Bobcats, RedHawks Meet for Championship Game Berth
7 p.m. Game to be Televised on Fox Sports Net Ohio
Contact: Jim Stephan
3/11/2005
 With two steals Thursday night, sophomore Sonny Troutman set a school single-season record with 65 steals this year. |
CLEVELAND ? Mid-American Conference East Division rivals Ohio and Miami meet for the third time Friday with a berth in Saturday?s MAC Tournament championship game on the line. The Bobcats (19-10) advanced last night with a 62-55 win over Kent State while Miami (19-9) posted an 85-65 victory over Bowling Green.
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The teams split the regular-season series this year with each winning at home. The RedHawks won 59-57 in Oxford on Jan. 22 while Ohio took a 61-57 verdict in Athens on Feb. 12.
Other storylines for tonight?s game:
* The No. 4 seed for Ohio is the highest since 1999, when the Bobcats finished third during the regular season.
* Ohio is 3-1 against Miami in MAC Tournament play. The last meeting was a 65-55 overtime upset by the 11th-seeded Bobcats in the 2003 quarterfinals.
* Ohio is 22-20 all-time in MAC Tournament history.
* Last night?s double-double was the ninth of the season for Leon Williams.
The Series
Ohio leads the most active series in its history by an 89-82 count following a split of the season series this year. The Bobcats lost 59-57 in Oxford on Jan. 22, before rebounding for a 61-57 victory in Athens on Feb. 12.
The teams have met four times previously in postseason play, most recently in the 2003 quarterfinals. Ohio, as the No. 11 seed, needed overtime but posted a 65-55 upset. The other matchups came in the 2001 semifinals (a 62-61 Miami win), the 1994 championship (an 89-66 Ohio win) and the 1985 championship (a 74-64 Ohio win).
O?Shea Against Miami
With a season split against the RedHawks, Tim O?Shea now stands 5-4 all-time against Miami. In each of the three previous years, the teams have also split the regular-season matchups, making the difference the 65-55 Ohio victory in the quarterfinals of the 2003 MAC Tournament.
O?Shea also stands 37-35 in Mid-American Conference contests and 4-3 in MAC Tournament games.
On Neutral Floors
Last night?s contest against Kent State was the second on a neutral floor this season. The Bobcats defeated Binghamton 67-63 on Dec. 27 in the opening round of the FIU Holiday Classic in Miami.
During the O?Shea era, Ohio stands 4-5 when playing on a neutral court with wins in back-to-back outings.
MAC Tournament Briefing
Ohio stands 22-20 all-time at the MAC Tournament, winning titles in 1983, 1985 and 1994.
Last night?s win marked the second time in the Tim O?Shea era that the Bobcats have won a quarterfinal game.
The Bobcats have been the No. 4 seed three other times, losing quarterfinal games in 1992, 1993 and 1996. They are 10-11 all-time in the quarterfinal round and have a 4-6 in the semifinals.
Turnovers and Takeaways
Ohio recorded 16 turnovers last night to record a minus-six total in the category. The Bobcats have now had more turnovers in six of seven games since holding an edge in 12 straight contests.
Ohio had just six steals against the Golden Flashes, equalling the lowest total in six games. The Bobcats have been in double figures nine times and have had at least seven on 21 occasions.
The season average for steals is 8.41. That figure ranks fourth in the Mid-American Conference and 56th in the nation.
Home Run
Ohio wrapped up its 2004-05 home schedule Monday with a 13-1 record this season. The only blemish was a 69-49 setback to Akron on Feb. 16.
The Bobcats have won 21 of their last 23 in the friendly confines. During the Tim O?Shea era, the Bobcats are 37-15 in The Convo.
Rally Cats and Near Misses
After five near-rallies and five heartbreaking losses, Ohio pulled out its first big comeback of the year at Detroit on Feb. 19. The Bobcats trailed by 15 in the second half and by 11 with less than 12 minutes remaining in the 66-65 win.
