By Lamont Burroughs
1 17 2025
OHIO GAME NOTES
https://ohiobobcats.com/documents/2025/1/16/011725_Ohio_Akron_Notes.pdf
AKRON GAME NOTES
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ATHENS, Ohio — The Ohio men’s basketball team (10-6, 3-0 MAC) are back on the road on Friday, Jan. 17 when they head to Akron, Ohio to take on Akron (11-5, 4-0 MAC). Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. ET inside James A. Rhodes Arena. The game can be seen on CBS Sports Network where Alex Del Barrio and B.J. Taylor will be on the call.
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 94th all-time meeting between Ohio and Akron.
• Akron leads the all-time series, 49-44.
• Ohio and Akron met three times last season, with Akron taking two out of three meetings.
• Akron took the first meeting at Akron, with Ohio taking the second matchup in Athens. Akron then went on to defeat the Bobcats in the MAC Semifinals.
• Ohio is 14-19 against Akron since 2009-10, while the Bobcats are 4-7 against The Zips under Jeff Boals.
• Ohio is 4-0 to open MAC play for the first time since 2012-22 where they opened the conference season 5-0.
• AJ Clayton scored his 1,000the career point on Jan. 11 against NIU.
• AJ Clayton was named the MAC Player of the Week, the Lou Henson National Player of the Week and the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for his performance the week of Jan. 6.
• Senior forward AJ Clayton had a 31-point performance on Jan. 11 against NIU. Clayton hit a career-high nine threes in the victory.
• Ohio’s 108-70 victory over NIU was the first time since and overtime game against Buffalo 2020 that Ohio scored 100 or more against a MAC opponent.
• It was the first time since 1997 that Ohio scored 100 or more on a MAC opponent in regulation and it is the first time Ohio scored 100 or more against a MAC opponent in regulation inside the Convo.
• The Bobcats currently rank 47th in the Jan. 16 NET Rankings.
SCOUTING AKRON
Akron enters the matchup against Ohio with an 11-7 record and a 4-0 mark in MAC play after defeating Toledo at home on Tuesday (Jan. 14).
Akron averages 82.3 points a game, while shooting .442 from the field, .351 from three and .752 from the line, while opponents are averaging 73.6 points per game, while shooting .429 from the field, .330 from three and .700 from the line.
Akron averages 40.1 rebounds, 17.9 assists, 8.1 steals and 3.4 blocks a game, while forcing 14.0 turnovers a game. Meanwhile, Akron opponents average 37.3 rebounds, 12.3 assists, 7.1 steals and 2.8 blocks a game, while forcing the Zips to turn the ball over an average of 12.3 times a contest.
Individually, Nate Johnson leads Akron with 12.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, while shooting .431 form the field and .804 from the line. Tavari Johnson adds 11.8 points and 4.2 boards a contest, while Isaiah Gray adds 9.7 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting .475 from the field and .4-5 from three.
SCOUTING OHIO
Ohio is currently 10-6 overall and 4-0 in MAC play after defeating Ball State, 86-71, on Jan. 14 in Athens.
Ohio is averaging 81.1 points per game, while shooting .482 from the field, .368 from three and .735 from the line, while opponents are averaging 73.8 points per game, while shooting .442 from the field, .387 from three and .665 from the line.
Ohio is averaging 34.7 rebounds, 15.9 assists, 3.8 blocks and 7.8 steals per game, while forcing 13.8 turnovers a contest. Meanwhile, opponents are averaging 34.9 rebounds, 13.1 assists, 2.8 blocks and 6.9 steals per game, while forcing Ohio to turn the ball over 11.8 times a game.
Individually, AJ Clayton leads Ohio with 16.8 points a game. He also adds 6.3 rebounds, while shooting .503 from the field and .404 from three. AJ Brown averages 11.4 points a game, while shooting .479 from the field, .435 from three and .848 from the line, while, Aidan Hadaway averages 10.4 points and 5.6 rebounds a game. Jackson Paveletzke adds 12.1 points, 5.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game, while Elmore James averages 8.3 points and is shooting .377 from three.
