# 2023–24 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Ohio University Bobcats men's basketball team represented Ohio University for the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bobcats were led by fifth-year head coach Jeff Boals, who was a 1995 graduate of Ohio University. They play their home games at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio as a member of the Mid-American Conference. They finished 6–7 in non-conference play and started 1–3 in conference play. They rallied to win 12 of their final 14 conference games to finish the regular season 19–12 with a 13–5 in MAC play to finish tied for 2nd place. They defeated Western Michigan in the first round of the MAC tournament and lost to Akron in the second round

## Previous season

The Bobcats started the 2022–23 season slowly but recovered to win seven out of their last nine regular season games to head into the MAC tournament at 18–13 as the fifth seed with a 10–8 conference record. They defeated Ball State in the first round of the MAC tournament before losing to top-seeded Toledo to finish 19–14.

## Offseason

Ohio avoided significant losses to the transfer portal in that only Olumide Adelodun, who averaged 5.5 minutes per game, entered the portal.

### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason |
| Ben Roderick | 3 | F | 6'5" | 205 | Senior | Powell, Ohio | Graduated |
| Dwight Wilson III | 4 | F | 6'8" | 250 | Grad. Student | Tallahassee, Florida | Graduated, Exhausted eligibility |
| Olumide Adelodun | 5 | G | 6'6" | 215 | Sophomore | Calgary, Alberta | Transferred to Winona State |
| Devon Baker | 22 | G | 6'2" | 190 | Senior | Dayton, Ohio | Graduated, Exhausted eligibility |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason |
| Shereef Mitchell | 4 | G | 6'1" | 170 | Junior | Omaha, Nebraska | Transferred from Creighton. Will have two years of eligibility remaining. |
| Ike Cornish | 20 | F | 6'6" | 185 | Sophomore | Baltimore, Maryland | Transferred from Maryland. Will have three years of eligibility remaining. |

### Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Ben Nicol SF | Charleston, WV | George Washington | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | 07/19/2023 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Preseason

On November 1, 2023 the MAC released the preseason coaches poll. Ohio was picked to finish third in the MAC regular season. Ohio placed Jaylin Hunter on the preseason all-MAC team first team and AJ Brown on the second team.

### Preseason rankings

MAC preseason poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Akron | 121 (11) |
| 2 | Kent State | 104 |
| 3 | Ohio | 102 (1) |
| 4 | Toledo | 93 |
| 5 | Northern Illinois | 82 |
| T6 | Bowling Green | 64 |
| T6 | Miami | 64 |
| 8 | Ball State | 55 |
| 9 | Buffalo | 38 |
| 10 | Western Michigan | 33 |
| 11 | Eastern Michigan | 22 |
| 12 | Central Michigan | 14 |
MAC Tournament Champions: Akron (9), Kent State (1), Ohio (1), Toledo (1)
Source

### Preseason All-MAC

Preseason All-MAC teams :
| Team | Player | Position | Year |
| 1st | Jaylin Hunter | G | Sr. |
| 2nd | AJ Brown | G | So. |
Source

## Roster
### Support Staff

Source:

