Ohio Bobcats close out non-conference play by hosting Chicago State tonight

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GAME NOTES

https://ohiobobcats.com/documents/2022/12/28/123022_Ohio_ChiState_Notes.pdf

ROSTER CARD

https://ohiobobcats.com/documents/2022/12/28/OU_vs_ChiSt_2022-23_Roster_Card.pdf

DIGITAL GUIDE

https://ohiobobcats.com/publications/ohio-mbb-8

ATHENS, Ohio — The Ohio men’s basketball team (7-5) closes out nonconference play and 2022 on Friday, Dec. 30 when the Bobcats host Chicago State (3-13). Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside the Convocation Center. The Bobcats matchup will be seen on ESPN3 with Marty Bannister and Dave Cecutti on the call.

The Bobcats’ matchup can also be heard on the Ohio Sports Network from Learfield. WXTQ (Power 105) in Athens returns as the 11-station network’s flagship.  

STORYLINES
• Ohio is coming off a complete 95-76 win over at Delaware on Dec. 21. 
• This is the second all-time meeting between Ohio and Chicago State. 
• Ohio leads the all-time series, 1-0. 
• The Bobcats and the Cougars met last on Nov. 25, 2020, with Ohio winning 84-61 at the season-opening Illinois MTE. 
• This is the first time Ohio will face Chicago State on a non-neutral site.  
• Chicago State enters the matchup with Ohio with a 3-13 record after falling to Ball State, 70-63, Dec. 28 in Muncie, Ind. 
• Delaware has wins over IUPUI, Valpo and Southern Indiana, with losses to Minnesota, Murray State, UT Martin, Kent State and Marshall. 
• AJ Clayton is coming off a career day at Delaware on Dec. 21, scoring a career-high 23 points, while hitting a career-high nine free throws. 
• The Ohio free throw shooting was clutch on Dec. 21 at Delaware, with the Bobcats going 20-of-21 from the line, including going 16-of-17 in the second half. 
• AJ Brown earned his first career start on Dec. 17 against Stetson, scoring 13 points and hitting three threes in the victory. 
• Ohio has registered an impressive 545-178 (.756) all-time record at the Convocation Center, which opened in 1968.
• Ohio finally picked up its first road win of the season on Dec. 11 when they defeated Youngstown State. 

SCOUTING CHICAGO STATE
Chicago State enters the matchup with Ohio with a 3-13 record and is coming off a 70-63 loss at Ball State Wednesday night. 

Overall, Chicago State averages 65.1 points a game, while shooting .407 from the field, .326 from three and .747 from the line. The Cougars also average 33.4 rebounds a game, 10.6 assists and 5.5 steals a game. Chicago State also forces 11.4 turnovers a game. 

Meanwhile, Opponents average 73.4 points and 34.8 rebounds a game. Opponents also shoot .457 from the field, .329 from three and .698 from the line. Opponents also dish out 13.7 assists and grab 7.3 steals a game, while also forcing 14.4 turnovers a game. 

Individually, Wesley Cardet, Jr. averages 15.6 points and 5.0 rebounds a game, while shooting .439 from the field and .851 from the line. Jahsean Corbett adds 13.3 points and 8.3 rebounds a contest, while Elijah Weaver averages 10.9 points a game. 

SCOUTING OHIO
Ohio enters the matchup with Delaware with a 7-5 record after defeating Delaware, 95-76 on Dec. 21 at Delaware.

As a team, Ohio is averaging 77.6 points and 39.3 rebounds a game, while opponents average 71.1 points and 34.0 rebounds a game. The Bobcats are also shooting .466 from the field, .362 from three and .709 from the line. Ohio also adds 14.5 assists, 6.7 steals and force 12.0 turnovers a game. 

Opponents are shooting .426 from the field, .360 from three and .665 from the line, while dishing out 13.4 assists, 6.5 steals and 11.8 turnovers a game. 

