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. 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. 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.
Previous season
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.
On March 13, 2019, head coach Saul Phillips was fired. He finished his five-year tenure at Ohio with an 81–77 overall record. Five days later, the school named Ohio alum Jeff Boals, head coach at Stony Brook, as their new head coach.
Offseason
Coaching Staff Changes
Coaching Departures Coaching DeparturesSaul PhillipsUniversity of Wisconsin–PlattevilleHead coachHead coach (Northern State)Will RyanUniversity of Wisconsin–MilwaukeeAssistant coachHead coach (Wheeling Jesuit)Jason KempUniversity of Wisconsin–La CrosseAssistant coachAssistant coach (William & Mary)Jared SwansonConcordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota)Assistant coachAssistant coach (Northern State)
Coaching Additions Coaching AdditionsJeff BoalsOhio UniversityHead coach (Stony Brook) Head coachSteve Snell Assistant coach (Denver) Assistant coachLamar ThorntonOhio Dominican UniversityAssistant coach (Stony Brook) Assistant coachKyle BarlowConcordia University Ann ArborAssistant coach (Toledo) Assistant coach
Departures DeparturesJason Carter1F6'8"220JuniorJohnstown, OHTransferred to XavierJames Gollon3G6'5"200SeniorStevens Point, WIMedicalTeyvion Kirk4G6'4"185JuniorJoliet, ILTransferred to Colorado StateTorey James11G6'5"190Soph.Hickory, NCTransferred to Cape Fear CCChris McGraw14G5'11"175Soph.Columbus, OHTransferred to OtterbienJarrell Reeves21F6'5"200JuniorMurfreesboro, TNLeft TeamGavin Block22G/F6'7"212SeniorLincoln, ILGraduatedAntonio Cowart23G6'2"175SeniorMcComb, MSTransferred to Mississippi College Doug Taylor45F6'9"248SeniorColumbus, OHGraduated
Incoming transfers Incoming transfersSylvester Ogbonda11F6'10"237SeniorPort Harcourt, NigeriaTransferred from Georgia Tech. Will have one year of eligibility remaining.
Recruiting class
Walk-on in 2019–20
Roster
Preseason
The preseason coaches' poll and league awards were announced by the league office on October 31, 2019. Ohio was picked last in the MAC East.
Preseason rankings
East Division MAC East preseason poll 1 Bowling Green (9) 69 2 Buffalo (3) 58 3 Kent State 43 4 Miami 37 5 Akron 33 6 Ohio 12
West Division MAC West preseason poll 1 Toledo (11) 69 2 Northern Illinois 52 3 Ball State (1) 51 4 Central Michigan 41 5 Western Michigan 23 6 Eastern Michigan 16
MAC Tournament Champions: Bowling Green (6), Toledo (2), Buffalo (1), Kent State (1), Miami (1), NIU (1)
Source
Schedule and results
!colspan=9 style="| Exhibition
!colspan=9 style="| Non-conference regular season
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All games from ohiobobcats.com.
Statistics
Team statistics Final 2019–20 statistics
Scoring 2286 2192 Scoring Average 71.44 68.50 Field goals – Att 822–1837 754–1802 3-pt. Field goals – Att 272–781 239–727 Free throws – Att 370–537 445–570 Rebounds 1134 1076 Assists 471 354 Turnovers 406 405 Steals 205 199 Blocked Shots 73 76 Source
Player statistics MinutesScoringTotal FGs3-point FGsFree-ThrowsReboundsPlayerGPGSTotAvgPtsAvgFGFGAPct3FG3FAPctFTFTAPctOffDefTotAvgAPFTOStlBlkJason Preston3232121838.153816.82033940.51537910.407951310.725231832066.423837118463Ben Vander Plas313110223348715.71833720.492411370.299801350.593391752146.98684893221Jordan Dartis292990931.337512.91183000.393832180.38156670.8361156672.3364526323Lunden McDay312988428.52538.2901930.46627700.38646640.7195039892.9286730256Sylvester Ogbonda3232799252136.7761590.47810320.31351700.729671422096.526115482524Ben Roderick23544319.31376481330.36136980.367580.6251538532.364214112Nolan Foster2902578.9712.428590.475250.413260.51332451.64411617Nate Springs2101798.564323480.47916400.4221622281.33201653Mason McMurray18121912.2512.820570.35111390.2820001130412.31024433Connor Murrell14014410.3312.211420.26201509140.6431120312.211211031Miles Brown13113810.6231.87280.252110.1827110.6362111318141180Marvin Price70547.7202.96180.3334100.4460.6672460.926250Michael Brown1301148.8181.47250.282110.182230.667111120.912151090John Tenerowicz4020551.3290.222140.250000110.311000Total32-6400-228671.482218370.4472727810.3483705370.689299835113435.447153240620573Opponents32-6400-219268.575418020.4182397270.3294455700.781273803107633.635457240519976 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
Awards and honors
Weekly Awards Weekly Award Honors MAC East player of the week Jason Preston G November 18 MAC East player of the week Jordan Dartis G December 2 MAC East player of the week Jason Preston G December 9 MAC East player of the week Jason Preston G December 30 MAC East player of the week Jason Preston G February 10
All-MAC Awards Postseason All-MAC teamsAll-MAC Second TeamJason PrestonGSo.All-MAC Third TeamBen Vander PlasFRS-So.All-MAC Freshman TeamLunden McDayGFr. Source
See also 2019–20 Ohio Bobcats women's basketball team
References