2019–20 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Ohio University Bobcats men's basketball team represented Ohio University for the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bobcats were led by first-year head coach Jeff Boals, who was a 1995 graduate of Ohio University.[1][2][3] The team played their home games at the Convocation Center in Athens, Ohio as a member of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference.[4] They finished the season 17–15, 8–10 in MAC play to finish in last place in the East division. As the No. 8 seed in the MAC tournament, they defeated Central Michigan in the first round before the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]

2019–20 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionEast Division
Record17–15 (8–10 MAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Steve Snell
  • Lamar Thornton
  • Kyle Barlow
Home arenaConvocation Center
2019–20 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
East
Akron14–4 .77824–7  .774
Bowling Green12–6 .66721–10  .677
Buffalo11–7 .61120–12  .625
Kent State9–9 .50020–12  .625
Ohio8–10 .44417–15  .531
Miami (OH)5–13 .27813–19  .406
West
Ball State11–7 .61118–13  .581
Northern Illinois11–7 .61118–13  .581
Toledo8–10 .44417–15  .531
Central Michigan7–11 .38914–18  .438
Western Michigan6–12 .33313–19  .406
Eastern Michigan6–12 .33316–16  .500
Note: The 2020 MAC tournament was canceled prior to the quarterfinals due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Previous season
Main article: 2018–19 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team

The Bobcats finished the 2018–19 season 14–17, 6–12 in MAC play to finish in last place in the East Division. As the No. 10 seed in the MAC tournament, they were defeated in the first round by Northern Illinois.[6]

On March 13, 2019, head coach Saul Phillips was fired. He finished his five-year tenure at Ohio with an 81–77 overall record.[7] Five days later, the school named Ohio alum Jeff Boals, head coach at Stony Brook, as their new head coach.[8]

Offseason

Coaching Departures
Coaching Departures
Name Alma Mater Previous position New position
Saul PhillipsUniversity of Wisconsin–PlattevilleHead coachHead coach (Northern State)[9]
Will RyanUniversity of Wisconsin–MilwaukeeAssistant coachHead coach (Wheeling Jesuit)[10]
Jason KempUniversity of Wisconsin–La CrosseAssistant coachAssistant coach (William & Mary)[11]
Jared SwansonConcordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota)Assistant coachAssistant coach (Northern State)[12]

Coaching Additions
Coaching Additions
Name Alma Mater Previous position New position
Jeff BoalsOhio UniversityHead coach (Stony Brook)Head coach[13]
Steve SnellAssistant coach (Denver)Assistant coach[14]
Lamar ThorntonOhio Dominican UniversityAssistant coach (Stony Brook)Assistant coach[15]
Kyle BarlowConcordia University Ann ArborAssistant coach (Toledo)Assistant coach[16]

Departures
Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason
Jason Carter 1 F 6'8" 220 Junior Johnstown, OH Transferred to Xavier[17]
James Gollon 3 G 6'5" 200 Senior Stevens Point, WI Medical[18]
Teyvion Kirk 4 G 6'4" 185 Junior Joliet, IL Transferred to Colorado State[19]
Torey James 11 G 6'5" 190 Soph. Hickory, NC Transferred to Cape Fear CC[20]
Chris McGraw 14 G 5'11" 175 Soph. Columbus, OH Transferred to Otterbien[21]
Jarrell Reeves 21 F 6'5" 200 Junior Murfreesboro, TN Left Team
Gavin Block 22 G/F 6'7" 212 Senior Lincoln, IL Graduated
Antonio Cowart 23 G 6'2" 175 Senior McComb, MS Transferred to Mississippi College[22]
Doug Taylor 45 F 6'9" 248 Senior Columbus, OH Graduated

Incoming transfers
Incoming Transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason
Sylvester Ogbonda 11 F 6'10" 237 Senior Port Harcourt, Nigeria Transferred from Georgia Tech. Will have one year of eligibility remaining.[23]

Recruiting class
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Ben Roderick
SF		 Powell, OH Olentangy Liberty 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Apr 15, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:3/5 stars
Lunden McDay
PG		 Akron, OH St. Vincent–St. Mary 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Oct 1, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Nolan Foster
C		 Mattawan, MI Mattawan 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Apr 27, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Miles Brown
PG		 Rochester, NY Northstar Christian 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Apr 24, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Michael Brown, Jr.*
PG		 Rochester, NY Northstar Christian 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 156 lb (71 kg) Apr 24, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Marvin Price
SF		 Baltimore, MD Patterson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Apr 13, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN grade: 75
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:

