Basketball

In 1997, four out of five of the Mid-American Conference’s First-Team All-Conference selections went on to make future careers in the NBA. The Ohio Bobcats' Geno Ford was the fifth. But as it turns out, that’s just fine with him.

After the Ohio women’s basketball team advanced to its first Mid-American Conference final since 1986, the Bobcats came up a bit short, falling to Miami University 67-56 Saturday afternoon at Quicken Loans Arena.

All senior forward Leon Williams could do was look at the scoreboard with his hands clasped on his head, shaking it in disgust as he could do little to stop his storied career as a Bobcat from coming to a close.

March is once again upon us, which means the madness is just around the corner. With the regular season complete, we now turn our attention to the all-important conference tournaments, and the Mid-American Conference Tournament is no exception.

The Ohio University men's basketball team snapped their two-game losing skid by defeating the University at Buffalo 94-80 Sunday at the Convocation Center. With the win, the Bobcats clinched the No. 4 seed and a first-round bye in the Mid-American Conference Tournament, which starts Wednesday March 12.

The battle-tested lady Bobcats failed to secure a bye in the Mid-American Conference Tournament after losing at Miami University in overtime Wednesday, so they will face a familiar first-round foe Sunday at Quicken Loans Arena -- the Central Michigan Chippewas.

What seemed so promising at the beginning, fizzled out towards the end. And I’m not even referring to the Ohio men’s basketball team’s 6-2 start in Mid-American Conference play (they’re 2-4 in their last six MAC games). I’m talking about Speakeasy Sports’ quarterly road trip.

Speakeasy Sports' Zach Swartz made the trek to Oxford this weekend to give you live, in-game updates and commentary on the age-old Bobcat-RedHawk rivalry game. Be sure to check back all night for up-to-the-minute updates of the Battle of the Bricks.

Ohio University’s lady hoopsters could not muster a win on Senior Night this past Wednesday at the Convocation Center. The Bobcats fell to division leader Bowling Green State University 82-67.

When Ohio basketball coach Tim O’Shea mentioned in a press conference that he would like to see a team like Duke come into the Convocation Center to face the Bobcats, most of the reporters in the room chuckled.

Karma works in funny ways, and Saturday it was on the side of the Ohio University Bobcats.

From Brett Favre to Cal Ripken Jr., sports fans hold a special place in their hearts for the athlete that performs consistently at the highest levels of competition. Quintana Ward is that player for the Ohio University women’s basketball team.

The Ohio Bobcats outscored the visiting Bowling Green Falcons by 21 in the second half to erase a halftime tie and carry them to a 69-48 victory over their MAC East Division-foe Tuesday at the Convo.

Ohio’s seniors scored over two thirds of their team’s points as the Bobcats (16-7, 7-3 Mid-American Conference) came back from a five-point halftime deficit to beat the MAC West Division-leading Western Michigan Broncos (13-10, 7-3 MAC) 57-54 at the Convocation Center Saturday.

When juniors Allen Hester and Bert Whittington IV walked onto the basketball court of the Convocation Center for the first time, they knew right away this was where they wanted to continue their collegiate basketball careers.

Some would say Ohio senior forward Leon Williams had a great year last year, averaging then-career-bests with points (14.4) and rebounds (8.8) and landing himself a place on the Second-Team All-Mid-American Conference roster.

This Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Convocation Center, Ohio Bobcats' freshman guard Tommy Freeman gets a chance to go back to his roots as the Bobcats take on the Ball State Cardinals, located in Freeman’s hometown of Muncie, Ind.

It's the middle of January, which means college football is over and we can turn our full attention to the collegiate hard court, where conference play is heating up. The MAC East is no exception and Speakeasy Sports takes a look at each of the teams in the dominant MAC division.

Driven by defense and a combined 37 points from forwards Jerome Tillman and Leon Williams, the Bobcats (10-5, 1-1 MAC) reached the double-digit win mark with a 72-63 victory over rival Miami (6-8, 0-2 MAC) on Saturday afternoon in Athens.

The Eastern Michigan Eagles came into this year's Mid-American Conference Tournament seeking to prove that they are not the sub-par team they demonstrated during the regular season. The Eagles, who compiled just 12 wins overall going 6-10 in MAC play, are looking to improve.

Because this year's Mid-American Conference Tournament is the first that will host all 12 teams from the conference, there is no doubt that the Bowling Green Falcons are in a favorable position.

 

The Akron Zips (24-6,13-3 MAC) have a bye on Wednesday and will take on the winner of the Wednesday afternoon game between No. 7 Central Michigan (12-17, 7-9 MAC) and No. 10 Buffalo (12-18, 4-12 MAC) Thursday night. Either way, the Zips are primed to go deep into the tournament.

Coming off a depressing loss at home last Saturday, the Ohio University women's varsity basketball team came into the Convocation Center Tuesday night looking to rebound.

Student sections dressed in harmony, jumping up and down in unison while watching the players on the floor, give it everything they got for the good of the team. Although the game is neither perfect nor flawless, college basketball is one of the greatest games in American sports.