Sports
Red-hot Bobcats have won seven of last eight games, resiliency reignites season
By: Grant Kiefer
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) – Well, things changed quickly
After an abysmal 1-7 start to the 2025-2026 season, the Ohio Bobcats (8-7, 2-1 MAC) have ripped off seven of their last eight games to completely revive their season. It wasn’t easy, as they’ve had to pull off some gritty–and improbable–wins along the way.
Heading into December, the two games in front of Ohio were Maine and Marshall at home. Ohio demolished a winless Maine team and figured out some tweaks in the lineup, but then had to face the noise against its rival that the team hadn’t beaten since 2021. Marshall, on paper, was the perfect mismatch for the Bobcats–they’re much taller, shoot the three well, and defend the interior well. However, that wouldn’t be enough. Ohio pulled off an 88-81 win that seemed to give some hope to a team desperately trying to find its identity ahead of conference play.
The Bobcats’ game against St. Bonaventure was another one that, on paper, should’ve been a loss. Ohio had been massacred by another Atlantic 10 contender, George Mason, just mere weeks prior. The Bonnies were coming off a win against another MAC contender at Buffalo. Yet, Ohio found a way to fight and pull off an 88-83 win in overtime. It didn’t make sense if you played the game on paper. But the Bobcats played their most complete game of the season and shot efficiently en route to perhaps the best nonconference regular season win in the Jeff Boals era.
After taking care of business against non-DI Ohio Wesleyan, the Bobcats hit their lone roadbump during their current stretch. Bowling Green hasn’t been great in Athens in years past, having not won at the Convocation Center since 2020. The Falcons took advantage of a smaller crowd with students gone for winter break and walked out with a commanding 68-58 win. The good news for Ohio was that the way the schedule was built, it could have a get-right game against another non-DI opponent in Miami-Hamilton and head into their Christmas break with a win, not having to live with the sour taste of the Bowling Green loss in the team’s mouth.
After the sport-wide break for Christmas, Ohio had a tall task at hand with a Michigan road trip to open up the main section of MAC play. The rust was apparent against Central Michigan, falling behind 16-9 early. The Bobcats’ offense woke up and left no doubt with an 80-64 win.
All of the momentum built up from the past month felt like it had crashed down after the first half at Eastern Michigan on Saturday. Ohio went down 32-15 at halftime and shot an abysmal 6.7% from three. Had this game been played in November, Ohio probably would have lost by double digits. However, that would not be the case for the ‘Cardiac Cats.’ In a steady race throughout the second half, Ohio chipped away at a 20-point deficit and took the lead with under five minutes to go in the game. After surrendering the lead and trailing by two with 5.8 seconds to go, with Eastern Michigan at the free-throw line, it felt like another missed opportunity. The Eagles squandered the chance to shut the door, though, and Jackson Paveletzke took the chance at becoming a hero.
A 30+ foot shot with a defender in his way. Money. Ohio won it at the buzzer to stun Eastern Michigan and complete the comeback.
For as poorly as Ohio has played at times during this stretch, the story behind it all is that they keep finding ways to win.
“I’m not sure we deserved to win this game after that first half,” Boals told the ESPN+ broadcast following Paveletzke’s buzzer beater. “But our guys battled, and they stayed together.”
“We’re learning from our mistakes,” Paveletzke said after Ohio’s upset win over St. Bonaventure. “We weren’t doing that at the beginning of the season, but we’re taking more attention to detail.”
It’s important for Ohio to acknowledge what it’s accomplished over the last month; it’s an incredible turnaround for what was shaping up to be a lost season. The slate ahead gets much, much tougher starting on Tuesday night.
The Bobcats’ next three games are against teams in the top 200 in KenPom. Up next is UMass, which Ohio has never played in a conference game. Buffalo comes to Athens on Jan. 10, which has blown away expectations and looks to be a legitimate MAC contender. Ohio then hits the road on Jan. 13 to face Toledo, which Boals hasn’t beaten at their place as head coach of the Bobcats. In fact, the only time Boals has ever beaten Toledo as head coach is the 2021 MAC Championship Game, which sent Ohio to the NCAA Tournament. Despite a down year for the Rockets’ standards, they still sit at 173rd in KenPom.
The MAC overall is much deeper as a conference. Last season, there were only a handful of teams that had a legitimate shot at winning the conference tournament. This year? Even with Akron having another phenomenal season, there are far more contenders. Miami (OH) is a staggering 15-0 and just beat the Zips at home. Kent State is off to another hot start and sits undefeated in MAC play. As previously mentioned, Buffalo has established itself as a contender. Toledo will always have the coaching to be in the mix, and Bowling Green has had an impressive nonconference slate. UMass is off to a slow start in conference, but many of these players have experience playing in the Atlantic 10 and also had an impressive nonconference with wins against Boston College and Florida State.
Ohio under Boals has been used to cruising to a top-four seed, but the Bobcats will have to start playing their best basketball earlier this year to make sure they have a desirable spot in Cleveland come March. With the conference shaping up to be tight, stealing a win the way they did over Eastern Michigan could be the difference between a first-round date with Miami (OH) or Akron, or playing someone around the four, five, or six seed line.