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2023–24 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team

American college basketball season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2023–24 Ohio University Bobcats men's basketball team represented Ohio University for the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bobcats were led by fifth-year head coach Jeff Boals, who was a 1995 graduate of Ohio University.[1][2] They play their home games at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio as a member of the Mid-American Conference.[3][4] They finished 6–7 in non-conference play and started 1–3 in conference play. They rallied to win 12 of their final 14 conference games to finish the regular season 19–12 with a 13–5 in MAC play to finish tied for 2nd place. They defeated Western Michigan in the first round of the MAC tournament and lost to Akron in the second round[5][6][7]

ConferenceMid-American Conference
Record20–13 (13–5 MAC)
Headcoach
Assistant coaches
  • Lamar Thornton (5th season)
  • Kyle Barlow (5th season)
  • Lee Martin (4th season)
Quick facts Ohio Bobcats men's basketball, Conference ...
2023–24 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball
ConferenceMid-American Conference
Record20–13 (13–5 MAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Lamar Thornton (5th season)
  • Kyle Barlow (5th season)
  • Lee Martin (4th season)
Home arenaConvocation Center
Seasons
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More information Conf., Overall ...
2023–24 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Toledo14–4 .77820–12  .625
Akron †13–5 .72224–11  .686
Ohio13–5 .72220–13  .606
Central Michigan12–6 .66718–14  .563
Bowling Green10–8 .55620–14  .588
Western Michigan9–9 .50012–20  .375
Miami (OH)9–9 .50015–17  .469
Kent State8–10 .44417–17  .500
Ball State7–11 .38915–16  .484
Eastern Michigan6–12 .33313–18  .419
Northern Illinois5–13 .27811–20  .355
Buffalo2–16 .1114–27  .129
† 2024 MAC tournament winner
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Previous season

Main article: 2022–23 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team

The Bobcats started the 2022–23 season slowly but recovered to win seven out of their last nine regular season games to head into the MAC tournament at 18–13 as the fifth seed with a 10–8 conference record.[8] They defeated Ball State in the first round of the MAC tournament before losing to top-seeded Toledo to finish 19–14.[9][10]

Offseason

Ohio avoided significant losses to the transfer portal in that only Olumide Adelodun, who averaged 5.5 minutes per game, entered the portal.[11]

Departures

More information Name, Number ...
Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason
Ben Roderick 3 F 6'5" 205 Senior Powell, Ohio Graduated
Dwight Wilson III 4 F 6'8" 250 Grad. Student Tallahassee, Florida Graduated, Exhausted eligibility
Olumide Adelodun 5 G 6'6" 215 Sophomore Calgary, Alberta Transferred to Winona State[12]
Devon Baker 22 G 6'2" 190 Senior Dayton, Ohio Graduated, Exhausted eligibility
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[13][14][15]

Incoming transfers

More information Name, Number ...
Incoming transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason
Shereef Mitchell 4 G 6'1" 170 Junior Omaha, Nebraska Transferred from Creighton. Will have two years of eligibility remaining.[16]
Ike Cornish 20 F 6'6" 185 Sophomore Baltimore, Maryland Transferred from Maryland. Will have three years of eligibility remaining.[17]
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[13][15]

Recruiting class

More information Name, Hometown ...
College recruiting
Name Hometown School Height Weight Commit date
Ben Nicol
SF		 Charleston, WV George Washington 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 07/19/2023[18] 
Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    (NR)
Overall recruit ranking:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.
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[19]

Preseason

On November 1, 2023, the MAC released the preseason coaches poll. Ohio was picked to finish third in the MAC regular season.[20] Ohio placed Jaylin Hunter on the preseason all-MAC team first team and AJ Brown on the second team.

