The 2021–22 Ohio University Bobcats men's basketball team represented Ohio University for the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bobcats were led by third-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 Mid-American Conference.
Ohio completed non-conference play with a record of 9–2 with wins over OVC favorite Belmont, Horizon favorite Cleveland St., and rival Marshall with losses only to Kentucky and LSU. Ohio opened conference play 5–0 to extend their winning streak to nine games. Ohio lost to Toledo in the next game and fell into second place in the MAC standings. After a win against Western Michigan, Ohio regained first place with a conference record of 10–1. With an overall record of 19–3, they stood alone in Ohio basketball history for the best record after 22 games. Their five-game winning streak was snapped in the following game with a second loss to Toledo which left both teams with two losses in MAC conference play. After three consecutive wins following the Toledo loss, the Bobcats then lost 4 out of their last 5 conference games and finished the regular season 23–8 and 14–6 in conference play which was tied for third place in the MAC. During the lone win with that five game stretch, starting power forward Ben Vander Plas scored the fourth triple double in program history in a win against Central Michigan. After the regular season Vander Plas was named the Division I Academic All-American of the Year
After defeating Ball State in the quarterfinals, the Bobcats lost to Kent State in the semi-finals of the MAC tournament. Ohio was the #3 seed in the CBI. They defeated Rice in the first round before losing to Abilene Christian in the second round.
Previous season
In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Bobcats finished the 2020–21 season 17–8, 9–5 in MAC play to finish in fourth place. As the No. 5 seed in the MAC tournament, they defeated Kent State, Toledo, and Buffalo to win the tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 13 seed in the West region. There they upset No. 4-seeded ACC champion Virginia in the first round before losing to No. 5-seeded Creighton in the second round.
Offseason During the offseason, point guard Jason Preston declared for the NBA draft, while 2021 starting forward Dwight Wilson III suffered a season-ending injury.
2022 NBA draft
NBA draft Jason Preston 2 33 PG Orlando Magic
Departures DeparturesJason Preston0G6'4"187JuniorOrlando, FloridaDeclared for NBA draftJalen White21G6'5"180FreshmanPasadena, TexasTransferred to Nicholls StateNolan Foster22C6'10"222SophomoreMattawan, MichiganTransferred to Marian UniversityRifen Miguel23F6'8"240JuniorLuanda, AngolaTransferred to TroyMason McMurray24F6'7"220RS sophomoreStow, OhioTransferred to USC-Aiken
Incoming transfers Incoming transfersTommy Schmock22G5'11"180SeniorCleveland, OhioTransferred from Findlay. Had one year of eligibility remaining.Jason Carter30F6'8"227RS seniorJohnstown, OhioTransferred from Xavier. Had one year of eligibility remaining.Luke Frazier*13G6'5"170FreshmanMentor, OhioTransferred from Dayton. Will have four years of eligibility remaining. Walk-on in 2021–22
Recruiting class
Preseason Before the season, Ohio was picked second in the MAC preseason poll."Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll & All-MAC Teams Announced" getsomemaction.com. Retrieved 2021-12-25. Ben Vander Plas was named to the preseason first team all-conference, while Jason Carter was on the second team.