ALL TIME VS. AKRON
This is the 94th all-time meeting between Ohio and Akron.
Akron leads the all-time series, 49-44.
Ohio and Akron met three times last season, with Akron taking two out of three meetings.
Akron took the first meeting at Akron, with Ohio taking the second matchup in Athens. Akron then went on to defeat the Bobcats in the MAC Semifinals.
Ohio is 14-19 against Akron since 2009-10, while the Bobcats are 4-7 against The Zips under Jeff Boals.
RACE TO 1,000
Senior forward AJ Clayton scored his 1,000th career point on Jan. 11 in the opening minutes against NIU.
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 now tied with Danny Nee for the sixth-most wins at Ohio.
OHIO IN NET
The Bobcats currently rank 147th in the Jan. 16 NET Rankings.
Ohio is the fourth-highest MAC team behind Kent State, Akron, and Miami.
OHIO IN NCAA
Currently Ohio ranks 83rd in the nation in forced turnovers per game. The Bobcats are also 14th in fastbreak points, 44th in field goal percentage and 73rd in assists per game.
Ohio also ranks 38th in effective field goal percentage, 51st in scoring offense and 56th in three-pointers per game.
Ohio also ranks 84th in assist/TO ratio and 84th in turnover margin.
Meanwhile, Jackson Paveletzke ranks 31st in assists per game, 36th in assists and 77th in double doubles.
AJ Clayton is 35th in blocks per game, 37th in total blocks, 60th in threes per game, 73rd in three-point percentage and 76th in total threes made.
BOBCATS IN THE MAC
Individually, AJ Clayton ranks first in the MAC in scoring, seventh in rebounding and first in blocked shots.
Jackson Paveletzke is second in assists and third in assist/turnover ratio.
Aidan Hadaway is ninth in the MAC in blocks.
AJ Brown ranks seventh in three-point field goal percentage.
AJC ADDS TO HIS RECORDS
On Jan. 11 against NIU in Athens, senior AJ Clayton put on a performance in front of the home crowd.
After securing his 1,000th point in the opening minutes of the game, Clayton went on to score 31 points, going 10-of-12 from the field, 9-of-10 from three – a new career-high for threes made in the game.
100 IN THE CONVO
Ohio defeated NIU, 108-70, on Jan. 11 in the Convo.
The 108 points is the first time Ohio has scored over 100 against a MAC opponent since 2020 (Buffalo in OT).
It was the first time Ohio scored 100 or more against a MAC opponent in regulation since 1997 and the first time it has happened inside the Convo.
MAC POW
AJ Clayton was named the MAC Co-Player of the Week on Nov. 25 for his performance at the 2024 MBI.
Clayton averaged 23.3 points and 9.3 rebounds a game. He also averaged 1.0 blocks, 1.0 steals and 1.6 assists per game. Clayton went 25-of-56 from the field (.446), 11-of-35 (.314) from three and 9-of-13 (.691) from the line. Clayton also earned a spot on the MBI All-Tournament Team.
Clayton was named the MAC Player of the Week on Jan. 13 for his performance the week of Jan. 6.
Clayton scored his 1,000th career point and led the Ohio men’s basketball team to a 2-0 week, helping the Bobcats to a 3-0 start to MAC play. Overall, Clayton averaged 29.0 points per game, while going 20-of-30 (.667) from the field, 13-of-18 (.722) from three and 5-of-8 (.625) from there line. He also averaged 5.5 rebounds a game, 1.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 2.5 blocks on the week.
NATIONAL AWARDS FOR SLASH
On Jan. 13, AJ Clayton was named the Lou Henson National Player of the Week for his performance the week Jan. 6.
On Jan. 14, Clayton was named the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week.
UP NEXT
Ohio men’s basketball is back on the road on Tuesday, Jan. 21 when the Bobcats head to Ypsilanti, Mich. to take on Eastern Michigan. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN+.
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