CLEVELAND, OH  - No. 6 seed Toledo will continue its journey to claim the 2017 Mid-American Conference Tournament title against No. 7 seed Buffalo on Friday, March 10 in the semifinals at Quicken Loans Arena. The opening tip is slated for approximately 1:30 p.m. and will be televised on BCSN and Spectrum Sports, as well as streamed on ESPN3.

The Rockets advanced to the 'Final Four' for the first time since 2013 and 24th time overall with a 67-63 victory against No. 3 seed Kent St. on Wednesday.

The Golden Flashes (19-12) led by as many as eight points in the second half, but UT outscored the 2016-17 MAC East Division champions 17-7 in the decisive fourth quarter. Toledo, which is 11-4 (.733) away from home this season, shot a very solid 47.1 percent (24-of-51) from the floor, but its defensive effort may have been the key. The Rockets held KSU to just 40.0 percent (20-of-50) from the field, while MAC Player of the Year Larissa Lurken shot just 8-of-25 from the field and 1-of-7 from behind the arc. UT also held a decisive 35-24 edge on the boards.

Senior Janice Monakana led the Midnight Blue & Gold with a team-high 15 points, followed closely by junior Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott and senior Sophie Reecher with 14 and a season-high 11 points, respectively.

All-MAC honorees Monakana, Bravo-Harriott and sophomore Mikaela Boyd continue to fuel UT offensively, scoring 12.8, 11.9 and 11.8 points per game, respectively.

The reigning MAC Tournament champion Bulls advanced to today's semifinals with a 69-65 victory against Ball St. on Wednesday. Stephanie Reid led UB with 18 points and six helpers, while JoAnna Smith had 14 points and a contest-tying best nine boards.

Buffalo features an offense with two players averaging at least 11.5 points. Second-team All-MAC performer Smith's 17.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.0 apg and 1.5 spg leads the team. The Bulls are 9-5 away from home.

Tomorrow's match-up will showcase two of the league's premier defensive squads. 

The Bulls are currently second in the MAC in scoring defense (61.3 ppg) and three-point field-goal percentage defense (.284, 150-of-529), as well as ranking third in overall field-goal percentage defense (.373, 649-of-1,741), while the Rockets are first in all three categories - scoring defense (61.2 ppg), overall field-goal percentage defense (.366, 662-of-1,810) and three-point field-goal percentage defense (.261, 152-of-583).

UT and UB will meet for the fourth time in the MAC Tournament and 26th time overall. Toledo has won all three match-ups in postseason play and leads the all-time series by a count of 21-4. The Rockets swept the regular-season series against the Bulls, claiming a 73-64 road victory on Jan. 11 in Alumni Arena and an 85-63 home triumph on Feb. 1 in Savage Arena.

The cross-division rivals most recently squared off in the first round of the 2008 postseason tourney in Cleveland, with the Rockets securing a 53-50 neutral-court victory. 

Should UT make it to the finals for the first time since 2010, it would face the winner of No. 4 seed Northern Illinois (20-10) and No. 8 seed Western Michigan (19-12) on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. The Rockets are seeking their first MAC Tournament title since 2001 and eighth in program history, the second-highest total in the league.