March Madness 2012: The Ohio Bobcats are Dancing in the NCAA Tournament
By Jason Lisk
Conference: Mid-American Conference (27-7)
Location: Athens, Ohio
Famous Alums: Roger Ailes, president of Fox News, and Sports Illustrated’s Peter King
They’re Back! 13 previous appearances for the Bobcats, and they upset Georgetown soundly back in the first round in 2010.
Resume: A close loss at Louisville and a win over Marshall highlight their non-conference results. They finished 3rd in the MAC but won the rubber match against Akron in the tourney final to advance.
Notable Player(s): 5’11” point guard D.J. Cooper is quick, will get steals, set up teammates, and is also the leading scorer.
Team Style/Strengths: They generate steals, will play uptempo, and are vulnerable on the defensive glass. Their weaknesses and strengths matchup with Michigan, who are not a good rebounding team but are good at not turning it over. It will be a tempo contrast as the Ohio Bobcats try to speed Michigan up.
All-Important Rankings: 47 (RPI), 72 (Pomeroy)
Outlook/Seed: The committee rewarded Michigan’s loss to Ohio State with now having to play the Ohio University as a #13 seed. An upset in the battle of Ohio versus Michigan would not be out of the question.
[photo via US Presswire]
NCAA Tournament Automatic Berths:
UNC-Asheville
Murray State
Belmont
Creighton
Loyola (Maryland)
VCU
Davidson
St. Mary’s
Western Kentucky
Harvard
Detroit
Lehigh
Vermont