Individually, Dwight Wilson III leads Ohio with 13.5 points a game, while shooting .561 from the field, while also averaging 9.4 rebounds a game. AJ Brown adds 11.6 points and is shooting .556 from the field, while Miles Brown averages 9.8 points and Jaylin Hunter adds 9.7 points and 4.4 assists per game. 

ALL TIME VS. CHICAGO STATE
This is the second all-time meeting between Ohio and Chicago State. 

Ohio leads the all-time series, 1-0. 

The Bobcats and the Cougars met last on Nov. 25, 2020, with Ohio winning 84-61 at the season-opening Illinois MTE. 

This is the first time Ohio will face Chicago State on a non-neutral site. 

LAST TIME AGAINST DELAWARE
The Bobcats and the Cougars met last on Nov. 25, 2020, with Ohio winning 84-61 at the season-opening Illinois MTE.  

Overall, Ohio shot 58.3 percent from the field, 42.1 percent from three-point range and 60.6 percent from the free throw line, while Chicago State shot 35.1 percent from the field, 20.0 percent from three and 85 percent from the free throw line. The Bobcats out-rebounded the Cougars, 33-27, while Ohio dished out 15 assists to their nine. 

Individually, Lunden McDay led the way with 15 points, going 4-of-7 from the field, 3-of-5 from three-point range and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Jason Preston finished with 11 points, going 5-of-9 form the field. While grabbing six rebounds and dishing out a team-high eight assists in 30 minutes on the court. Ben Vander Plas finished with 11 points, going 4-for-4 from the field, 1-for-1 from three and 2-for-3 from the free throw line. Dwight Wilson III added 10 points and seven rebounds in his Bobcat debut. 

For Chicago State, Lou Demuth led with 12 points and six rebounds, followed by Jordan Polynice with 11 points. 

LAST TIME OUT
Led by a career-high 23 points from AJ Clayton, the Ohio men’s basketball team (7-5) defeated Delaware (8-5), 95-76, Wednesday night inside the Bob Carpenter Center. 

Overall, Ohio shot 52.4 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from three and were 20-of-21 from the line, while Delaware shot 42.2 percent from the field, 33.3 percent from three and were 12-of-18 from the line. Ohio outrebounded Delaware, 43-29, and dished out 16 assists to the Blue Hens’ 18. 

Individually, Clayton led Ohio with 23 points, going 6-of-11 from the field, 9-of-9 from the line and grabbed six rebounds. Dwight Wilson III added 16 points and 13 rebounds for a double double. AJ Brown scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Miles Brown scored 11 points and hit three 3-pointers, while Jaylin Hunter also scored 11 points. 

For Delaware, Jameer Nelson, Jr. scored 20 points and grabbed six rebounds, while Ebby Asamoah scored 17. 

FREE THROWS FOR DAYS
The Ohio free throw shooting was clutch on Dec. 21 at Delaware, with the Bobcats going 20-of-21 from the line, including going 16-of-17 in the second half. 

AJ Clayton also hit a career-high nine free throws in the win. 

CAREER DAY FOR SLASH
AJ Clayton recorded a career day on Dec. 21 in the Bobcats’ win at Delaware. 

Overall, Clayton scored a career-high 23 points, going 6-of-11 from the field, hit two threes and went 9-of-9 from the line. He also grabbed six boards and dished out three assists. 

AJ BROWN MAKES A STATEMENT
Freshman guard AJ Brown showed the type of talent Ohio could see over the next four years against UC Clermont, where he scored a game-high 18 points, went 7-of-11 from the field and dished out four assists in the victory. 

As AJ Brown continues to see more minutes, he continues to get more comfortable, with a stellar game on Dec. 11 at Youngstown State where he scored 16 points, while going 6-of-8 from the field. 

He was also stellar off the bench against Florida, scoring a team-high 14 points in 24 minutes. 

