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2024–25 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team

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The 2024–25 Ohio University Bobcats men's basketball team represented Ohio University for the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bobcats were led by fifth-year head coach Jeff Boals, a 1995 graduate of Ohio University.[1][2] They played their home games at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio, as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).[3][4]

ConferenceMid-American Conference
Record16–16 (10–8 MAC)
Headcoach
Assistant coaches
  • Lamar Thornton (6th season)
  • Kyle Barlow (6th season)
  • Lee Martin (5th season)
Quick facts Ohio Bobcats men's basketball, Conference ...
2024–25 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball
ConferenceMid-American Conference
Record16–16 (10–8 MAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Lamar Thornton (6th season)
  • Kyle Barlow (6th season)
  • Lee Martin (5th season)
Home arenaConvocation Center
Seasons
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More information Conf., Overall ...
2024–25 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Akron †17–1 .94428–7  .800
Miami (OH)14–4 .77825–9  .735
Kent State11–7 .61124–12  .667
Toledo10–8 .55618–15  .545
Ohio10–8 .55616–16  .500
Western Michigan9–9 .50012–20  .375
Eastern Michigan9–9 .50016–16  .500
Bowling Green8–10 .44414–18  .438
Ball State7–11 .38914–17  .452
Central Michigan7–11 .38914–17  .452
Buffalo4–14 .2229–22  .290
Northern Illinois2–16 .1116–25  .194
† 2025 MAC tournament winner
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After returning most of the team the finished tied for second in the MAC the prior season, the Bobcats were picked to win the conference but finished with a 16–16 record. They posted a disappointing 6–6 record entering 2025 prior to the start of league play. They finished tied for fourth in the MAC with a 10–6 conference record and lost their January matchup in the MAC-SBC challenge.[5] With a first round loss to Toledo, they failed to reach the MAC tournament semifinals for the first time since 2020 when the tournament was cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic.[6][7]

Previous season

Main article: 2023–24 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team

The Bobcats finished the 2023–24 season 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.[8][9][10]

Offseason

For the second straight season the Bobcats avoided significant losses to the transfer portal as the only scholarship player that played the prior season to transfer was Ike Cornish who averaged 11 minutes per game the prior year. The team lost point guard Jaylin Hunter, who started all 33 games, guard Miles Brown, who started 17, and center Gabe Wiznitzer who averaged 14 minutes to graduation.[11]

Coaching Staff Changes

Coaching Departures

More information Name, Alma Mater ...
Coaching Departures
Name Alma Mater Previous position New position
Casey CrawfordOhio UniversityGraduate AssistantDirector of Basketball Operations (Stony Brook)[12]
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Coaching Additions

More information Name, Alma Mater ...
Coaching Additions
Name Alma Mater Previous position New position
Keith WilliamsUniversity of CharlestonPlayer (Charleston)Graduate Assistant[13]
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Departures

More information Name, Number ...
Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason
Miles Brown 2 G 6'1" 180 Grad. student Rochester, NY Graduated, exhausted eligibility
Gabe Wiznitzer 11 C 6'11" 240 Senior Walhalla, SC Graduated
Jaylin Hunter 12 G 6'0" 195 Senior Manchester, CT Graduated, exhausted eligibility
Quinn Corna* 15 G 6'3" 170 Sophomore Columbus, OH Transferred to Ohio Wesleyan
IJ Ezuma 21 F 6'8" 240 RS Sophomore Raleigh, NC Transferred to South Plains College
Ike Cornish 24 G/F 6'6" 190 RS Sophomore Baltimore, MD Transferred to Nicholls State[14]
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* Walk-on in 2023–24
[15][16][17]

Incoming transfers

More information Name, Number ...
Incoming transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason
Jackson Paveletzke 13 PG 6'3" 175 Sophomore Kimberly, WI Transferred from Iowa State. Will have two years of eligibility remaining.[18]
Victor Searls 35 C 6'9" 240 Senior Hilliard, OH Transferred from Ashland. Will have one year of eligibility remaining.[19]
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[15][17]

Recruiting class

More information Name, Hometown ...
College recruiting
Name Hometown School Height Weight Commit date
Ayden Evans
PF		 Radcliff, KY Elizabethtown 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jul 15, 2023 
Recruit ratings: Scout: 4/5 stars   Rivals: 3/5 stars   247Sports: 3/5 stars   (80)
Jessie Burris
SG		 Delaware, OH Rutherford B. Hayes 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jul 9, 2023 
Recruit ratings: Scout: 3/5 stars   (78)
Elijah Elliot
SG		 Wichita, KS Sunrise Christian Academy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Apr 30, 2024 
Recruit ratings: Rivals: 3/5 stars   247Sports: 3/5 stars   
Kiir Kuany
PF		 Huntington, WV Huntington Prep 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jun 5, 2024 
Recruit ratings: 247Sports: 3/5 stars   
Chase Boals*
PF		 New Albany, OH New Albany 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 240 lb (110 kg)  
Recruit ratings: No ratings found
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:

  • "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.
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*Walk-on

Source:[20][21][22][23][24][25]

Preseason

On October 22, 2024 the MAC released the preseason coaches poll. Ohio was picked to finish first in the MAC regular season and received 11 of the 12 votes for first place. Ohio received 8 votes to win the MAC Tournament.[26]

Preseason rankings

More information Predicted finish, Team ...
MAC preseason poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1Ohio121 (11)
2Akron106 (1)
3Kent State99
4Toledo95
5Bowling Green73
6Miami72
7Ball State67
8Central Michigan55
9Eastern Michigan36
10Western Michigan33
11Northern Illinois24
12Buffalo11
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MAC Tournament Champions:Ohio (8), Kent State (3), Toledo (1)

Source[26]

Preseason All-MAC

More information Team, Player ...
Preseason All-MAC teams
Team Player Position Year
1st AJ Clayton F Sr.
2nd AJ Brown G R-So.
2nd Shereef Mitchell G Grad.
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Source[26]

Roster

More information Players, Coaches ...
2024–25 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 0 Ajay Sheldon 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)190 lb (86 kg) JrDublin Coffman Dublin, OH  
G 1 Elmore James 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)205 lb (93 kg) JrBrush Cleveland, OH  
G 3 AJ Brown 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)210 lb (95 kg) RS SoOrlando Christian Prep Orlando, FL  
G 4 Shereef Mitchell 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)175 lb (79 kg) GSSunrise Christian Academy
Creighton		 Omaha, NE  
F 5 Ayden Evans 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)205 lb (93 kg) FrElizabethtown Radcliff, KY  
G 6 Elijah Elliot 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)180 lb (82 kg) FrOak Ridge Orlando, FL  
F 7 Ben Nicol 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)208 lb (94 kg) RS FrGeorge Washington Charleston, WV  
F 10 Aidan Hadaway 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)220 lb (100 kg) JrLafayette Lafayette, GA  
F 11 Kiir Kuany Current redshirt 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)195 lb (88 kg) FrHuntington Prep Melbourne, Australia  
G 12 Matthew Stuewe (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)198 lb (90 kg) RS SoAvon Lake Avon Lake, OH  
G 13 Jackson Paveletzke 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)175 lb (79 kg) JrKimberly
Iowa State		 Kimberly, WI  
G 14 Ben Estis (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)185 lb (84 kg) RS SoSouthlake Carroll Southlake, TX  
F 15 Chase Boals Injured (W) Current redshirt 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)253 lb (115 kg) FrNew Albany New Albany, OH  
G 21 Jessie Burris Injured Current redshirt 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)190 lb (86 kg) FrDelaware Hayes Delaware, OH  
F 23 AJ Clayton 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)225 lb (102 kg) SrPhilo Roseville, OH  
F 35 Vic Searls 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)240 lb (109 kg) GSSt. Charles
Ashland		 Hilliard, OH  
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: March 14, 2025

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Support staff

2024-25 Ohio Bobcats support staff
  • Jake Ness – Director of Basketball Operations
  • Mike Cifliku – Video Coordinator
  • Keith Williams - Graduate Assistant
  • Meredith Camacho - Head Manager
  • Sara Legarsky – Senior Director of Athletics Communications
  • 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:[27]