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 2, 2023* 7:00 p.m. | | Otterbein | W 67–49 | – | 13 – Hunter | – | – | Convocation Center Athens, OH |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 8, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Troy MAC-SBC Challenge | W 88–70 | 1–0 | 24 – A. Brown | 7 – Wiznitzer | 4 – Hunter | Convocation Center (4,744) Athens, OH |
| November 11, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Cleveland State | L 78–82 | 1–1 | 15 – Mitchell | 6 – Tied | 7 – Hunter | Wolstein Center (2,399) Cleveland, OH |
| November 18, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Detroit Mercy | W 71–52 | 2–1 | 18 – Clayton | 10 – Hunter | 6 – Hunter | Convocation Center (4,411) Athens, OH |
| November 24, 2023* 7:00 p.m., FloSports | | vs. George Washington Nassau Championship quarterfinals | L 94–99 $^{2OT}$ | 2–2 | 25 – Hunter | 12 – Clayton | 5 – Hunter | Baha Mar Convention Center (277) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 25, 2023* 1:30 p.m., FloSports | | vs. Middle Tennessee Nassau Championship | W 80–68 | 3–2 | 19 – Hunter | 4 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Baha Mar Convention Center (241) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 26, 2023* TBA, FloSports | | vs. Brown Nassau Championship | W 82–77 | 4–2 | 24 – Mitchell | 8 – James | 4 – James | Baha Mar Convention Center (251) Nassau, Bahamas |
| December 2, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Delaware | W 74–73 | 5–2 | 21 – James | 7 – Hadaway | 3 – Hunter | Convocation Center (4,512) Athens, OH |
| December 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Youngstown State | L 72–78 | 5–3 | 17 – Mitchell | 10 – James | 5 – Hunter | Convocation Center (3,799) Athens, OH |
| December 9, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Marshall | L 69–74 | 5–4 | 19 – Hunter | 9 – Clayton | 5 – Hunter | Convocation Center (4,623) Athens, OH |
| December 18, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Defiance | W 108–28 | 6–4 | 17 – Clayton | 8 – Wiznitzer | 9 – Hunter | Convocation Center (3,108) Athens, OH |
| December 22, 2023* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Austin Peay | L 67–71 | 6–5 | 14 – Mitchell | 10 – Hadaway | 5 – Hadaway | F&M Bank Arena (3,031) Clarksville, TN |
| December 30, 2023* 1:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | vs. Davidson Legends of Basketball Showcase | L 69–72 | 6–6 | 13 – Clayton | 9 – M. Brown | 7 – Hunter | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Cleveland, OH |
| MAC regular season |||||||||
| January 2, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Toledo | L 77–86 | 6–7 (0–1) | 17 – James | 8 – James | 5 – M. Brown | Convocation Center (4,016) Athens, OH |
| January 6, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Northern Illinois | W 78–66 | 7–7 (1–1) | 23 – Clayton | 8 – Hunter | 6 – Tied | Convocation Center (3,802) Athens, OH |
| January 9, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Bowling Green | L 78–83 | 7–8 (1–2) | 19 – James | 7 – Hadaway | 4 – Clayton | Stroh Center (1,982) Bowling Green, OH |
| January 13, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Western Michigan | L 79–81 | 7–9 (1–3) | 15 – Clayton | 5 – M. Brown | 3 – Tied | University Arena (1,650) Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 16, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Central Michigan | W 73–61 | 8–9 (2–3) | 19 – Hunter | 10 – Clayton | 8 – Hunter | Convocation Center (4,608) Athens, OH |
| January 20, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Eastern Michigan | W 85–67 | 9–9 (3–3) | 20 – Hadaway | 9 – M. Brown | 5 – Tied | Convocation Center (5,547) Athens, OH |
| January 23, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Akron | L 58–67 | 9–10 (3–4) | 15 – Mitchell | 7 – Mitchell | 3 – Hunter | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,604) Akron, OH |
| January 26, 2024 6:30 p.m., CBSSN | | at Kent State | W 71–64 | 10–10 (4–4) | 17 – Hunter | 8 – Hadaway | 5 – Tied | MAC Center (3,557) Kent, OH |
| January 30, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Buffalo | W 91–70 | 11–10 (5–4) | 16 – Clayton | 9 – Hunter | 6 – Hunter | Convocation Center (3,652) Athens, OH |
| February 3, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Miami (OH) | W 78–69 | 12–10 (6–4) | 22 – Hunter | 8 – M. Brown | 8 – Hunter | Convocation Center (9,018) Athens, OH |
| February 6, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Ball State | W 84–79 $^{OT}$ | 13–10 (7–4) | 32 – Hunter | 10 – Hadaway | 5 – Hunter | Worthen Arena (3,218) Muncie, IN |
| February 10, 2024* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Arkansas State MAC-SBC Challenge | L 87–100 | 13–11 | 20 – Hunter | 5 – Clayton | 8 – Hunter | First National Bank Arena (2,267) Jonesboro, AR |
| February 17, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Toledo | L 83–85 | 13–12 (7–5) | 22 – Clayton | 8 – Hadaway | 6 – Hunter | Savage Arena (5,079) Toledo, OH |
| February 20, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kent State | W 63–57 | 14–12 (8–5) | 13 – Hunter | 9 – Mitchell | 3 – Hunter | Convocation Center (4,132) Athens, OH |
| February 24, 2024 3:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Northern Illinois | W 80–59 | 15–12 (9–5) | 17 – Tied | 5 – Tied | 6 – Mitchell | Convocation Center (2,886) DeKalb, IL |
| February 27, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Akron | W 74–67 | 16–12 (10–5) | 23 – Hunter | 6 – Hadaway | 6 – Hunter | Convocation Center (5,753) Athens, OH |
| March 1, 2024 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Bowling Green | W 66–59 | 17–12 (11–5) | 16 – M. Brown | 5 – Hunter | 4 – Tied | Convocation Center (6,134) Athens, OH |
| March 5, 2024 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Buffalo | W 78–66 | 18–12 (12–5) | 23 – Tied | 5 – Tied | 5 – Hunter | Alumni Arena (2,140) Buffalo, NY |
| March 8, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Miami (OH) | W 72–59 | 19–12 (13–5) | 20 – Tied | 8 – Mitchell | 7 – Hunter | Millett Hall (3,506) Oxford, OH |
| MAC Tournament |||||||||
| March 14, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (3) | vs. (7) Western Michigan Quarterfinals | W 82–55 | 20–12 | 15 – Mitchell | 8 – Tied | 5 – Hunter | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (7,854) Cleveland, OH |
| March 15, 2024 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (3) | vs. (2) Akron Semifinals | L 62–65 | 20–13 | 17 – Hunter | 7 – Hadaway | 4 – Mitchell | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (7,802) Cleveland, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source