Preseason rankings

More information Predicted finish, Team ...
MAC preseason poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1Akron121 (11)
2Kent State104
3Ohio102 (1)
4Toledo93
5Northern Illinois82
T6Bowling Green64
T6Miami64
8Ball State55
9Buffalo38
10Western Michigan33
11Eastern Michigan22
12Central Michigan14
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MAC Tournament Champions: Akron (9), Kent State (1), Ohio (1), Toledo (1)

Source[20]

Preseason All-MAC

More information Team, Player ...
Preseason All-MAC teams
Team Player Position Year
1st Jaylin Hunter G Sr.
2nd AJ Brown G So.
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Source[20]

Roster

More information Players, Coaches ...
2023–24 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 0 Ajay Sheldon 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)185 lb (84 kg) SoDublin Coffman Dublin, Ohio  
G 1 Elmore James 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)205 lb (93 kg) SoBrush Cleveland, Ohio  
G 2 Miles Brown 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)180 lb (82 kg) GSNorthstar Christian Rochester, New York  
G 3 AJ Brown 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)195 lb (88 kg) SoOrlando Christian Prep Orlando, Florida  
G 4 Shereef Mitchell 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)170 lb (77 kg) GSSunrise Christian Academy
Creighton		 Omaha, NE  
F 5 Ben Nicol Current redshirt 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)208 lb (94 kg) FrGeorge Washington Charleston, West Virginia  
F 10 Aidan Hadaway 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)190 lb (86 kg) SoLafayette Lafayette, Georgia  
C 11 Gabe Wiznitzer 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)240 lb (109 kg) SrHargrave Military Academy
Louisville		 Walhalla, South Carolina  
G 12 Jaylin Hunter 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)195 lb (88 kg) SrEast Catholic
Old Dominion		 Manchester, Connecticut  
G 14 Ben Estis (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)170 lb (77 kg) RS FrSouthlake Carroll Southlake, Texas  
G 15 Quinn Corna (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)170 lb (77 kg) SoUpper Arlington Columbus, Ohio  
F 21 IJ Ezuma 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)240 lb (109 kg) RS SoHargrave Military Academy Raleigh, North Carolina  
F 23 AJ Clayton 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)225 lb (102 kg) JrPhilo Roseville, Ohio  
G/F 24 Ike Cornish 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)190 lb (86 kg) RS SoLegacy Charter
Maryland		 Baltimore, Maryland  
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: September 29, 2023

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Support Staff

2022-23 Ohio Bobcats Support Staff
  • Jake Ness - Director of Basketball Operations
  • Mike Cifliku - Video Coordinator
  • Casey Crawford - Graduate Assistant
  • Sara Legarsky - Senior Director of Athletics Communications (Men's Basketball, Field Hockey, Swimming and Diving, Softball)
  • Tyler Congrove - Associate Athletic Trainer (Men's Basketball, Soccer, Men's Golf, Women's Golf)
  • Jessica Arquette - Ohio Athletics Sports Dietitian
  • Kaitlyn Michener - Nutritionist
  • Hannah Rastatter - Nutritionist

Source:[21]