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
Non-conference regular season
November 4, 2024*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at James Madison
MAC–SBC Challenge		 L 78–88  0–1
  17 – Hadaway  5 – Tied  4 – Clayton  Atlantic Union Bank Center (5,973)
Harrisonburg, VA
November 9, 2024*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 UNC-Asheville W 82–76  1–1
  19 – Clayton  6 – Hadaway  5 – Tied  Convocation Center (5,438)
Athens, OH
November 12, 2024*
8:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at Illinois State L 75–85  1–2
  20 – Brown  5 – Clayton  2 – Tied  CEFCU Arena (3,923)
Normal, IL
November 15, 2024*
8:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at Memphis L 70–94  1–3
  20 – Sheldon  7 – Paveletzke  5 – Paveletzke  FedExForum (11,270)
Memphis, TN
November 21, 2024*
12:00 p.m., ESPNU		 vs. Middle Tennessee
Myrtle Beach Invitational quarterfinals		 L 81–83 OT 1–4
  19 – Brown  11 – Clayton  11 – Paveletzke  HTC Center (704)
Conway, SC
November 22, 2024*
11:30 a.m., ESPNU		 vs. Portland
Myrtle Beach Invitational consolation 2nd round		 W 85–73  2–4
  34 – Clayton  12 – Clayton  10 – Paveletzke  HTC Center (708)
Conway, SC
November 24, 2024*
8:00 p.m., ESPN2		 vs. Texas State
Myrtle Beach Invitational 5th place game		 L 65–74  2–5
  18 – Clayton  5 – Tied  3 – James  HTC Center (1,431)
Conway, SC
November 30, 2024*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Robert Morris W 84–68  3–5
  16 – Clayton  7 – Tied  4 – Sheldon  Convocation Center 
Athens, OH
December 7, 2024*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Morehead State W 88–76  4–5
  23 – Paveletzke  8 – Paveletzke  4 – Hadaway  Convocation Center (3,128)
Athens, OH
December 14, 2024*
4:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at Marshall L 70–79  4–6
  22 – Brown  8 – Searls  12 – Paveletzke  Cam Henderson Center (4,278)
Huntington, WV
December 18, 2024*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Austin Peay W 78–58  5–6
  22 – Clayton  5 – McCubbin  5 – Haney  Convocation Center (3,065)
Athens, OH
December 30, 2024*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Muskingum W 103–52  6–6
  13 – Clayton  10 – Elliott  6 – Paveletzke  Convocation Center (3,615)
Athens, OH
MAC regular season
January 4, 2025
7:00 p.m., TBA		 at Central Michigan W 57–55  7–6
(1–0)		  14 – Brown  7 – Clayton  5 – Paveletzke  McGuirk Arena (1,269)
Mount Pleasant, MI
January 7, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at Buffalo W 88–79  8–6
(2–0)		  27 – Clayton  16 – Hadaway  6 – Mitchell  Alumni Arena (968)
Amherst, NY
January 11, 2025
1:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Northern Illinois W 108–70  9–6
(3–0)		  31 – Clayton  11 – Hadaway  5 – Tied  Convocation Center (4011)
Athens, OH
January 14, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Ball State W 86–71  10–6
(4–0)		  15 – Tied  5 – Tied  6 – Paveletzke  Convocation Center (4,624)
Athens, OH
January 17, 2025
6:00 p.m., CBSSN		 at Akron L 80–92  10–7
(4–1)		  27 – Mitchell  7 – Hadaway  2 – Tied  James A. Rhodes Arena (2,830)
Akron, OH
January 21, 2025
6:30 p.m., ESPN+		 at Eastern Michigan L 87–94  10–8
(4–2)		  28 – Paveletzke  6 – Paveletzke  5 – Sheldon  George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,439)
Ypsilanti, MI
January 24, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPNU		 Kent State W 61–59  11–8
(5–2)		  15 – Tied  7 – Searls  3 – Sheldon  Convocation Center (5,134)
Athens, OH
January 28, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN2		 Toledo L 83–86  11–9
(5–3)		  22 – Tied  8 – Tied  6 – Paveletzke  Convocation Center (4,442)
Athens, OH
February 1, 2025
3:30 p.m., ESPN+		 at Miami (OH) L 69–73  11–10
(5–4)		  20 – Mitchell  10 – Searls  3 – Paveletzke  Millett Hall (7,889)
Oxford, OH
February 4, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Western Michigan W 94–69  12–10
(6–4)		  18 – Clayton  9 – Paveletzke  8 – Paveletzke  Convocation Center (4,058)
Athens, OH
February 8, 2025*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Appalachian State
MAC–SBC Challenge		 L 59–72  12–11
  §18 – Brown  7 – Clayton  3 – Paveletzke  Convocation Center (6,305)
Athens, OH
February 11, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at Bowling Green W 86–81  13–11
(7–4)		  17 – Mitchell  5 – Tied  4 – Tied  Stroh Center (1,912)
Bowling Green, OH
February 14, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at Kent State L 75–76  13–12
(7–5)		  25 – Mitchell  6 – Tied  5 – Tied  MAC Center (2,113)
Kent, OH
February 18, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Central Michigan W 84–82  14–12
(8–5)		  22 – Paveletzke  8 – Mitchell  6 – Mitchell  Convocation Center (4,387)
Athens, OH
February 22, 2025
6:00 p.m., ESPN2		 Akron W 84–67  15–12
(9–5)		  21 – Paveletzke  8 – Clayton  4 – Elliot  Convocation Center (6,740)
Athens, OH
February 25, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at Western Michigan L 73–82  15–13
(9–6)		  21 – Mitchell  6 – Brown  5 – Paveletzke  University Arena (1,849)
Kalamazoo, MI
March 1, 2025
1:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Miami (OH) W 75–66  16–13
(10–6)		  20 – Clayton  7 – Searles  5 – Paveletzke  Convocation Center (7,891)
Athens, OH
March 4, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 Eastern Michigan L 79–83  16–14
(10–7)		  20 – Paveletzke  6 – Clayton  5 – Paveletzke  Convocation Center (4,450)
Athens, OH
March 7, 2025
7:00 p.m., ESPN+		 at Toledo L 82–96  16–15
(10–8)		  20 – James  8 – Elliott  4 – Elliott  Savage Arena (5,397)
Toledo, OH
MAC tournament
March 13, 2024†
1:30 p.m., ESPN+		 (5) vs. (4) Toledo
Quarterfinals		 L 85–90  16–16
  28 – Paveletzke  8 – Hadaway  3 – Paveletzke  Rocket Arena 
Cleveland, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.
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Source:[28][29]

