ATHENS, Ohio -- The Ohio men's basketball team (13-12, 7-5 MAC) is back in Athens on Tuesday, Feb. 18 when they host Central Michigan (11-14, 4-8 MAC). Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET inside the Convocation Center. The game can be seen on ESPN+ where Marty Bannister, Dave Cecutti, Jason Preston and Taniah Stephens 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 broadcasts for two decades. WXTQ (Power 105) in Athens returns as the 11-station net- work's flagship.

STORYLINES
• This is the 88th all-time meeting between Ohio and Central Michigan.
• Ohio leads the all-time series, 54-33.
• Ohio and CMU met on Jan. 4 in Mount Pleasant, with the Bobcats winning, 57-55 to open MAC play.
• Last season, Ohio and CMU met on Jan. 16, 2024, with Ohio winning, 73-61 in the Convo.
• Ohio is 13-7 against CMU since 2009-10, while the Bobcats are 9-0 against CMU under Jeff Boals.
• Ohio has registered an impressive 575-184 (.756) all-time record at the Convocation Center, which opened in 1968.
• This season the Bobcats are 9-2 in the Convo.
• Ohio is 70-16 in the Convo under Boals in the last six seasons.
• Junior guard Jackson Paveletzke is 70 points away from 1,000 in his career. 
• Graduate Student guard Shereef Mitchell is 88 points away from 1,000 for his career. 
• 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 166th in the Feb. 17 NET Rankings. 

SCOUTING CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Central Michigan enters the matchup against Ohio with an 11-14 record and a 4-8 mark in MAC play. CMU is coming off a three point loss to Akron Saturday evening in Mount Pleasant. 

CMU averages 75.1 points a game, while shooting .461 from the field, .317 from three and .719 from the line, while opponents are averaging 71.7 points per game, while shooting .440 from the field, .326 from three and .690 from the line.

CMU averages 36.2 rebounds, 13.9 assists, 7.5 steals and 2.9 blocks a game, while forcing 13.3 turnovers a game. Meanwhile, CMU opponents average 32.0 rebounds, 14.1 assists, 6.8 steals and 3.1 blocks a game, while forcing CMU to turn the ball over an average of 12.7 times a contest.

Individually, Ugnius Jarusevucius leads CMU with 15.5 points a game, while shooting .524 from the field, .276 from three and .731 fro the line, while adding 7.4 rebounds a game. Anthony Pritchard adds 13.2 points and 4.2 assists a game, while shooting .439 from the field, .355 from three and .688 from the line. Jakobi Heady adds 13.7 points and 6.6 rebounds, while shooting .431 from the field and .193 from three, while Kyler VanderJagt adds 11.8 points a game, while shooting .500 from the field. 

SCOUTING OHIO
Ohio is currently 13-12 overall and 7-5 in MAC play after falling to Kent State, 76-75 on the road Friday night in Kent, Ohio. 

Ohio is averaging 79.7 points per game, while shooting .472 from the field, .355 from three and .771 from the line, while opponents are averaging 75.3 points per game, while shooting .451 from the field, .378 from three and .681 from the line. 

Ohio is averaging 33.4 rebounds, 14.4 assists, 3.2 blocks and 7.2 steals per game, while forcing 13.2 turnovers a contest. Meanwhile, opponents are averaging 35.3 rebounds, 13.3 assists, 2.9 blocks and 7.0 steals per game, while forcing Ohio to turn the ball over 11.5 times a game.

Individually, AJ Clayton averages 14.5 points and 5.6 rebounds a game, while shooting .472 from the field, .371 from three and .817 from the line. AJ Brown averages 12.9 points a game, while shooting .470 from the field, .371 from three and .871 from the line, while Jackson Paveletzke adds 12.9 points, 5.0 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game. Shereef Mitchell adds 12.7 points, while shooting .490 from the field, while Elmore James averages 7.7 points, while shooting .857 from the line. 

ALL TIME VS. CENTRAL MICHIGAN
This is the 88th all-time meeting between Ohio and Central Michigan.

Ohio leads the all-time series, 54-33.

Ohio and CMU met on Jan. 4 in Mount Pleasant, with the Bobcats winning, 57-55 to open MAC play.

Last season, Ohio and CMU met on Jan. 16, 2024, with Ohio winning, 73-61 in the Convo.

Ohio is 13-7 against CMU since 2009-10, while the Bobcats are 9-0 against CMU under Jeff Boals.

PROTECT THIS HOUSE
Ohio has registered an impressive 575-184 (.756) all-time record at the Convocation Center, which opened in 1968.

Ohio finished 14-2 in the Convo last season.

Ohio is 70-16 in the Convo under Boals in the last six seasons. 

Ohio is currently 9-2 in the Convo this season. 

REEF AND PAV HUNT FOR 1,000
Junior guard Jackson Paveletzke is currently 70 points away from 1,000 for his career, sitting at 930 entering Tuesday's matchup. 

Graduate student guard Shereef Mitchell is currently 88 points away from 1,000, currently sitting at 912. 

OHIO IN NET
The Bobcats currently rank 166th in the Feb. 17 NET Rankings.

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

OHIO IN NCAA
Currently Ohio ranks 96th in the nation in forced turnovers per game. The Bobcats are also ninth in fastbreak points and 58th in field goal percentage.

Ohio also ranks 55th in effective field goal percentage, 53rd in scoring offense, 30th in free throw percentage and 91st in free throws made per game. 

Ohio also ranks 89th in turnover margin. 

Meanwhile, Jackson Paveletzke ranks 50th in assists per game and 51st in assists. 

AJ Brown ranks 52nd in free throws percentage.

AJ Clayton ranks 88th in blocks and 51st in blocks per game. 

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

AJ Brown ranks fourth in free throw percentage. 

AJ Clayton is first in blocks, fifth in three-point field goals per game and 12th in scoring. 

UP NEXT
Ohio heads back in Athens on Saturday, Feb. 22 when the Bobcats take on MAC-leading Akron. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. inside the Convocation Center and can be seen on ESPN2. 

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