Schedule and results

More information Date time, TV, Rank# ...
Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 2, 2023*
7:00 p.m.		 Otterbein W 67–49  –
  13 – Hunter   –     –    Convocation Center 
Athens, OH
Non-conference regular season
November 8, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Troy
MAC-SBC Challenge		 W 88–70[22]  1–0
  24 – A. Brown  7 – Wiznitzer  4 – Hunter  Convocation Center (4,744)
Athens, OH
November 11, 2023*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at Cleveland State L 78–82[23]  1–1
  15 – Mitchell  6 – Tied  7 – Hunter  Wolstein Center (2,399)
Cleveland, OH
November 18, 2023*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Detroit Mercy W 71–52[24]  2–1
  18 – Clayton  10 – Hunter  6 – Hunter  Convocation Center (4,411)
Athens, OH
November 24, 2023*
7:00 p.m., FloSports		 vs. George Washington
Nassau Championship quarterfinals		 L 94–99[25] 2OT 2–2
  25 – Hunter  12 – Clayton  5 – Hunter  Baha Mar Convention Center (277)
Nassau, Bahamas
November 25, 2023*
1:30 p.m., FloSports		 vs. Middle Tennessee
Nassau Championship		 W 80–68[26]  3–2
  19 – Hunter  4 – Tied  3 – Tied  Baha Mar Convention Center (241)
Nassau, Bahamas
November 26, 2023*
TBA, FloSports		 vs. Brown
Nassau Championship		 W 82–77[27]  4–2
  24 – Mitchell  8 – James  4 – James  Baha Mar Convention Center (251)
Nassau, Bahamas
December 2, 2023*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Delaware W 74–73[28]  5–2
  21 – James  7 – Hadaway  3 – Hunter  Convocation Center (4,512)
Athens, OH
December 6, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Youngstown State L 72–78[29]  5–3
  17 – Mitchell  10 – James  5 – Hunter  Convocation Center (3,799)
Athens, OH
December 9, 2023*
4:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Marshall L 69–74[30]  5–4
  19 – Hunter  9 – Clayton  5 – Hunter  Convocation Center (4,623)
Athens, OH
December 18, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Defiance W 108–28[31]  6–4
  17 – Clayton  8 – Wiznitzer  9 – Hunter  Convocation Center (3,108)
Athens, OH
December 22, 2023*
8:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at Austin Peay L 67–71[32]  6–5
  14 – Mitchell  10 – Hadaway  5 – Hadaway  F&M Bank Arena (3,031)
Clarksville, TN
December 30, 2023*
1:30 p.m., ESPN+		 vs. Davidson
Legends of Basketball Showcase		 L 69–72[33]  6–6
  13 – Clayton  9 – M. Brown  7 – Hunter  Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse 
Cleveland, OH
MAC regular season
January 2, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPNU		 Toledo L 77–86[34]  6–7
(0–1)		  17 – James  8 – James  5 – M. Brown  Convocation Center (4,016)
Athens, OH
January 6, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Northern Illinois W 78–66[35]  7–7
(1–1)		  23 – Clayton  8 – Hunter  6 – Tied  Convocation Center (3,802)
Athens, OH
January 9, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at Bowling Green L 78–83[36]  7–8
(1–2)		  19 – James  7 – Hadaway  4 – Clayton  Stroh Center (1,982)
Bowling Green, OH
January 13, 2024
12:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at Western Michigan L 79–81[37]  7–9
(1–3)		  15 – Clayton  5 – M. Brown  3 – Tied  University Arena (1,650)
Kalamazoo, MI
January 16, 2023
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Central Michigan W 73–61[38]  8–9
(2–3)		  19 – Hunter  10 – Clayton  8 – Hunter  Convocation Center (4,608)
Athens, OH
January 20, 2024
4:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Eastern Michigan W 85–67[39]  9–9
(3–3)		  20 – Hadaway  9 – M. Brown  5 – Tied  Convocation Center (5,547)
Athens, OH
January 23, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at Akron L 58–67[40]  9–10
(3–4)		  15 – Mitchell  7 – Mitchell  3 – Hunter  James A. Rhodes Arena (2,604)
Akron, OH
January 26, 2024
6:30 p.m., CBSSN		 at Kent State W 71–64[41]  10–10
(4–4)		  17 – Hunter  8 – Hadaway  5 – Tied  MAC Center (3,557)
Kent, OH
January 30, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Buffalo W 91–70[42]  11–10
(5–4)		  16 – Clayton  9 – Hunter  6 – Hunter  Convocation Center (3,652)
Athens, OH
February 3, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Miami (OH) W 78–69[43]  12–10
(6–4)		  22 – Hunter  8 – M. Brown  8 – Hunter  Convocation Center (9,018)
Athens, OH
February 6, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at Ball State W 84–79[44] OT 13–10
(7–4)		  32 – Hunter  10 – Hadaway  5 – Hunter  Worthen Arena (3,218)
Muncie, IN
February 10, 2024*
3:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at Arkansas State
MAC-SBC Challenge		 L 87–100[45]  13–11
  20 – Hunter  5 – Clayton  8 – Hunter  First National Bank Arena (2,267)
Jonesboro, AR
February 17, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPNU		 at Toledo L 83–85[46]  13–12
(7–5)		  22 – Clayton  8 – Hadaway  6 – Hunter  Savage Arena (5,079)
Toledo, OH
February 20, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Kent State W 63–57[47]  14–12
(8–5)		  13 – Hunter  9 – Mitchell  3 – Hunter  Convocation Center (4,132)
Athens, OH
February 24, 2024
3:30 p.m., ESPN+		 at Northern Illinois W 80–59[48]  15–12
(9–5)		  17 – Tied  5 – Tied  6 – Mitchell  Convocation Center (2,886)
DeKalb, IL
February 27, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Akron W 74–67[49]  16–12
(10–5)		  23 – Hunter  6 – Hadaway  6 – Hunter  Convocation Center (5,753)
Athens, OH
March 1, 2024
6:00 p.m., CBSSN		 Bowling Green W 66–59[50]  17–12
(11–5)		  16 – M. Brown  5 – Hunter  4 – Tied  Convocation Center (6,134)
Athens, OH
March 5, 2024
7:00 p.m., CBSSN		 at Buffalo W 78–66[51]  18–12
(12–5)		  23 – Tied  5 – Tied  5 – Hunter  Alumni Arena (2,140)
Buffalo, NY
March 8, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at Miami (OH) W 72–59[52]  19–12
(13–5)		  20 – Tied  8 – Mitchell  7 – Hunter  Millett Hall (3,506)
Oxford, OH
MAC tournament
March 14, 2024
6:30 p.m., ESPN+		 (3) vs. (7) Western Michigan
Quarterfinals		 W 82–55[53]  20–12
  15 – Mitchell  8 – Tied  5 – Hunter  Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (7,854)
Cleveland, OH
March 15, 2024
7:30 p.m., ESPN+		 (3) vs. (2) Akron
Semifinals		 L 62–65[54]  20–13
  17 – Hunter  7 – Hadaway  4 – Mitchell  Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (7,802)
Cleveland, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.
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Source[55][56]

