going to have to be the case Saturday because Bowling Green is playing really well.”
The Bobcats will play five of their seven remaining January games on the road. That can present an opportunity for the Bobcats to flip the switch before playing the majority of their home MAC contests, but they have struggled away from Athens.
Ohio is are 0-2 on the road, not including going 1-2 in netural site games during December’s Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii.
Bowling Green is 5-1 at the Stroh Center this season, with its only loss coming to Ferris State, a Division II team.
Amidst some troubles in putting a collective effort on the court, a trip away from Athens could fix some consistency and chemistry problems.
“Nothing brings a team closer than a couple bad movies on the way to Bowling Green,” Phillips said. “It’s always been that way and it’s time to go.”
But Ohio will have a lot to deal with Richaun Holmes, Bowling Green’s 6-foot-8, 245-pound, senior forward, who is eighth in the MAC in scoring (14.5 points per game) and second in rebounding (8.4 per game).
A lack of effort isn’t just something that Phillips doesn’t want to see again, but if happens again Saturday, the Bobcats will have a lot to deal with defending Holmes.
“I want to see guys making winning plays,” Phillips said. “We looked like the less aggressive team against Northern Illinois and that’s something that can’t happen, ever. It’s not something that I’m accustomed to and it’s not something that I want our guys to get accustomed to.”
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