The one-game sample size certainly backed up Phillips’ hunch. Ohio won 70-52, held the ultra-efficient Cardinals to a season-low 52 points and put together their best 40-minute stretch of the season.
Phillips, Ohio’s fifth-year head coach, said the switch — senior Gavin Block into the starting five with freshman Jason Preston to the bench — wouldn’t have worked if Preston wasn’t keyed in. The move helps Ohio keep more deep threats on the floor at the same time, gives the team a designated point guard more often, and provides the Bobcats with a firmer eight-player rotation.
“This was in no way reflective of him,” Phillips said afterward.