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ATHENS, Ohio -- The Ohio men's basketball team (16-14, 10-7 MAC) concludes the 2024-25 regular season on Friday, March 7 when the Bobcats head to Toledo, Ohio to take on Toledo (16-14, 9-8 MAC). Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET inside Savage 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 broadcasts for two decades. WXTQ (Power 105) in Athens returns as the 11-station net- work's flagship.
STORYLINES • This is the 140th all-time meeting between Ohio and Toledo. • Ohio leads the all-time series, 70-69. • Ohio and Toledo met earlier this season, with the Bobcats falling, 86-83 on Jan. 28 in Athens. • Ohio and Toledo met twice last season, with Toledo winning both matchups. • Ohio is 8-16 against Toledo since 2010-11, while the Bob- cats are 1-9 against the Rockets under Jeff Boals. • Ohio has not defeated Toledo in the regular season since Jan. 26, 2016 in Toledo. • Ohio has registered an impressive 578-185 (.756) all-time record at the Convocation Center, which opened in 1968. • This season the Bobcats are 12-3 in the Convo. • Ohio is 73-17 in the Convo under Boals in the last six seasons. • Junior guard Jackson Paveletzke scored his 1,000th career point on March 4 in Athens on a pullup jumper at the buzzer that tied the game going into halftime. • Graduate Student guard Shereef Mitchell is 17 points away from 1,000 for his career. • The Bobcats win over Akron on Feb. 22 snapped the Zips 14-game winning streak, which at the time was the longest in the nation. • On Feb. 18 against CMU, Jackson Paveletzke scored 22 points and had six rebounds, while AJ Brown added 20 points and seven rebounds, with Shereef Mitchell adding 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists. • At Kent State on Feb. 14, graduate student guard Shereef Mitchell was stellar, leading the Bobcats with 25 points, going 9-of-14 from the field and hitting a career-high four three pointers. • Against Toledo on Jan. 28, AJ Brown and Jackson Paveletzke both scored 22 points, with Brown recording a career-high with eight rebounds. • 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 168th in the March 6 NET Rankings.
SCOUTING TOLEDO Toledo enters the matchup against Ohio with a 16-14 overall record and a 9-8 mark in MAC play after falling to Akron at home on Tuesday.
Toledo averages 77.6 points a game, while shooting .460 from the field, .338 from three and .736 from the line, while opponents are averaging 79.3 points per game, while shooting .485 from the field, .377 from three and .725 from the line.
Toledo averages 34.1 rebounds, 13.4 assists, 5.5 steals and 2.7 blocks a game, while forcing 11.2 turnovers a game. Meanwhile, Toledo opponents average 35.4 rebounds, 14.0 assists, 5.9 steals and 3.3 blocks a game, while forcing the Rockets to turn the ball over an average of 9.5 times a contest.
Individually, Sam Lewis adds 15.7 points and 5.8 rebounds, while shooting .467 from three. Sonny Wilson averages 15.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists a game, while shooting .520 from the field and .407 from three, while Javan Simmons adds 12.1 points and 6.6 boards a game, while shooting .539 from the field.
SCOUTING OHIO Ohio is currently 16-14 overall and 10-7 in MAC play after falling to Eastern Michigan at home on Tuesday.
Ohio is averaging 79.6 points per game, while shooting .469 from the field, .358 from three and .757 from the line, while opponents are averaging 75.4 points per game, while shooting .453 from the field, .374 from three and .690 from the line.
Ohio is averaging 33.3 rebounds, 14.4 assists, 3.1 blocks and 7.4 steals per game, while forcing 13.2 turnovers a contest. Meanwhile, opponents are averaging 35.7 rebounds, 13.1 assists, 2.9 blocks and 6.8 steals per game, while forcing Ohio to turn the ball over 11.0 times a game.
Individually, AJ Clayton averages 14.3 points and 5.4 rebounds a game, while shooting .471 from the field, .373 from three and .787 from the line. AJ Brown averages 13.2 points a game, while shooting .471 from the field, .388 from three and .820 from the line, while Jackson Paveletzke adds 13.3 points, 4.9 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game, while shooting .512 from the field. Shereef Mitchell adds 13.0 points, while shooting .448 from the field and .408 from three,while Elmore James averages 7.8 points, while shooting .383 from the field and .352 from three.
ALL TIME VS. TOLEDO This is the 140th all-time meeting between Ohio and Toledo.
Ohio leads the all-time series, 70-69.
Ohio and Toledo met earlier this season, with the Bobcats falling, 86-83 on Jan. 28 in Athens.
Ohio and Toledo met twice last season, with Toledo winning both matchups.
Ohio is 8-16 against Toledo since 2010-11, while the Bob- cats are 1-9 against the Rockets under Jeff Boals.
Ohio has not defeated Toledo in the regular season since Jan. 26, 2016 in Toledo.
REEF HUNTS FOR 1,000 Graduate student guard Shereef Mitchell is currently 17 points away from 1,000, currently sitting at 983.
PAV WITH 1,000 AT THE BUZZER Junior guard Jackson Paveletzke scored his 1,000th career point on March 4 in Athens on a pullup jumper at the buzzer that tied the game going into halftime.
OHIO IN NET The Bobcats currently rank 168th in the March 6 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 12th in fastbreak points and 71st in field goal percentage.
Ohio also ranks 64th in effective field goal percentage, 52nd in scoring offense, 56th in free throw percentage and 104th in free throws made per game.
Ohio also ranks 56th in turnover margin, 74th in three-pointers per game and 78th in three-point percentage.
Meanwhile, Jackson Paveletzke ranks 58th in assists per game and 53rd in assists.
Shereef Mitchell ranks 74th in steals per game.
AJ Clayton ranks 93rd in blocks and 71st in blocks per game.
BOBCATS IN THE MAC Jackson Paveletzke is third in assists and sixth in assist/turnover ratio. He is also 10th in field goal percentage.
AJ Brown ranks sixth in free throw percentage.
Shereef Mitchell ranks seventh in free throw, seventh in three-point field goal percentage and fourth in steals.
AJ Clayton is first in blocks, fifth in three-point field goals per game and 15th in scoring and 11th in free throw percentage.
UP NEXT Ohio heads to the 2025 Mid-American Conference Tournament March 13-15 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The bracket with seeding and game information will be released following the conclusion of Friday night's games.
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