## Statistics
### Team Statistics

    Final 2023–24 Statistics
| Record | Ohio | OPP |
| Scoring | 2551 | 2309 |
| Scoring Average | 77.30 | 69.97 |
| Field goals – Att | 901–1987 | 809–1904 |
| 3-pt. Field goals – Att | 294–827 | 238–715 |
| Free throws – Att | 455–623 | 453–649 |
| Rebounds | 1153 | 1198 |
| Assists | 464 | 363 |
| Turnovers | 321 | 452 |
| Steals | 235 | 165 |
| Blocked Shots | 118 | 117 |
Source

### Player statistics

| | | | Minutes | Minutes | Scoring | Scoring | Total FGs | Total FGs | Total FGs | 3-point FGs | 3-point FGs | 3-point FGs | Free-Throws | Free-Throws | Free-Throws | Rebounds | Rebounds | Rebounds | Rebounds | | | | | |
| Player | GP | GS | Tot | Avg | Pts | Avg | FG | FGA | Pct | 3FG | 3FA | Pct | FT | FTA | Pct | Off | Def | Tot | Avg | A | PF | TO | Stl | Blk |
| Jaylin Hunter | 33 | 33 | 1034 | 31.3 | 461 | 14.0 | 158 | 379 | 0.417 | 49 | 167 | 0.293 | 96 | 129 | 0.744 | 26 | 118 | 144 | 4.4 | 163 | 64 | 70 | 56 | 6 |
| Shereef Mitchell | 32 | 31 | 954 | 29.8 | 427 | 13.3 | 158 | 336 | 0.470 | 35 | 107 | 0.327 | 76 | 104 | 0.731 | 34 | 101 | 135 | 4.2 | 77 | 76 | 45 | 45 | 7 |
| AJ Clayton | 33 | 33 | 868 | 26.3 | 397 | 12.0 | 138 | 278 | 0.496 | 73 | 182 | 0.401 | 48 | 59 | 0.814 | 45 | 109 | 154 | 4.7 | 26 | 79 | 32 | 18 | 58 |
| Aidan Hadaway | 33 | 24 | 801 | 24.3 | 275 | 8.3 | 108 | 209 | 0.517 | 21 | 62 | 0.339 | 38 | 56 | 0.679 | 49 | 105 | 154 | 4.7 | 47 | 66 | 25 | 21 | 13 |
| Elmore James | 31 | 18 | 716 | 23.1 | 243 | 7.8 | 90 | 196 | 0.459 | 11 | 40 | 0.275 | 52 | 61 | 0.852 | 39 | 76 | 115 | 3.7 | 29 | 52 | 35 | 17 | 0 |
| Miles Brown | 23 | 17 | 653 | 28.4 | 223 | 9.7 | 69 | 168 | 0.411 | 32 | 76 | 0.421 | 53 | 67 | 0.791 | 13 | 75 | 88 | 3.8 | 43 | 40 | 31 | 35 | 3 |
| Ajay Sheldon | 33 | 0 | 527 | 16.0 | 171 | 5.2 | 56 | 115 | 0.487 | 38 | 82 | 0.463 | 21 | 34 | 0.618 | 19 | 34 | 53 | 1.6 | 34 | 57 | 25 | 24 | 6 |
| Gabe Wiznitzer | 33 | 0 | 462 | 14.0 | 122 | 3.7 | 48 | 94 | 0.511 | 1 | 4 | 0.250 | 25 | 41 | 0.610 | 30 | 73 | 103 | 3.1 | 21 | 67 | 24 | 4 | 22 |
| Ike Cornish | 32 | 0 | 354 | 11.1 | 121 | 3.8 | 37 | 100 | 0.370 | 19 | 57 | 0.333 | 28 | 36 | 0.778 | 16 | 32 | 48 | 1.5 | 11 | 32 | 13 | 7 | 1 |
| AJ Brown | 9 | 9 | 238 | 26.4 | 81 | 9.0 | 30 | 79 | 0.380 | 10 | 35 | 0.286 | 11 | 24 | 0.458 | 9 | 26 | 35 | 3.9 | 8 | 26 | 9 | 7 | 2 |
| Ben Estis | 7 | 0 | 36 | 5.1 | 16 | 2.3 | 5 | 17 | 0.294 | 1 | 8 | 0.125 | 5 | 8 | 0.625 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 1.0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Quinn Corna | 7 | 0 | 31 | 4.4 | 14 | 2.0 | 4 | 16 | 0.250 | 4 | 7 | 0.571 | 2 | 4 | 0.500 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0.7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 33 | - | 6675 | - | 2551 | 77.3 | 901 | 1987 | 0.453 | 294 | 827 | 0.356 | 455 | 623 | 0.730 | 333 | 820 | 1153 | 34.9 | 464 | 562 | 321 | 235 | 118 |
| Opponents | 33 | - | 6675 | - | 2309 | 70.0 | 809 | 1904 | 0.425 | 238 | 715 | 0.333 | 453 | 649 | 0.698 | 375 | 823 | 1198 | 36.3 | 363 | 560 | 452 | 165 | 117 |
Source

