Men's Basketball Travels To Northern Illinois
1/19/2001 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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Jan. 19, 2001
TOLEDO, OH - Toledo (12-4, 4-1 MAC) heads to DeKalb, IL on Saturday, Jan. 20 to face Northern Illinois (3-11, 2-3 MAC) looking to rebound from one of its worst shooting performance of the season. Tip-off time is 3:05 p.m. EST.
The Rockets shot just 35 percent from the field in their 52-51 home loss to Ball State on Wednesday night, snapping their school-record MAC regular-season win streak at 14 games. UT fell two wins shy of equalling the MAC record held by Miami set from Feb. 16, 1957 to Dec. 6, 1958.
Senior Rory Jones scored a team-high 15 points for UT off the bench with fellow seniors Greg Stempin (12 points) and Robierre Cullars (11 points) also reaching double figures.
The Rockets held a 50-45 advantage with 3:08 remaining. A three-point basket from Theron Smith and a field goal from Josh Murray brought the Cardinals within 51-50. That set the stage for Patrick Jackson's game-winning layup with 11 seconds left.
Stempin leads the Rockets in points (17.5 ppg) and rebounds (7.6 rpg), while freshman guard Terry Reynolds ranks second in points (14.4) and first in assists (5.3 apg) and steals (1.7 spg).
The Huskies are coming off a 58-52 home victory over Eastern Michigan. Junior forward Leon Rodgers paces NIU in both points (17.8) and rebounds (6.9) per game. Senior guard Mike Brown (13.7 ppg) is also scoring in double figures for NIU. Stempin Aiming for MAC Player of the Year Honors
Senior All-America candidate Greg Stempin is shooting to become the Rockets' first MAC Player of the Year since Harvey Knuckles in 1981. He also is looking to become the fourth Rocket ever to earn first-team All-MAC honors on three occasions. The other UT players to receive All-MAC accolades three times are Tom Kozelko (1971-73), Steve Mix (1967-69) and Phil Martin (1952-54). Stempin ranks fifth in the MAC in scoring (17.5 ppg), eighth in rebounding (7.6 rpg), ninth in FG% (.479), and 13th in three-point field goals made per game (1.88/game). He will be looking to rebound from a 12-point performance vs. Ball State which saw him shoot a season-low 27.8 percent (5-of-18) from the field.
The Stempin Watch
Senior Greg Stempin is in seventh place on UT's all-time scoring list and is 108 points away from moving ahead of Harvey Knuckles (1977-81) into sixth place.
Following is a list of the Rockets' all-time scoring leaders:
1. Ken Epperson (1981-85) 2,016
2. Craig Thames (1992-96) 1,964
3. Steve Mix (1966-69) 1,676
4. Tom Kozelko (1970-73) 1,561
5. Casey Shaw (1994-98) 1,502
6. Harvey Knuckles (1977-81) 1,488
7. Greg Stempin (1997-pres.) 1,381
8. Ted Williams (1974-78) 1,355
9. Larry Cole (1973-76) 1,352
10. Jim Swaney (1976-80) 1,328
Stempin Drawing Praises
Miami Head Coach Charlie Coles had this say about Greg Stempin following UT's win over the RedHawks on Jan. 6:
"He's (Stempin) a great player. I've seen him for four years now. He's the same as (Wally) Szczerbiak and (Dan) Majerle were. I recruited him so hard. We've had some success, but I feel the success we would of had with him would be ongoing. I just dreamed of him and Szczerbiak playing on the same floor. That would have been a delight. I told him that if you come to Miami, we'll be in the Final Four."
Jones Asserting Himself Off the Bench
Senior guard Rory Jones has been the Rockets' top contributor off the bench this season, averaging 6.9 points per game in 17.1 minutes of action.
He has emerged offensively since the start of the MAC season, ranking first on the team in field goal percentage (68.8 percent) and second in points (12.6 ppg) in conference play. He has scored in double figures in four of five MAC games, including a team-high 15 points (13 in the second half) and a career-high five assists in Wednesday's loss vs. Ball State.
In the Rockets' first three MAC games, Jones registered a career-high point total in each game. He scored 12 vs. Miami, 14 at Western Michigan and 16 at Eastern Michigan.
Moore Looks to Rebound From Scoreless Outing
Sophomore guard Nick Moore will look to rebound from being held scoreless in Wednesday's contest vs. Ball State. He was limited to just four shots (0-for-3 from three-point range) in 35 minutes of action.
Moore leads UT with a 46.4 (39 of 84) three-point FG% (1st in MAC) and also is first in three-point field goals made with 2.4 per game (3rd in MAC). In MAC games, he is tied for third in team scoring with 12.2 ppg.
In his last five games, Moore has connected on 19-of-39 attempts (48.7 percent) from beyond the arc.
Moore is hot from the charity stripe as well. After missing his first two free throws of the season vs. Oakland, he has made 23 straight free throws and is shooting 92.0 percent from the line. His 23 consecutive free throws are four shy of a school record held by Tim Selgo has made 27 in a row during the 1978-79 campaign. (Note: This record has been researched with the best records available by the UT SID Office.)
Earlier this season, Moore nailed all six of his three-point attempts against George Mason to equal a school record for three-point FG% set by Fred King at Kent State on Jan. 23, 1988.
Rocket Three-Point News
*The Rockets have four primary three-point shooting threats. In addition to the previously mentioned Nick Moore, Terry Reynolds (35.8 percent, 29-for-81), Greg Stempin (35.7 percent, 30-for-84), Robierre Cullars (32.1 percent, 17-for-53) are UT's other top shooting threats from three-point range.
* UT is shooting 38.4 percent from beyond the three-point arc compared to 29.1 percent for their opponents.
