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AJ Clayton (#23), Shereef Mitchell (#4), and Aidan Hadaway (#10) celebrate during the final seconds of a win vs Bowling Green. [Conor Mallonn | WOUB Public Media]

MAC Basketball Media Day: Ohio Men’s Basketball picked to win the conference by MAC coaches

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CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOUB) — College basketball tips off its season in less than two weeks, which means preseason honors are beginning to roll in from around the country. The Mid-American Conference released its preseason coaches poll and preseason all-conference teams, with Ohio Men’s Basketball recognized in a major way in both categories.

The Bobcats were picked to win the MAC regular season by eleven of the 12 head coaches in the conference, while also being voted to win the MAC Tournament by eight head coaches. If Ohio were to go on and win the MAC, it would be the team’s first conference title since 2021.

A graphic of the MAC Coaches Preseason Poll shows Ohio Men's basketball picked to win
The official MAC Coaches Preseason Poll [Mid-American Conference]
Senior forward AJ Clayton was selected to the Preseason All-MAC First Team, while guards AJ Brown and Shereef Mitchell were voted to the Preseason All-MAC Second Team. Clayton is coming off the best season of his career, averaging 12.4 points per game along with a staggering 4.5 blocks per game. Brown spent most of last season injured, but averaged 9.0 points per game in the nine games he played in. Mitchell, a graduate senior, transferred from Creighton in 2023 and quickly became a staple in Ohio’s lineup, starting in 31 of the team’s 32 games and averaged 13.3 points per game.

Three MAC games for the Bobcats were selected by CBS and ESPN to air nationally. Here’s the list of games, along with the network they’re airing on.

Friday, Jan. 17, at Akron, 6 p.m., CBS Sports Network

Friday, Jan. 24, vs Kent State, 7 p.m., ESPNU

Tuesday, Jan. 28, vs Toledo, 7 p.m., ESPN2

Ohio could also see other games be flexed onto national television no less than 21 days before the date of the game. Here are some eligible games, along with the eligible networks they could air on.

Feb. 14/15 at Kent State, CBS Sports Network

Feb. 21/22 vs Akron, CBS Sports Network (Feb. 21), ESPNU/ESPN2 (Feb. 22)

Feb. 28/March 1 at Miami University, CBS Sports Network/ESPN2

March 7 at Toledo, ESPNU

The Ohio Men’s Basketball season begins Nov. 4 at James Madison in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. Ohio’s home opener at the Convocation Center is set for Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. vs UNC Asheville.