### Team and individual highs
#### Team Game Highs

Team Game Highs :
| Stat | High | Opponent | Date |
| Points | 108 | Defiance | December 18, 2023 |
| Field goals Made | 42 | Defiance | December 18, 2023 |
| Field Goal Attempts | 79 | George Washington | November 24, 2023 |
| 3 Points Made | 16 | Defiance | December 18, 2023 |
| 3 Points Attempted | 36 | Defiance | December 18, 2023 |
| Free throws Made | 27 | Troy | November 8, 2023 |
| Free Throw Attempts | 32 | Troy | November 8, 2023 |
| Rebounds | 50 | Defiance | December 18, 2023 |
| Assists | 31 | Defiance | December 18, 2023 |
| Steals | 15 | Defiance | December 18, 2023 |
| Blocked Shots | 8 | Delaware | December 2, 2023 |
| Turnovers | 18 | George Washington | November 24, 2023 |
| Fouls | 23 | Davidson | December 20, 2023 |

#### Individual Game Highs

Individual Game Highs :
| Stat | High | Player | Opponent | Date |
| Points | 32 | Jaylin Hunter | Ball State | February 6, 2024 |
| Field goals Made | 10 | AJ Brown \ Jaylin Hunter | Troy \ Ball State | November 8, 2023 \ February 6, 2024 |
| Field Goal Attempts | 22 | Jaylin Hunter | George Washington | November 24, 2023 |
| 3 Points Made | 7 | AJ Clayton | Buffalo | March 5, 2024 |
| 3 Points Attempted | 13 | AJ Clayton | Buffalo | March 5, 2024 |
| Free throws Made | 10 | Jaylin Hunter | Ball State | February 6, 2024 |
| Free Throw Attempts | 12 | Jaylin Hunter | Ball State | February 6, 2024 |
| Rebounds | 12 | AJ Clayton | George Washington | November 24, 2023 |
| Assists | 9 | Jaylin Hunter | Defiance | December 18, 2023 |
| Steals | 5 | Shareef Mitchell | Western Michigan | March 14, 2024 |
| Blocked Shots | 5 | AJ Clayton | George Washington | November 24, 2023 |
| Turnovers | 6 | Jaylin Hunter \ Shareef Mitchell | George Washington \ Toledo | November 24, 2023 \ January 2, 2024 |
| Fouls | 5 | Various | | |
Source

## Awards and honors
### Weekly Awards

Weekly Award Honors :
| Honors | Player | Position | Date Awarded |
| MAC player of the week | Elmore James | G | December 4 |
| MAC player of the week | Jaylin Hunter | G | February 12 |
| MAC player of the week | Shareef Mitchel | G | March 11 |

### All-MAC Awards

Postseason All-MAC teams :
| Team | Player | Position | Year |
| All-MAC 2nd Team | Jaylin Hunter | G | Sr. |
| All-MAC 3rd Team | AJ Clayton | F | Jr. |
Source