Kent State came in as the favorite for good reason. They have a full roster stuffed with seniors and grad students, who have had years of experience playing against Ohio's offensive and defensive systems. They played a defense many MAC teams have adopted against Ohio - a tweaked 2-3 zone that even veteran Ohio teams have had trouble against. It wasn't a great surprise that this inexperienced team had trouble getting good looks from three. However, Kent State head coach Todd Starkey estimated after the game that Ohio still had good looks on about 30% of their 3-point attempts. If they can learn to capitalize on the good looks they do get, they can have success from long distance.

I don't think Ohio will be able to greatly reduce the number of threes they attempt because of the nature of their offense. They are a 5-out team, and there are only two shot choices- the three or the layup. Sports Illustrated this week had an article on Bob Boldon's mentor, Florida Gulf Coast coach Karl Smesko, that underlined how completely the mid-range shot is rejected by 5-out teams.

https://www.si.com/college/2023/01/04/florida-gulf-coast-...

Without a mid-range game, the three point shot has to remain as at least a threat in the 5-out, or else the completely one-dimensional dribble-drive attack that remains will be overwhelmed by packed-in defenses.

Ohio only scored 44 points in this game, but it should not be overlooked that Kent State scored only 60. They came in shooting .350 as a team from three, but shot only 7 for 29 (24.1%)against the Bobcats. Ohio disrupted their offense not only by doing a better job contesting the three, but by forcing 19 turnovers. They can win games if they can continue this kind of defensive effort.

If we're going to be a layup or three team, can we please start recruiting some players with height who can finish inside eight feet?

This thread topic reads like a Barstool Sports headline.

They went to the 4th with a lead and got blitzed in the 4th. It was frustrating to watch. The offense went stagnant and turnovers mounted. Some truly horrible decision making on passes was taking place, and Buffalo took full advantage.

Final NIU 78, Ohio 66. The Bobcats played spectacularly well for a large portion of the second half, and looked poised to pull off their first MAC win, down just 68-66 with 4:05 to go. But after that it was misfire after misfire - Dennis and J. Hale missing at the rim, Felder fumbling a ball away into a runout for NIU, and the game was all but over with 1:50 left and the Huskies up by 10. The margin of error is pretty thin in the MAC, and the Bobcats have had late chances in several games, but have not been able to get it done when it counts.

A good bounceback game for Felder, who ended up with 23 points, 9 assists, 5 steals and just 4 turnovers. And the entire team played well around her for long stretches, looking for their shots and moving well to give Felder angles to get them the ball. Kroll had 13, as did Hale. But Ohio remains the only winless team in MAC play.

Truly hard to watch tonight - seemed like we just flat gave up in the 4th.

The number of available players continues to decline, as Jaya McClure was out last night. She has been the backup point guard and has played around 24 mpg. Without her, Felder, J. Hale and Kroll each played over 35 minutes last night, which is probably not sustainable. Five Bobcats are currently sidelined.

Four of Ohio's next five games are on the road. There are already 7 MAC teams with at least three wins, so the path to the top 8 and getting to Cleveland is already pretty narrow.