  • "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

* Walk-on in 2019-20

Roster
2019–20 Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 0 Jason Preston 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)187 lb (85 kg) SoBelieve Sports Academy Orlando, FL
G 1 Michael Brown, Jr. (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)156 lb (71 kg) FrNorthstar Christian Rochester, NY
F 2 Nate Springs 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)205 lb (93 kg) RS FrUnited Faith Christian Charlotte, NC
F 3 Ben Roderick 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)205 lb (93 kg) FrOlentangy Liberty Powell, OH
F 5 Ben Vander Plas 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)232 lb (105 kg) RS SoRipon Ripon, WI
G 10 Connor Murrell 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)215 lb (98 kg) RS JrSioux City East Sioux City, IA
F 11 Sylvester Ogbonda 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)237 lb (108 kg) SrNational Christian Port Harcourt, Nigeria
G 12 John Tenerowicz (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)185 lb (84 kg) SoSt. Ignatius Cleveland, OH
G 15 Lunden McDay 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg) FrSt. Vincent–St. Mary Akron, OH
C 22 Nolan Foster 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)222 lb (101 kg) FrMattawan Mattawan, MI
G 23 Miles Brown 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)180 lb (82 kg) FrNorthstar Christian Rochester, NY
F 24 Mason McMurray 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)220 lb (100 kg) RS FrStow-Munroe Falls Stow, OH
G 35 Jordan Dartis 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg) RS SrNewark Newark, OH
F 44 Mavin Price 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)228 lb (103 kg) FrPatterson Baltimore, MD
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Preseason

The preseason coaches' poll and league awards were announced by the league office on October 31, 2019.[24] Ohio was picked last in the MAC East.

East Division
MAC East preseason poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1Bowling Green(9) 69
2Buffalo(3) 58
3Kent State43
4Miami37
5Akron33
6Ohio12

West Division
MAC West preseason poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1Toledo(11) 69
2Northern Illinois52
3Ball State(1) 51
4Central Michigan41
5Western Michigan23
6Eastern Michigan16

MAC Tournament Champions: Bowling Green (6), Toledo (2), Buffalo (1), Kent State (1), Miami (1), NIU (1)

Source[24]

Schedule and results
Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 2, 2019
1:00 pm		 Capital W 73–49 
Convocation Center (6,104)
Athens, OH
Non-conference regular season
November 5, 2019*
7:30 pm, ESPN+		 at St. Bonaventure W 65–53  1–0
 Reilly Center (4,305)
St. Bonaventure, NY
November 9, 2019*
1:00 pm		 Heidelberg W 80–50  2–0
 Convocation Center (4,043)
Athens, OH
November 13, 2019*
7:00 pm		 at Iona W 81–72  3–0
 Hynes Athletic Center (2,013)
New Rochelle, NY
November 16, 2019*
12:00 pm, FS2		 at No. 10 Villanova
Myrtle Beach Invitational campus game		 L 54–78  3–1
 Wells Fargo Center (13,678)
Philadelphia, PA
November 21, 2019*
4:30 pm, ESPN2		 vs. No. 24 Baylor
Myrtle Beach Invitational quarterfinal		 L 53–76  3–2
 HTC Center (2,269)
Conway, SC
November 22, 2019*
7:30 pm, ESPNews		 vs. Utah
Myrtle Beach Invitational consolation 2nd round		 L 66–80  3–3
 HTC Center (1,921)
Conway, SC
November 24, 2019*
7:30 pm, ESPNews		 vs. Middle Tennessee
Myrtle Beach Invitational 7th place game		 W 75–63  4–3
 HTC Center (1,977)
Conway, SC
November 30, 2019*
1:00 pm		 Detroit Mercy W 91–81  5–3
 Convocation Center (3,030)
Athens, OH
December 4, 2019*
7:00 pm		 Rio Grande W 90–51  6–3
 Convocation Center (3,333)
Athens, OH
December 8, 2019*
2:00 pm		 Tennessee Tech W 81–54  7–3
 Convocation Center (3,402)
Athens, OH
December 17, 2019*
9:00 pm, ESPN2		 Purdue L 51–69  7–4
 Convocation Center (5,663)
Athens, OH
December 21, 2019*
1:00 pm		 Morehead State W 82–76  8–4
 Convocation Center (3,021)
Athens, OH
December 29, 2019*
2:00 pm		 Campbell L 55–63  8–5
 Convocation Center (3,305)
Athens, OH
MAC regular season
January 4, 2020
4:00 pm, ESPN3		 at Western Michigan L 65–77  8–6
(0–1)		 University Arena (2,683)
Kalamazoo, MI
January 7, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+		 Eastern Michigan W 74–68  9–6
(1–1)		 Convocation Center (3,109)
Athens, OH
January 11, 2020
1:00 pm, ESPN+		 Bowling Green L 74–83  9–7
(1–2)		 Convocation Center (4,811)
Athens, OH
January 14, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+		 at Buffalo L 73–76  9–8
(1–3)		 Alumni Arena (2,404)
Amherst, NY
January 18, 2020
2:00 pm, ESPN3		 at Eastern Michigan W 60–58  10–8
(2–3)		 EMU Convocation Center (1,322)
Ypsilanti, MI
January 21, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN3		 Toledo L 74–83  10–9
(2–4)		 Convocation Center 
Athens, OH
January 25, 2020
3:30 pm, ESPN3		 Akron L 86–88  10–10
(2–5)		 Convocation Center (5,012)
Athens, OH
January 28, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+		 at Northern Illinois L 59–61  10–11
(2–6)		 NIU Convocation Center (783)
DeKalb, IL
February 1, 2020
1:00 pm, ESPN3		 at Ball State L 54–65  10–12
(2–7)		 Worthen Arena (5,238)
Muncie, IN
February 8, 2020
3:30 pm, ESPN3		 Miami (OH) W 77–46  11–12
(3–7)		 Convocation Center (6,534)
Athens, OH
February 11, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+		 Western Michigan W 73–61  12–12
(4–7)		 Convocation Center (4,372)
Athens, OH
February 15, 2020
1:00 pm, ESPN3		 at Kent State L 72–87  12–13
(4–8)		 Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (5,218)
Kent, OH
February 18, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN3		 Central Michigan W 77–69  13–13
(5–8)		 Convocation Center (4,547)
Athens, OH
February 22, 2020
4:30 pm, ESPN+		 at Bowling Green L 61–62  13–14
(5–9)		 Stroh Center (3,795)
Bowling Green, OH
February 25, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+		 Buffalo W 80–69  14–14
(6–9)		 Convocation Center (4,837)
Athens, OH
February 28, 2020
3:30 pm, ESPN+		 Kent State W 76-69  15–14
(7–9)		 Convocation Center (5,490)
Athens, OH
March 3, 2020
7:30 pm, CBSSN		 at Akron L 67–74  15–15
(7–10)		 James A. Rhodes Arena (3,825)
Akron, OH
March 6, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN3		 at Miami (OH) W 67–65  16–15
(8–10)		 Millett Hall (2,289)
Oxford, OH
MAC Tournament
March 9, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+		 (8) (9) Central Michigan
First round		 W 85–65  17–15
 Convocation Center (3,312)
Athens, OH
March 12, 2020
12:00 pm, ESPN+		 (8) vs. (1) Akron
Quarterfinals		 MAC Tournament cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic[25] Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse 
Cleveland, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

