Ohio head coach John Groce said repeatedly down the stretch that his team was playing its best basketball.

hey'll get a chance to prove it. The Bobcats (18-15) didn't do enough over the course of the season to earn an NIT at-large berth and fell in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference tournament -- a setback which took away any chance at the NCAA Tournament.

But in garnering a spot in the 24-team CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT), Ohio does get a chance to show strides were made during the 2010-11 season.

Ohio spent much of the non-conference schedule this season learning how to defend, compete on the glass and close out games. It was a slow process. A disturbing knack for giving up second-half leads dogged the team much of the season.

By getting into the CIT, Groce will not only get valuable additional time with the team's young roster -- three sophomores and three freshmen play in the eight-man rotation -- but he'll get chance to see if those lessons learned are sticking.

Ohio's foe in the CIT opening round, Marshall, pinned the Bobcats with a 65-57 loss in early December. That game was a good example of Ohio's struggles this season.

The game was deadlocked 55-55 with less than four minutes to go, but a lack of discipline in the offensive sets and on the defensive end down the stretch left Ohio with a frustrating loss.

Now, Ohio gets a chance to make amends. That should help the Bobcats' motivation. Ohio felt it could win the MAC tournament but was bounced in the quarterfinals after it couldn't hold a nine-point lead with 2:42 to go against Ball State.

A win over Marshall (22-11) doesn't come close to an NCAA bid, but it would give the Bobcats a positive springboard at the end of the year after the disappointing finish in the MAC tournament.

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