The Bobcats trailed Miami by 17 points (53-36) with 6:46 remaining, but rallied to even the game at 57 on a pair of free throws at 57 seconds.
Four previous times this year, Ohio also rallied from a double-digit deficit in the second half to pressure an opponent in the waning seconds.
Northern Illinois held a 15-point lead with 10 minutes remaining before Ohio cut the deficit to one, while the Bobcats trailed by 16 points in the middle of the second half at Ball State, but rallied to take the lead with eight seconds remaining. However, the Cardinals hit a shot in the final second for the victory.
The Bobcats have had two other near rallies on the road this season. They cut a 15-point second-half deficit to one at St. Francis and a 16-point deficit to two at American.
Ohio Award Winners
Ohio freshman Leon Williams was named MAC Freshman of the Year on Monday. He finished the regular season averaging 11.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, with his total on the boards ranking third among all players.
The Baltimore, Md., native had eight double-doubles during the campaign. He shot 63.8 percent from the field, had 32 steals and blocked 13 shots.
Williams was one of three Bobcats to earn Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week honors this season. He won his award on Feb. 28 after double-doubles against Eastern Michigan and Marshall.
Mychal Green took the honor on Jan. 31 by averaging 15 points and 4.5 rebounds in wins over Bowling Green and Toledo.
The following week, Sonny Troutman earned the honor. He posted a pair of 20+-point efforts and shot 70 percent (14-of-20) from the field against Buffalo and Western Michigan. He added 12 rebounds and 10 assists.
Double-Figure Scoring
Ohio had three players reach double figures Monday, giving the Bobcats 103 double-figure scoring games this season. The best efforts have been five players with at least 10 points in four contests -- Miami (away), Bowling Green (home), Marshall and San Francisco.
Seven different players have reached the mark, led by Sonny Troutman and Mychal Green with 21. Leon Williams follows with 17.
A Freshman Double-Double
True freshman Leon Williams recorded his ninth double-doubles this season, including four in the last six games. He tallied 14 points and 16 rebounds against the Golden FlashesHe tallied 22 points and 14 rebounds against Buffalo and had performances of 14/12 at Marshall and 16/11 vs. Eastern Michigan (his first in six games). He also had double-doubles against Buffalo (the first meeting), Ball State, Duquesne, St. Francis and San Francisco.
Williams? total already compares favorably with two other former Bobcat freshmen. He passed Brandon Hunter, who had four during his initial season, while Gary Trent had 18 during his first year, the 1992-93 campaign.
A listing of the top five freshman in the country in double-doubles:
No. Name, Team DD
1. Kyle Hines, NC-Greensboro* 11
2. Bryant Dunston, Fordham* 9
Leon Williams, Ohio 9
4. Glen Davis, Louisiana State 8
CJ Anderson, Manhattan* 8
*team has no remaining games scheduled.
More on the Youngster
The 18 rebounds that Leon Williams grabbed against Duquesne were the most by a freshman since Gary Trent recorded 19 against Toledo in 1993.
Williams has topped 20 points on two occasions, a then team-season-high of 24 at St. Francis and 22 vs. Buffalo. He has been the top rebounder 20 times, including seven straight and 16 of the last 20 games. He has topped double figures nine times this season.
Rebounding Up?
Ohio?s 37 rebounds last night was its highest in three games, snapped back-to-back efforts in the 20s. The Bobcats tallied 26 and 25, respectively, against at Kent State and vs. Marshall.
Last night?s plus-four rebounding margin was just the third on the plus side in 12. A plus-10 margin against Eastern Michigan on Feb. 23. was the second-largest of the conference season.
Ohio is 11-3 this season (7-1 MAC) when having an advantage or being even on the boards, but only 8-7, 4-6 when trailing in the category.
Help From the Bench?
With the balanced scoring attack this season, the Bobcats count on their starters for the majority of offense.
In fact, the regular starting five has accounted for 1,662 of the Bobcats? 2,083 points this season (79.8 percent). That also averages to 57.3 points per game from that group of players.
