Jan. 29, 2008

Recap |  Box Score |  Notes

Bobcats vs. Chippewas

Ohio 62, Central Michigan 47

January 29, 2008

Ohio Head Coach Tim O'Shea

Opening statement:

"It wasn't our best night offensively, I didn't feel. I felt the first half especially, we didn't shoot very well and we took some shots we probably shouldn't have taken. But, that said, I felt the defensive effort was very, very good. When I looked up at the clock in the second half with about three minutes to go and I saw that they had only scored ten points for the entire half, I felt that our defense carried us tonight. Hopefully our offense comes around, we make better shot selections, and better ball movement. But overall, a fifteen point win, over, what I feel, is a very dangerous Central Michigan team, I'm very happy about that."

On the defense bailing out missed opportunities on offense:

"I just didn't like some of our offensive possessions and it always bothers me when we miss little chip-ins. Those sometimes come back to hurt you. I thought Leon [Williams] had some great looks and went up strong and the ball just rimmed out on him. It's just one of those nights. We've had two nights in a row where we had some great offensive looks and the shots just weren't falling for us. Defense has been the constant. We held this team under fifty points, and around twenty-nine percent from the field. So, again, it was a very, very good defensive effort."

On the importance of the team's four-game winning streak and beating CMU:

"You know, we just keep going at it. They were all close games, we just have to hang in there. I feel that we have a good team and over the course of thirty games we are going to win our fair share, and that has been holding true. This is an important game for us, because when you look at tiebreakers at the end for a seed in the (MAC) tournament, the fact that they beat Akron, it could prove to be a tiebreaker situation for us in the end."

On the amount of fouls called in the game (40 total, 24 on CMU):

"That's how they play, they are second in the country in number of fouls committed. They play a very rough and aggressive game, and that can kind of kill the flow of a game."

Ohio Senior Forward Leon Williams:

On missing his first few shots before exploding for 22 points and 12 rebounds:

"That's two games in a row where I can't seem to get the ball in the hole. I just have to get back in the gym and work on it."

Ohio Senior Guard Bubba Walther:

On how he's feeling after missing two games:

"I felt good but I felt good on Saturday (against Ball State) when I played. I have focused on not taking any bad shots, which got me in trouble in the couple of games before I got hurt. Sitting out helped me realize what our strengths are, I learned alot."

On the Bobcats' high-energy defense (CMU shot just 29.6% from the field):

"I think a lot of it has to do with our depth this year. We know that we can go out and give all that we have because we have a sub right behind us. We are also taking a lot of pride in our defense this year."