All games from ohiobobcats.com.[26]

Statistics

Team Statistics
Final 2019–20 Statistics
Record Ohio OPP
Scoring22862192
Scoring Average71.4468.50
Field goals – Att822–1837754–1802
3-pt. Field goals – Att272–781239–727
Free throws – Att370–537445–570
Rebounds11341076
Assists471354
Turnovers406405
Steals205199
Blocked Shots7376

Source[27]

Player statistics
Minutes Scoring Total FGs 3-point FGs Free-Throws 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
Jason Preston 32 32 1218 38.1 538 16.8 203 394 0.515 37 91 0.407 95 131 0.725 23 183 206 6.4 238 37 118 46 3
Ben Vander Plas 31 31 1022 33 487 15.7 183 372 0.492 41 137 0.299 80 135 0.593 39 175 214 6.9 86 84 89 32 21
Jordan Dartis 29 29 909 31.3 375 12.9 118 300 0.393 83 218 0.381 56 67 0.836 11 56 67 2.3 36 45 26 32 3
Lunden McDay 31 29 884 28.5 253 8.2 90 193 0.466 27 70 0.386 46 64 0.719 50 39 89 2.9 28 67 30 25 6
Sylvester Ogbonda 32 32 799 25 213 6.7 76 159 0.478 10 32 0.313 51 70 0.729 67 142 209 6.5 26 115 48 25 24
Ben Roderick 23 5 443 19.3 137 6 48 133 0.361 36 98 0.367 5 8 0.625 15 38 53 2.3 6 42 14 11 2
Nolan Foster 29 0 257 8.9 71 2.4 28 59 0.475 2 5 0.4 13 26 0.5 13 32 45 1.6 4 41 16 1 7
Nate Springs 21 0 179 8.5 64 3 23 48 0.479 16 40 0.4 2 2 1 6 22 28 1.3 3 20 16 5 3
Mason McMurray 18 1 219 12.2 51 2.8 20 57 0.351 11 39 0.282 0 0 0 11 30 41 2.3 10 24 4 3 3
Connor Murrell 14 0 144 10.3 31 2.2 11 42 0.262 0 15 0 9 14 0.643 11 20 31 2.2 11 21 10 3 1
Miles Brown 13 1 138 10.6 23 1.8 7 28 0.25 2 11 0.182 7 11 0.636 2 11 13 1 8 14 11 8 0
Marvin Price 7 0 54 7.7 20 2.9 6 18 0.333 4 10 0.4 4 6 0.667 2 4 6 0.9 2 6 2 5 0
Michael Brown 13 0 114 8.8 18 1.4 7 25 0.28 2 11 0.182 2 3 0.667 1 11 12 0.9 12 15 10 9 0
John Tenerowicz 4 0 20 5 5 1.3 2 9 0.222 1 4 0.25 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.3 1 1 0 0 0
Total 32 - 6400 - 2286 71.4 822 1837 0.447 272 781 0.348 370 537 0.689 299 835 1134 35.4 471 532 406 205 73
Opponents 32 - 6400 - 2192 68.5 754 1802 0.418 239 727 0.329 445 570 0.781 273 803 1076 33.6 354 572 405 199 76
Legend
  GP  Games played   GS  Games started  Avg  Average per game
  FG  Field-goals made  FGA  Field-goal attempts  Off  Offensive rebounds
 Def  Defensive rebounds   A  Assists   TO Turnovers
 Blk  Blocks  Stl  Steals  High  Team high