* UT has shot 40 percent or better in nine games this year, and has held its opponents under 30 percent on nine occasions.
* UT sank its first nine three-point shots against George Mason on Dec. 2 en route to a 10-for-12 first-half shooting performance from behind the arc.
* As a team, UT is first in the MAC in three-point field goals made per game (7.8) and third in three-point FG% (38.4 percent). UT is also first in three-point FG% defense (29.1 percent).
* The Rockets' 13.6 percent shooting from behind the arc vs. Ball State was their worst since their season opener vs. SE Missouri State (1-of-10, 10.0%).
Reynolds Sparkling in Freshman Campaign
Terry Reynolds continues to impress in his freshman campaign and is a leading candidate for Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year.
Reynolds is averaging 14.4 points per game to rank second on the team. He leads the team in assists (5.3 apg) and steals (1.7 spg). The 5-9 guard ranks third in the MAC in assists, is tied for fourth in steals and is tied for 15th in points per game.
He burst upon the college basketball scene in UT's season-opening weekend when he earned all-tournament team honors at the Energia Systems Thanksgiving Tournament in Kansas City.
In the Rockets' 95-90 win over Auburn in the semifinals, he tallied a game-high 36 points and seven assists. He scored 13 of UT's 21 points in the two overtimes and came up with a key steal late in the second overtime with UT holding a one-point lead.
Reynolds' 36-point outburst was the most by a Rocket since Craig Thames tallied 37 in a 103-102 (2OT) victory over Central Michigan on Feb. 28, 1996.
Rockets Becoming More Proficient on the Boards
After being outreb-ounded in nine of its first 10 games, UT has held the advantage on the boards in five of its last six games. The Rockets have outreb-ounded their last five opponents by just over six boards per game (36.8-30.7).
The Rockets' loss to Ball State was their first in six games this year when outrebounding their opponent.
Lack of Trips to Charity Stripe Key in Loss to Ball State
Entering Wednesday's contest vs. Ball State, the Rockets were averaging over 28 free throw attempts per game. In the loss to the Cardinals, UT converted just six of 12 attempts.
Following its setback to BSU, UT is averaging 27.1 free-throw attempts per game compared to 16.7 for its opponents. Toledo has been whistled for 17.0 personal fouls per contest, while its opponents have committed 22.9.
The Rockets have made eight more free throws (275) than their opponents have attempted (267) this year.
Rocket Defense Keying Success
UT has held all but two of its opponents to a 50 percent or under field goal percentage, including nine opponents under 43.1 percent. Fresno State and Bowling Green are the only teams to make more than half their shots against the Rockets.
MAC Road Win Streak Still Alive
Even with its school-record 14-game regular-season MAC win streak over, the Rockets still have a seven-game MAC road win streak.
The school record for longest MAC road win streak is 11, set over two seasons (1977-78 and 1978-79).
Rocket Attendance Second in the MAC
Toledo enjoyed its largest attendance (8,495) of the season last Saturday vs. Bowling Green. The Rockets are averaging 6,042 fans this season amd trail only Ohio (7,071) in MAC attendance.
UT Snaps Bearcat Dominance at Rock-N-Roll Shootout
The Rockets ended Cincinnati's five-game winning streak in the seventh annual Gatorade Rock-N-Roll Shootout.
The Bearcats had appeared in each of the past five shootouts and posted wins over Temple (1995), Western Kentucky (1996), UMass (1997), Dayton (1998) and Gonzaga (1999).
The Rockets leads the all-time series vs. UC by a 15-7 margin.
Tough Stretch Coming Up
Following Saturday's game vs. Northern Illinois, the Rockets will play five straight games vs. teams with winning records in MAC play.
UT will face Central Michigan (10-4, 4-1 MAC) on Jan. 24, Marshall (11-3, 5-1 MAC) on Jan. 29, Ohio (8-6, 3-2 MAC) on Jan. 31, Kent State (11-5, 4-1 MAC) on Feb. 3 and Akron (6-8, 3-2 MAC) on Feb. 7.
Joplin Ranks Fifth on UT's All-Time Win List
Head Coach Stan Joplin is in fifth place on UT's all-time coaching win list. Joplin now has 77 wins during his five-year tenure at the Rocket helm. Following is a list of the top five career coaching win totals in Rocket history:
UT's All-Time Coaches' Win List
1. Bob Nichols (1965-87) 376
2. Harold Anderson (1934-42) 142
3. Jerry Bush (1947-54) 127
4. Eddie Melvin (1954-65) 125
5. Stan Joplin (1996-pres.) 77
Taking on All Comers
Each of UT's eight non-conference victories came against a team from a different conference. The Rockets faced schools from nine different conferences in their non-conference schedule.
UT defeated teams from the Colonial Athletic (George Mason), Conference USA (Cincinnati), Mid-Continent (Oakland), Midwestern Collegiate (Detroit), Missouri Valley (Creighton), Ohio Valley (SE Missouri State). SEC (Auburn) and Trans-America Athletic (Samford). The Rockets' three losses occurred against teams from the WAC (Fresno State) and Atlantic 10 (St. Bonaventure, Xavier).
Rockets' Schedule Packed With NCAA Tournament Teams
The Rockets have posted a 5-2 win-loss mark this year vs. 2000 NCAA Tournament teams. UT has defeated Auburn, Cincinnati, Creighton, Samford and Southeast Missouri State, and lost to Fresno State and St. Bonaventure.
Up Next ... Central Michigan
Toledo returns home on Wednesday, Jan. 24 for what could be a showdown for first place in the MAC's West Division vs. Central Michigan (10-4, 4-1 MAC). The Chippewas travel to Ypsilanti, MI to face Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 7:00 p.m.