Statistics

Team Statistics

Final 2024–25 Statistics
More information Record, Ohio ...
Record Ohio OPP
Scoring25542449
Scoring Average79.8176.53
Field goals – Att899–1915872–1909
3-pt. Field goals – Att275–769232–625
Free throws – Att481–632473–672
Rebounds10621146
Assists450416
Turnovers348412
Steals231214
Blocked Shots9598
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Source[30]

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
Jackson Paveletzke 32 32 1034 32.3 443 13.8 162 315 0.514 20 62 0.323 99 129 0.767 21 110 131 4.1 152 43 86 27 1
AJ Clayton 29 29 823 28.4 407 14.0 141 294 0.480 66 176 0.375 59 75 0.787 34 119 153 5.3 30 52 33 17 44
AJ Brown 29 29 774 26.7 382 13.2 123 261 0.471 54 139 0.388 82 100 0.820 31 62 93 3.2 32 70 36 37 2
Shereef Mitchell 25 18 712 28.5 329 13.2 112 254 0.441 33 82 0.402 72 87 0.828 13 68 81 3.2 62 75 41 44 3
Elmore James 30 17 767 25.6 245 8.2 82 210 0.390 38 102 0.373 43 51 0.843 22 57 79 2.6 26 61 31 24 5
Vic Searls 32 4 589 18.4 226 7.1 93 152 0.612 4 16 0.250 36 53 0.679 35 90 125 3.9 25 70 44 14 11
Aidan Hadaway 18 17 485 26.9 183 10.2 68 136 0.500 16 48 0.333 31 43 0.721 30 75 105 5.8 28 52 17 19 14
Elijah Elliott 30 14 494 16.5 152 5.1 54 123 0.439 11 28 0.393 33 54 0.611 13 83 96 3.2 43 47 25 12 7
Ajay Sheldon 32 0 620 19.4 151 4.7 52 141 0.369 29 102 0.284 18 25 0.720 3 46 49 1.5 42 69 13 34 3
Ayden Evans 16 0 97 6.1 19 1.2 7 15 0.467 0 3 0.000 5 11 0.455 2 12 14 0.9 1 16 9 1 5
Ben Nicol 7 0 29 4.1 10 1.4 3 9 0.333 2 7 0.286 2 2 1.000 0 0 0 0.0 7 3 1 2 0
Ben Estis 7 0 27 3.9 7 1.0 2 5 0.400 2 4 0.500 1 2 0.500 1 1 2 0.3 2 1 2 0 0
Total 32 - 6451 - 2554 79.8 899 1915 0.469 275 769 0.358 481 632 0.761 205 723 928 29.0 450 559 348 231 95
Opponents 32 - 6451 - 2449 76.5 872 1909 0.457 232 625 0.371 473 672 0.704 323 823 1146 35.8 416 587 412 214 98
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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[30]

Awards and honors

Weekly Awards

More information Honors, Player ...
Weekly Award Honors
Honors Player Position Date Awarded Source
MAC player of the week AJ Clayton F November 24 [31]
MAC player of the week AJ Clayton F January 13 [32]
Lou Henson National Player of the Week AJ Clayton F January 13 [33]
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All-MAC Awards

More information Team, Player ...
Postseason All-MAC teams
Team Player Position Year
All-MAC 3rd Team AJ Clayton F Sr.
All-MAC Honorable Mention Shereef Mitchell G GS
All-MAC Defensive Team Shereef Mitchell G GS
All-MAC Freshman Team Elijah Elliot G Fr.
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Source[34]

References

Related Articles

Timelines

Top Qs

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