Statistics

Team Statistics

Final 2023–24 Statistics
More information Record, Ohio ...
Record Ohio OPP
Scoring25512309
Scoring Average77.3069.97
Field goals – Att901–1987809–1904
3-pt. Field goals – Att294–827238–715
Free throws – Att455–623453–649
Rebounds11531198
Assists464363
Turnovers321452
Steals235165
Blocked Shots118117
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Source[57]

Player statistics

More information Minutes, Scoring ...
Minutes Scoring Total FGs 3-point FGs Free-Throws Rebounds
Player GP GS Tot Avg Pts Avg FG FGA Pct 3FG 3FA Pct FT FTA Pct Off Def Tot Avg A PF TO Stl Blk
Jaylin Hunter 33 33 1034 31.3 461 14.0 158 379 0.417 49 167 0.293 96 129 0.744 26 118 144 4.4 163 64 70 56 6
Shereef Mitchell 32 31 954 29.8 427 13.3 158 336 0.470 35 107 0.327 76 104 0.731 34 101 135 4.2 77 76 45 45 7
AJ Clayton 33 33 868 26.3 397 12.0 138 278 0.496 73 182 0.401 48 59 0.814 45 109 154 4.7 26 79 32 18 58
Aidan Hadaway 33 24 801 24.3 275 8.3 108 209 0.517 21 62 0.339 38 56 0.679 49 105 154 4.7 47 66 25 21 13
Elmore James 31 18 716 23.1 243 7.8 90 196 0.459 11 40 0.275 52 61 0.852 39 76 115 3.7 29 52 35 17 0
Miles Brown 23 17 653 28.4 223 9.7 69 168 0.411 32 76 0.421 53 67 0.791 13 75 88 3.8 43 40 31 35 3
Ajay Sheldon 33 0 527 16.0 171 5.2 56 115 0.487 38 82 0.463 21 34 0.618 19 34 53 1.6 34 57 25 24 6
Gabe Wiznitzer 33 0 462 14.0 122 3.7 48 94 0.511 1 4 0.250 25 41 0.610 30 73 103 3.1 21 67 24 4 22
Ike Cornish 32 0 354 11.1 121 3.8 37 100 0.370 19 57 0.333 28 36 0.778 16 32 48 1.5 11 32 13 7 1
AJ Brown 9 9 238 26.4 81 9.0 30 79 0.380 10 35 0.286 11 24 0.458 9 26 35 3.9 8 26 9 7 2
Ben Estis 7 0 36 5.1 16 2.3 5 17 0.294 1 8 0.125 5 8 0.625 3 4 7 1.0 3 2 1 1 0
Quinn Corna 7 0 31 4.4 14 2.0 4 16 0.250 4 7 0.571 2 4 0.500 3 2 5 0.7 2 1 0 0 0
Total 33 - 6675 - 2551 77.3 901 1987 0.453 294 827 0.356 455 623 0.730 333 820 1153 34.9 464 562 321 235 118
Opponents 33 - 6675 - 2309 70.0 809 1904 0.425 238 715 0.333 453 649 0.698 375 823 1198 36.3 363 560 452 165 117
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More information Legend ...
Legend
  GP  Games played   GS  Games started  Avg  Average per game
  FG  Field-goals made  FGA  Field-goal attempts  Off  Offensive rebounds
 Def  Defensive rebounds   A  Assists   TO Turnovers
 Blk  Blocks  Stl  Steals  High  Team high
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Source[11]