Brown made his first career start on Dec. 17 against Stetson, scoring 13 points, grabbed four rebounds and drained three 3-pointers. 

On Dec. 21 at Delaware, Brown was efficient, scoring 14 points, going 5-of-9 from the field, 2-of-2 from three and grabbed a career-high five boards. 

So far this season, Brown is averaging 11.6points a game and is shooting .556 from the field. 

HUNTER FINDING A GROOVE
Eleven games into his Bobcat career, junior guard Jaylin Hunter started to find his groove in the Green and White. 

On Dec. 11 at Youngstown State, Hunter led the Bobcats with 17 points, five rebounds, seven assists and three steals in the victory. 

Hunter led Ohio against Cleveland State, scoring 17 points, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out seven assists in the victory. 

As of Dec. 28, Hunter averages 9.7 points and 4.4 assists a game. 

BROWN SETTING UP FOR CAREER YEAR
Senior guard Miles Brown is already on pace to set new marks in his fourth season in the Green and White. 

After a solid game at Belmont, Brown was clutch against Cleveland State, scoring 14 points and going a perfect 6-of-6 from the line in the victory. 

Brown was also solid against No. 20 Michigan, scoring 11 points and grabbing a season-hight nine rebounds. 

He was back in action during the Bobcat battle where he averaged 16.0 points and set and matched a career-high four made threes before being named the tournament MVP. 

So far on the early season, Brown averages 9.8 points and 2.9 rebounds a game, while shooting .478 from three, .459 from the field and .818 from the line. 

WELCOME BACK DJ
In his return to the court after missing all of last season due to a knee injury, Dwight Wilson III put on a show. 

Wilson III finished the game with a game-high 20 points, going 8-of-10 from the field and 4of-4 from the line. He also grabbed eight rebounds in 24 minutes of action. 

He then put on a show at No. 20 Michigan, scoring 21 points and grabbing nine boards. 

Wilson III was the hero on Dec. 11 at YSU, hitting the buzzer beater to give Ohio the victory. In that game, he scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. 

Wilson III recorded another 20-point performance on Dec. 17 against Stetson, scoring 20 points, while going 8-of-9 from the field and 4-of-6 from the line. 

Wilson III was clutch in Ohio’s win at Delaware on Dec. 21, scoring 16 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. 

Wilson III has continued to dominate during the early part of the season, averaging 13.5 points and 9.4 rebounds a game, while shooting .561 from the field. 

BROD’S NEW ROLE
After starting every game last season, senior Ben Roderick is fitting in with his new role off the bench. 

This season, Roderick averages 5.8 points, while shooting .423 from the field and .419 from three, while also recording a .857 shooting percentage from the line in just 15.9 minutes a game. 

QUIET YET MIGHTY 
Freshman guard Elmore James responded well in the Bobcats’ game against Cleveland State. 

James scored eight points, while going 3-of-4 from the field and hitting both of his free throws. James also added one steal and drew a foul in his nine minutes of action. 

James was stellar on Nov. 30 against UC Clermont, scoring 16 points and going 8-of-12 from the field and grabbed three rebounds in the win. 

SLASH FITTING RIGHT IN
Sophomore AJ Clayton is taking advantage of his new starting roll. 

After grabbing a career-high nine rebounds at Belmont to open the season, Clayton added on, scoring a career-high 15 points at Detroit Mercy on Wednesday. 

Clayton was consistent again on Dec. 11 at YSU, scoring 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. 

Clayton scored a career-high 23 points on Dec. 21 at Delaware, and went 9-for-9 from the line in the victory.

So far this season, Clayton averages 9.3 points and 6.8 rebounds a game. 

UP NEXT
Up next, Ohio opens 2023 and Mid-American Conference play on Tuesday, Jan. 3 when they head to Buffalo to take on the Bulls. TIp-off is set fro 7 p.m. inside Alumni Arena. 

#OUohyeah 

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