Preseason rankings
MAC preseason poll 1 Buffalo 143 (11) 2 Ohio 126 3 Toledo 107 (1) 4 Kent State 98 5 Akron 95 6 Bowling Green 93 7 Miami 92 8 Ball State 54 9 Western Michigan 44 10 Central Michigan 34 11 Eastern Michigan 29 12 Northern Illinois 21 MAC Tournament Champions: Buffalo (8), Bowling Green (1), Kent State (1), Miami (1), Toledo (1)
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Preseason All-MAC Preseason All-MAC teams1stBen Vander PlasFSr.2ndJason CarterFGS Source:
Roster
Support staff
2021-22 Ohio Bobcats support staff Jake Ness - director of basketball operations Mike Cifliku - graduate assistantSource:
Schedule and results
!colspan=9 style="|Exhibition
!colspan=9 style="|Non-conference regular season
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!colspan=9 style=| MAC Tournament
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Statistics
Team statistics Final 2021–22 statistics
Scoring 2591 2378 Scoring average 74.03 67.94 Field goals – att 898–2084 868–1958 3-pt. field goals – att 316–942 231–734 Free throws – att 479–657 411–540 Rebounds 1194 1225 Assists 441 397 Turnovers 368 498 Steals 263 199 Blocked shots 91 114
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Player statistics MinutesScoringTotal FGs3-point FGsFree-throwsReboundsPlayerGPGSTotAvgPtsAvgFGFGAPct3FG3FAPctFTFTAPctOffDefTotAvgAPFTOStlBlkMark Sears3535125035.768619.62184910.444601470.4081902150.88469141210614466112594Ben Vander Plas3535123735.349914.31663630.457671980.3381001380.725401972376.810781636216Jason Carter343497528.746413.61904050.46923950.242611010.604741532276.73967424136Tommy Schmock35276221.82326.6771990.387601590.37718260.692563681.9545727272Ben Roderick333381224.62246.8772240.344281260.22242670.62730711013.1276726213Miles Brown313091729.62187721710.421411060.38733440.751267792.5475332327AJ Clayton340340101133.340940.42626680.3827140.52445692103510410Sam Towns27227810.3562.123570.4043180.1677140.52741682.562518123IJ Ezuma2811886.7441.617380.44701010210.4761518331.24361029Lunden McDay509619.2285.69200.455110.455560.8333361.215120Michael Brown326822.7103.3360.5140.25340.75123102100Olumide Adelodun13039380.63110.273280.250001340.325411Luke Frazier50112.240.8230.667000020000000000John Tenerowicz309341.31110002210110.302100Josh McDaniel206310.5010010130.333000002000Colin Granger30124000000000000220.702200Total35-7000-259174.089820840.4313169420.3354796570.729351843119434.144150536826391Opponents35-7000-237867.986819580.4432317340.3154115400.761295930122535.0397641498199114 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:
Team and individual highs
Team game highs Team game highs Points 92 Belmont November 9, 2021 Field goals made 33 Belmont November 9, 2021 Field goal attempts 75 Bowling Green March 1, 2022 3 points made 16 Belmont November 9, 2021 3 points attempted 41 Bowling Green March 1, 2022 Free throws made 26 USC Upstate December 21, 2021 Free throw attempts 33 USC Upstate \ Kent State December 21, 2021 \ February 22, 2022 Rebounds 43 Bowling Green \ Central Michigan January 1, 2020 \ February 22, 2022 Assists 22 Central Michigan February 22, 2022 Steals 13 Concordia November 26, 2021 Blocked shots 7 Saint Francis (PA) December 4, 2021 Turnovers 20 Saint Francis (PA) December 4, 2021 Fouls 24 Akron February 25, 2022
Individual game highs Individual game highs Points 35 Mark Sears Abilene Christian March 21, 2022 Field goals made 12 Jason Carter Western Michigan February 5, 2021 Field goal attempts 20 Mark Sears Miami (OH) February 15, 2022 3 points made 7 Tommy Schmock Central Michigan February 22, 2022 3 points attempted 14 Tommy Schmock Central Michigan February 22, 2022 Free throws made 14 Mark Sears Abilene Christian March 21, 2022 Free throw attempts 19 Mark Sears Abilene Christian March 21, 2022 Rebounds 18 Jason Carter Ball State March 10, 2022 Assists 10 Ben Vander Plas Central Michigan February 22, 2022 Steals 5 Mark Sears Concordia November 26, 2021 Blocked shots 3 Jason Carter 3 games Turnovers 8 Mark Sears Saint Francis (PA) December 4, 2021 Fouls 5 Various Source:
Awards and honors
Weekly awards Weekly award honors MAC Player of the Week Mark Sears G November 15 MAC Player of the Week Mark Sears G December 20 MAC Player of the Week Mark Sears G December 27 MAC Player of the Week Mark Sears G January 10 MAC Player of the Week Mark Sears G January 31 MAC Player of the Week Jason Carter F February 7
Midseason awards watchlists Midseason award honors Lou Henson National Player of the Year Mark Sears G So.
All-MAC Awards Postseason All-MAC teams1stMark SearsGSo.1stBen Vander PlasFSr.3rdJason CarterFGS Source:
National awards National award honors Division I Academic All-American of the Year Ben Vander Plas F
Rankings
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings.^Coaches do not release a Week 1 poll.
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References