Interestingly, Ohio?s record this season is 15-5 (10-5 MAC) when ?allowing? the opponent reserves to outscore its non-starters.
Little Big Man
Ohio guard Mychal Green is 12th in the Mid-American Conference in blocked shots at 0.74 per game. The 6-4 junior is the shortest in the top 15, with the next two standing at 6-foot-6 (Romeo Travis of Akron and John Reimold of Bowling Green).
The first five of the rankings are all over 6-foot-9, while nine of the 15 stand at least 6-foot-8.
Green had his season high of four blocks in the first meeting with Bowling Green.
One will get you Twenty
With 19 wins, Ohio already has the most wins in Tim O?Shea?s four years, topping the 17 he recorded in his first season.
Now, the Bobcats are just one win shy of their first 20-win season since 1999-2000 (20-13). In its history, Ohio has topped 20 wins nine times.
High Scoring
Freshman Jeremy Fears tallied 33 points Wednesday, the most by a Bobcat in over two years. Brandon Hunter registered 35 points against Marshall on Feb. 2, 2003.
Fears had the most points by a freshman since Gary Trent tallied 34 in the 1993 MAC Tournament at Toledo (March 11).
Last year, there were 15 occasions where a player topped 20 points; this year?s total stands at eight.
High For Harbut
Senior Terren Harbut waited until his final game at The Convo to turn in his best offensive game of the season.
The Lexington, Ky., native scored 19 points topping his 16-point effort in the first Kent State game. His scoring total also marked the first time this seaon that he led the team.
Harbut had topped double figures 11 times this season.
Hot Shots
Ohio?s 50-percent shooting performance against Marshall on Monday marked the third time in four games that the Bobcats hit at least half their shots. They also topped the mark against Buffalo and at Marshall.
Ohio shot 42.5 percent yesterday ending a two-game run of 52.8 percent (102 of 198). The Bobcats are 8-1 overall (6-1 MAC) when hitting half their shots.
Stealing Machine
True freshman Jeremy Fears had seven steals at Northern Illinois Jan. 11, the most ever recorded by a Bobcat freshman.
The total is tied with two other efforts for third on the all-time list, two behind Steve Esterkamp?s school record of nine vs. Marshall in 2002.
Fears set an Ohio freshman record against Buffalo with his 48th of the season. His average of 1.72 per game ranks seventh overall in the MAC and ninth in the country among freshmen.
Steals Record for Troutman
With a pair of steals last night, sophomore Sonny Troutman set a new single season mark in the category. He has 65, one more than Nate Craig had during the 1990-91 campaign. The full listing can be found on page 22 of the postseason media guide.
Last year?s team leader with a then freshman-record 47 steals, Troutman has recorded multiple steals in 22 contests and one on another four occasions. He tied his career high twice this year with five steals against Kent State and Butler.
Troutman ranks second in the league this season at 2.24 per contest.
Close Calls
Close games have been the norm for Ohio the last four seasons as the Bobcats have seen 13 games taken to overtime. In total, Ohio has played 19 extra periods of basketball during that span.
Last year, the Bobcats played five outings past regulation and have a 6-7 record in overtime games since 2002.
Eight of the last 11 games in 2003-04 and 18 of 29 this year have been decided by single digits. Thirty-six of the last 57 games have been decided by less than 10 points, with the Bobcats winning 18 of those.
Sirius Radio
The Bobcats made 11 appearances on the Sirius Satellite Radio Network during the regular season. The service will also cover WKNR?s coverage of the MAC Tournament in Cleveland.
Defending the Castle
In honor of assistant coach Kevin Kuwik, who was recalled by the U.S. Army into active duty in October, the Bobcats are wearing gold castle pins on their warm-ups this season. The ?Castle? is the ensignia of the army?s engineering branch, to which Captain Kuwik is assigned.
The Bobcats are also using the slogan ?defending the castle? to represent pride in playing well at home.