Source[27]

Awards and honors

Weekly Awards
Weekly Award Honors
Honors Player Position Date Awarded Source
MAC East player of the week Jason Preston G November 18 [28]
MAC East player of the week Jordan Dartis G December 2 [29]
MAC East player of the week Jason Preston G December 9 [30]
MAC East player of the week Jason Preston G December 30 [31]
MAC East player of the week Jason Preston G February 10 [32]

All-MAC Awards
Postseason All-MAC teams
Team Player Position Year
All-MAC Second Team Jason Preston G So.
All-MAC Third Team Ben Vander Plas F RS-So.
All-MAC Freshman Team Lunden McDay G Fr.

Source[33]

See also

References
  1. "Men's Basketball". Ohio University. Archived from the original on October 16, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  2. "Jeff Boals". Sports Reference. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  3. "Ohio Athletics Officially Introduces Boals As Men's Basketball Head Coach - Ohio University". www.ohiobobcats.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2019.
  4. "Convocation Center". Ohio University. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  5. "2019-20 Ohio Men's Basketball Schedule". Ohio University. Archived from the original on January 11, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  6. "2018-19 Ohio Men's Basketball Schedule". Ohio University. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  7. Harrison, Alexander. "OU cans its highest-paid employee". The Athens NEWS. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  8. Popovich, Mike. "Jeff Boals lands 'dream job' at Ohio University". The Repository. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  9. "Northern State hires Saul Phillips as new head coach". Keloland. June 12, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  10. "Ryan named Wheeling Jesuit Head Men's Basketball Coach". Wheeling University. July 1, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  11. "Jason Kemp". William and Mary Athletics. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  12. "Jared Swanson". Northern State Athletics. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  13. "Boals leaving Stony Brook for alma mater Ohio". ESPN. March 17, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  14. "Steve Snell". North Carolina State Athletics. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  15. "Lamar Thornton". Ohio Athletics. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  16. "Kyle Barlow". Ohio Athletics. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  17. Baum, Adam. "Xavier University basketball picks up Ohio University transfer Jason Carter". Cincinnati.com. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  18. Journalist, Jason Arkley Messenger Staff. "Despite all the pain, these Bobcats found each other". The Athens Messenger. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  19. "Highly-ranked guard says he'll transfer from Ohio to Colorado State basketball team". Coloradoan. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  20. "Torey James - Cape Fear CC". goseadevils.com. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  21. "Chris McGraw". Huskers.com. Retrieved November 16, 2011.
  22. "Antonio Cowart Jr. - 2019-20 - Men's Basketball". Mississippi College Athletics. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  23. Arkley, Jason (July 29, 2021). "Bobcats secure grad transfer in the front court". Athens Messenger. Athens Messenger. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
  24. "MAC Announces Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll & All-MAC Teams". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  25. Wright, Branson (March 12, 2020). "Mid-American Conference cancels basketball tournament in Cleveland because of coronavirus concerns". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  26. "2019-20 Ohio Men's Basketball Schedule". Ohio University. Archived from the original on August 18, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  27. "2019-20 Ohio Bobcats Roster and Stats". Sports Reference.
  28. "Preston Named MAC East Co-Player of the Week". Ohio Athletics.
  29. "Dartis Named MAC East Co-Player of the Week". Ohio Athletics.
  30. "Preston Named MAC East Co-Player of the Week". Ohio Athletics.
  31. "Preston Earns MAC Weekly Honor for the Third Time This Season". Ohio Athletics.
  32. "Preston Earns MAC Weekly Honor for the Fourth Time This Season". Ohio Athletics.
  33. "Three Ohio Men's Basketball Members Earn MAC Postseason Honors". Ohio Athletics.
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