ATHENS, Ohio — The Ohio men’s basketball team (11-10, 5-4 MAC) is back in Athens on Tuesday, Feb. 4 to take on Western Michigan (7-14, 4-5 MAC). Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside the Convocation Center. The game can be seen on ESPN+ where Marty Bannister, Dave Cecutti and Sam Hyman 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 broadcasts for two decades. WXTQ (Power 105) in Athens returns as the 11-station net- work’s flagship.

STORYLINES
• This is the 142nd all-time meeting between Ohio and Western Michigan.
• Ohio leads the all-time series, 74-67.
• Ohio and WMU met twice last season. The first time with the Broncos winning, 81-79 in Kalamazoo, before the Bobcats defeated WMU, 82-55 in the MAC Quarterfinals in Cleveland.
• Ohio is 12-9 against WMU since 2009-10, while the Bobcats are 5-2 against WMU under Jeff Boals.
• The Bobcats have won six out of the last seven matchups with the Broncos.
• Ohio has registered an impressive 574-183 (.756) all-time record at the Convocation Center, which opened in 1968.
• This season the Bobcats are 8-1 in the Convo.
• Ohio is 69-15 in the Convo under Boals in the last six seasons.
• Against Toledo on Jan. 28, AJ Brown and Jackson Paveletzke both scored 22 points, with Brown recording a career-high with eight rebounds.
• Ohio win over Kent State on Jan. 24 is the third-straight wins for the Bobcats over the Flashes. It is the first time since Jan. 26, 2013-Jan. 8, 2014 that Ohio has won three-straight over Kent State.
• Junior guard Jackson Paveletzke scored a career-high 28 points at EMU on Jan. 21.
• Graduate student guard Shereef Mitchell, in his first start since Nov. 9, scored a career-high 27 points on Jan. 17 at Akron.
• AJ Clayton scored his 1,000the career point on Jan. 11 against NIU.
• Senior forward AJ Clayton had a 31-point performance on Jan. 11 against NIU. Clayton hit a career-high nine threes in the victory.
• The Bobcats currently rank 170th in the Feb. 3 NET Rankings.

SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
Western Michigan enters the matchup against Ohio with a 7-14 overall record and a 4-5 mark in MAC play after defeating Eastern Michigan on Saturday at home.

WMU averages 71.1 points a game, while shooting .425 from the field, .274 from three and .673 from the line, while opponents are averaging 75.0 points per game, while shooting .459 from the field, .336 from three and .703 from the line.

WMU averages 38.3 rebounds, 12.4 assists, 6.5 steals and 2.3 blocks a game, while forcing 11.1 turnovers a game. Meanwhile, WMU opponents average 34.4 rebounds, 14.7 assists, 5.6 steals and 4.8 blocks a game, while forcing the Broncos to turn the ball over an average of 11.0 times a contest.

Individually, Chansey Willis, Jr. lead the Broncos in scoring with 15.0 points a game, while averaging 4.4 rebounds and 5.5 assists. He also shoots .416 from the field, .250 from three and .698 from the line. Markhi Strickland adds 11.6 points and a .495 field goal percentage, while JaVaughn Hannah averages 11.6 points a game, while shooting g.425 from the field. Owen Lobsinger averages 10.4 points and a team-leading 7.5 rebounds a contest.

SCOUTING OHIO
Ohio is currently 11-10 overall and 5-4 in MAC play after falling to Miami, 73-69, on Saturday in Oxford.

Ohio is averaging 79.9 points per game, while shooting .467 from the field, .354 from three and .757 from the line, while opponents are averaging 75.5 points per game, while shooting .452 from the field, .385 from three and .671 from the line.

Ohio is averaging 34.3 rebounds, 14.5 assists, 3.5 blocks and 7.7 steals per game, while forcing 13.6 turnovers a contest. Meanwhile, opponents are averaging 35.8 rebounds, 13.7 assists, 3.2 blocks and 7.0 steals per game, while forcing Ohio to turn the ball over 11.6 times a game.

Individually, AJ Brown averages 12.5 points a game, while shooting .464 from the field, .391 from three and .871 from the line, while Jackson Paveletzke adds 13.2 points, 5.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game. Shereef Mitchell adds 11.6 points, while shooting .458 from the field, while Elmore James averages 8.1 points, while shooting .857 from the line.

ALL TIME VS. WESTERN MICHIGAN
Ohio leads the all-time series, 74-67.

Ohio and WMU met twice last season. The first time with the Broncos winning, 81-79 in Kalamazoo, before the Bobcats defeated WMU, 82-55 in the MAC Quarterfinals in Cleveland.

Ohio is 12-9 against WMU since 2009-10, while the Bobcats are 5-2 against WMU under Jeff Boals.

The Bobcats have won six out of the last seven matchups with the Broncos.

PROTECT THIS HOUSE
Ohio has registered an impressive 574-183 (.756) all-time record at the Convocation Center, which opened in 1968.

Ohio finished 14-2 in the Convo last season.

Ohio is 69-54 in the Convo under Boals in the last six seasons.

Ohio is currently 8-1 in the Convo this season.

OHIO IN NET
The Bobcats currently rank 170th in the Feb. 3 NET Rankings.

Ohio is the fourth-highest MAC team behind Kent State, Akron, and Miami.

OHIO IN NCAA
Currently Ohio ranks 77th in the nation in forced turnovers per game. The Bobcats are also 12th in fastbreak points and 81st in field goal percentage.

Ohio also ranks 77th in effective field goal percentage, 56th in scoring offense, 46th in free throw percentage and 97th in free throws made per game.

Ohio also ranks 72nd in turnover margin.

Meanwhile, Jackson Paveletzke ranks 53rd in assists per game and 58th in assists.

AJ Brown ranks 54th in free throws percentage.

AJ Clayton ranks 74th in three-point percentage, 91st in three-pointers per game 75th in blocks and 31st in blocks per game.

BOBCATS IN THE MAC
Jackson Paveletzke is second in assists and fifth in assist/turnover ratio.

AJ Brown ranks fourth in free throw percentage.

AJ Clayton is first in blocks, fifth in scoring and third in three-point field goals per game.

UP NEXT
Ohio men’s basketball is back in Athens on Saturday, Feb. 8 for the second part of the MAC-SBC Challenge when Ohio hosts App State. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. inside the Convocation Center and can be seen on ESPN+.

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