TOLEDO, Ohio — The University of Toledo men's basketball program will open and close its Mid-American Conference campaign inside Savage Arena, the league office announced as part of its schedule release on Wednesday. UT will open its league slate on Jan. 5 vs. Ball State before closing its regular-season schedule with home matchups against Western Michigan (Mar. 5) and Eastern Michigan (Mar. 8).
 
     "I think the MAC is going to be really competitive and strong from top to bottom again this season and there are a number of teams that will challenge to win the league title," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "I think we took some huge steps last year. Our goal was to win the MAC Tournament but we fell just a little bit short. That is serving as great motivation for our entire program as we try to take the next step."
 
     Kowalczyk and the Rockets will play defending league champion Buffalo, a team UT dropped a narrow decision to in the 2018 MAC Championship Game. Toledo will visit the Bulls in Alumni Arena on Jan. 8 before hosting UB in Savage Arena on Feb. 16. Toledo will also face East Division foe Miami on two occasions, hosting the RedHawks on Jan. 15 prior to visiting Millett Hall two weeks later on Jan. 29. The Rockets' remaining East Division contests will be single meetings at Bowling Green (Feb. 9) and Kent State (Jan. 22) and home matchups vs. Akron (Feb. 5) and Ohio (Jan. 29).
 
     The remainder of Toledo's conference home games will include matchups vs. Central Michigan (Jan. 26) and Northern Illinois (Feb. 23). The Rockets will also play at Western Michigan (Jan. 12), Northern Illinois (Feb. 2), Eastern Michigan (Feb. 19), Ball State (Feb. 26) and Central Michigan (March 2) in their conference schedule.
 
     Kowalczyk has guided the Rockets to three 20-win campaigns in the last five years, marking the first time for this accomplishment since Bob Nichols recorded five straight seasons of 20-plus victories from 1976-81. UT registered a 23-11 record with a 13-5 mark in league play last year and its' 55 MAC victories over the last five seasons rank second in the league.
 
     The Rockets will return four starters in the 2018-19 campaign, led by seniors Jaelan Sanford and Nate Navigato. Sanford, a second-team All-MAC selection last year, ranked ninth in the MAC with 16.3 ppg and a 40.3 three-point shooting mark. Navigato set a school record last year with 94 three-pointers and led the MAC last season with 2.8 treys per game and ranked second with a 42.7 three-point percentage. Also returning for Toledo will be the junior duo of center Luke Knapke (10.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg) and forward Willie Jackson (7.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg) as well as All-MAC Freshman Team member Marreon Jackson (8.0 ppg, 2.7 apg).
 
     The MAC Tournament will begin with first-round games at campus sites on March 11 with the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship game on March 14-16 at Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena.
 
     Toledo opens its 2018-19 campaign at Oakland on Nov. 9 as part of a non-conference schedule that will see UT face a minimum of three 2018 NCAA Tournament squads in addition to perennial Conference USA frontrunner Middle Tennessee (Dec. 15). That total will likely increase once the schedule is finalized for the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla. on Nov. 19-21.
 
          For ticket information, stop by the UT Athletic Ticket Office in the Sullivan Athletic Complex at Savage Arena, go online at utrockets.com or call 419-530-GOLD (4653).