Ugly loss

Wow. The Bobcats were blasted by Bowling Green today 75-41, the Bobcats' seventh consecutive road loss.

This wasn't exactly the way Ohio wanted to end its regular season.

“For the first time all year that I’m really disappointed and embarrassed,” coach John Groce said. “We didn’t represent the guys that played here in the past. We just didn’t get it done.”

The Bobcats (14-16, 7-9 MAC) were down 23-5 within the first five minutes of the game. They never caught up.

“Bowling Green came out and threw a couple of punches at us early,” Groce said. “Our guys just didn’t respond. That’s awful disappointing when you have three guys out there.”

Ohio's three seniors combined for 13 points. Leading scorer Jerome Tillman only had one point.

“This wasn’t a representation of Ohio basketball,” Groce said.

The Bobcats now travel to Cleveland where they will play in the Mid-American Conference tournament on Tuesday. They are the No. 9 seed and will play the No. 8 seed Western Michigan. The Broncos already defeated Ohio 76-62 on February 11.

Expect another early exit by the Bobcats again this tournament.

Here are the rest of the matchups:

No. 5 Akron vs. No. 12 Toledo
No. 6 Kent State vs. No. 11 Northern Illinois
No. 7 Central Michigan vs. No. 10 Eastern Michigan
No. 8 Western Michigan vs. No. 9 Ohio

No. 4 Miami vs. Akron/Toledo winner
No. 3 Buffalo vs. Kent State/Northern Illinois winner
No. 2 Ball State vs. Central Michigan/Eastern Michigan winner
No. 1 Bowling Green vs. Western Michigan/Ohio winner

I'll be in Cleveland for Tuesday's game and provide live blogging throughout. I'll also have my predictions posted sometime tomorrow.