By Lamont Burroughs
OHIO GAME NOTES
https://ohiobobcats.com/documents/2025/1/2/010425_Ohio_CMU_Notes.pdf
CENTRAL MICHIGAN GAME NOTES
https://ohiobobcats.com/documents/2025/1/2/Game_13_CMU_MBB_Ohio_010424.pdf
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ATHENS, Ohio — The Ohio men’s basketball team (6-6, 0-0 MAC) begins Mid-American Conference play on Saturday, Jan. 4 when the Bobcats head to Mount Pleasant, Mich. to take on Central Michigan (6-6, 0-0 MAC). Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside McGurik Arena. The game can be seen on ESPN+.
The Bobcats’ matchup can also be heard on the Ohio Sports Network from Learfield, presented by Holzer Health System. Jason Toy begins his first season on the mic for the Bobcats, and will be joined by Ohio alum Rob Cornelius, who has been a part of the broad- casts for two decades. WXTQ (Power 105) in Athens returns as the 11-station net- work’s flagship.
STORYLINES
• This is the 87th all-time meeting between Ohio and Central Michigan
• Ohio leads the all-time series, 53-33.
• Ohio and CMU last met on Jan. 16, 2024, with Ohio winning, 73-61 in the Convo.
• Ohio is 12-7 against CMU since 2009-10, while the Bobcats are 8-0 against CMU under Jeff Boals.
• Ohio last fell to CMU in Mount Pleasant on Feb. 16, 2019, with the Bobcats dropping the contest, 87-80.
• AJ Clayton is 36 points away from 1,000 in his career.
• Freshman guard Elijah Elliott is coming off a career day on Dec. 30 against Muskingum, recording his first career double double with 11 points, 10 rebounds, while also dishing out four assists and recording three steals in 10 minutes on the court.
• Redshirt freshman guard Ben Nicol scored his first points in the Green and White on Dec. 30 against Muskingum, scoring eight points and dishing out three assists.
• Senior forward AJ Clayton had a 22-point performance against Austin Peay on Dec. 18, going 5-of-6 from three and grabbing six rebounds.
• Junior guard Jackson Paveletzke recorded an 18-point and 11 assist performance over Austin Peay on Dec. 18 in the Convo.
SCOUTING CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Central Michigan enters the matchup against Ohio with a 6-6 record and is coming off an 85-39 win over Cleary on Dec. 30 in Mount Pleasant.
CMU averages 74.9 points a game, while shooting .462 from the field, .319 from three and .689 from the line, while opponents are averaging 70.8 points per game, while shooting .413 from the field, .293 from three and .707 from the line.
CMU averages 37.5 rebounds, 15.0 assists, 7.8 steals and 3.4 blocks a game, while forcing 13.3 turnovers a game. Meanwhile, CMU opponents average 32.9 rebounds, 13.8 assists, 7.9 steals and 2.8 blocks a game, while forcing CMU to turn the ball over an average of 14.4 times a contest.
Individually, Jakobi Heady leads CMU with 13.2 points and 6.7 rebounds a game, while shooting .422 from the field. Anthony Pritchard adds 12.3 points and 4.3 assists, while shooting .462 from the field and .343 from three. Ugnius Jarusevicius averages 12.7 points and 6.1 rebounds, while Kyler VanderJagt averages 10.9 points, while shooting .455 from the field.
SCOUTING OHIO
Ohio is currently 6-6 overall after defeating Muskingum, 103-52, on Dec. 30 in the Convocation Center.
Ohio is averaging 79.9 points per game, while shooting .467 from the field, .362 from three and .763 from the line, while opponents are averaging 75.5 points per game, while shooting .459 from the field, .416 from three and .672 from the line.
Ohio is averaging 33.9 rebounds, 15.2 assists, 3.4 blocks and 7.7 steals per game, while forcing 14.2 turnovers a contest. Meanwhile, opponents are averaging 35.2 rebounds, 13.4 assists, 2.8 blocks and 7.0 steals per game, while forcing Ohio to turn the ball over 11.7 times a game.
Individually, AJ Clayton leads Ohio with 16.4 points a game. He also adds 6.5 rebounds, while shooting .479 from the field and .367 from three. AJ Brown averages 11.8 points a game, while shooting .465 from the field, .380 from three and .909 from the line, while, Aidan Hadaway averages 9.9 points and 4.3 rebounds a game. Jackson Paveletzke adds 11.9 points, 5.9 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game, while Elmore James averages 9.3 points and is shooting .405 from three.
ALL TIME VS. CENTRAL MICHIGAN
This is the 87th all-time meeting between Ohio and Central Michigan
Ohio leads the all-time series, 53-33.
Ohio and CMU last met on Jan. 16, 2024, with Ohio winning, 73-61 in the Convo.
Ohio is 12-7 against CMU since 2009-10, while the Bobcats are 8-0 against CMU under Jeff Boals.
Ohio last fell to CMU in Mount Pleasant on Feb. 16, 2019, with the Bobcats dropping the contest, 87-80.
RACE TO 1,000
Senior forward AJ Clayton is 36 points away from 1,000 in his career.
Clayton currently sits at 964.
BOALS GETS 100 AT OU
Head coach Jeff Boals earned his 100th win at Ohio on Nov. 22 against Portland.
Boals is the seventh Ohio head coach to make that mark and is four wins away from passing Danny Nee for the sixth-most wins at Ohio.
OHIO IN NET
The Bobcats currently rank 184 in the Jan. 2 NET Rankings.
Ohio is the fourth-highest MAC team behind Kent State, Akron, and Miami.
OHIO IN NCAA
Currently Ohio ranks 74th in the nation in turnover margin and 76th in forced turnovers per game. The Bobcats are also 48th in free throws percentage and 52nd in fastbreak points.
Ohio also ranks 92 in steals per game, 82nd in effective field goal percentage and 88th in scoring offense.
Meanwhile, Jackson Paveletzke ranks 27th in assists per game and 37th in assists and 48th in double doubles.
AJ Clayton is 72nd in blocks per game and 89th in threes per game.
AJ Brown is 28th in the nation in free throw percentage.
BOBCATS IN THE MAC
Individually, AJ Clayton ranks fourth in the MAC in scoring, fifth in rebounding and first in blocked shots.
Jackson Paveletzke is first in assists and second in assist/turnover ratio.
Williams is the all-time wins leader in program history with 102 wins a three-time All-MEC selection and is a two-time First-team All-MEC pick. Williams is a member of the 1,000 point club and a top-20 scorer in UC history. Williams was a part of the 2020-21 MEC Championship team. In 2023-24, as a first year assistant at UC, he helped lead them to a MEC conference championship.
UP NEXT
Ohio men’s basketball is back in action on Tuesday, Jan. 7 when the Bobcats head to Buffalo, N.Y. to take on Buffalo. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside Alumni Arena and can be seen on ESPN+.
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