Team and individual highs

Team Game Highs

More information Stat, High ...
Team Game Highs
Stat High Opponent Date
Points 108 Defiance December 18, 2023
Field goals made 42 Defiance December 18, 2023
Field Goal Attempts 79 George Washington November 24, 2023
3 Points Made 16 Defiance December 18, 2023
3 Points Attempted 36 Defiance December 18, 2023
Free throws Made 27 Troy November 8, 2023
Free Throw Attempts 32 Troy November 8, 2023
Rebounds 50 Defiance December 18, 2023
Assists 31 Defiance December 18, 2023
Steals 15 Defiance December 18, 2023
Blocked Shots 8 Delaware December 2, 2023
Turnovers 18 George Washington November 24, 2023
Fouls 23 Davidson December 20, 2023
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Individual Game Highs

More information Stat, High ...
Individual Game Highs
Stat High Player Opponent Date
Points 32 Jaylin Hunter Ball State February 6, 2024
Field goals made 10 AJ Brown \ Jaylin Hunter Troy \ Ball State November 8, 2023 \ February 6, 2024
Field Goal Attempts 22 Jaylin Hunter George Washington November 24, 2023
3 Points Made 7 AJ Clayton Buffalo March 5, 2024
3 Points Attempted 13 AJ Clayton Buffalo March 5, 2024
Free throws Made 10 Jaylin Hunter Ball State February 6, 2024
Free Throw Attempts 12 Jaylin Hunter Ball State February 6, 2024
Rebounds 12 AJ Clayton George Washington November 24, 2023
Assists 9 Jaylin Hunter Defiance December 18, 2023
Steals 5 Shareef Mitchell Western Michigan March 14, 2024
Blocked Shots 5 AJ Clayton George Washington November 24, 2023
Turnovers 6 Jaylin Hunter \ Shareef Mitchell George Washington \ Toledo November 24, 2023 \ January 2, 2024
Fouls 5 Various
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Source[58]

Awards and honors

Weekly Awards

More information Honors, Player ...
Weekly Award Honors
Honors Player Position Date Awarded Source
MAC player of the week Elmore James G December 4 [59]
MAC player of the week Jaylin Hunter G February 12 [60]
MAC player of the week Shareef Mitchel G March 11 [61]
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All-MAC Awards

More information Team, Player ...
Postseason All-MAC teams
Team Player Position Year
All-MAC 2nd Team Jaylin Hunter G Sr.
All-MAC 3rd Team AJ Clayton F Jr.
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Source[62]

References

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