Men's Basketball Travels to Western Michigan
1/5/2001 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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Jan. 5, 2001
TOLEDO, OH - Toledo (9-3, 1-0 MAC) visits Kalamazoo, MI on Saturday, Jan. 6 to face Western Michigan (1-10, 1-1 MAC) for its first Mid-American Conference road test of the season. The Rockets will be bringing with them an 11-game MAC regular-season winning streak which dates back to last season.
UT, which is a perfect 5-0 in games played on neutral courts this year, will be looking to register its first road win of the 2000-01 campaign. The Rockets have lost at St. Bonaventure (84-67 on Dec. 8) and Fresno State (88-72 on Dec. 19).
Toledo opened MAC play on Wednesday with a 76-62 home win over Miami. Senior forward Greg Stempin (career-high five three-point field goals) and freshman point guard Terry Reynolds (season-high eight assists) paced the Rocket attack.
Stempin leads UT in points (18.2 ppg) and rebounds (6.9 rpg), while Reynolds paces the team in assists (5.4) and steals (1.7) and is second in scoring (15.5).
WMU is led by junior forward Steve Reynolds (16.0 ppg, 5.7 rpg), who is in his first season with the Broncos after playing at Treasure Valley CC. Two of WMU's losses have come in overtime and five have been by fewer than 10 points.
Stempin Aiming for MAC Player of the Year Honors
Senior forward 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 is second in the MAC in scoring (18.2 ppg) and ranks fourth in FG% (.512) and eighth in rebounding (6.9 rpg).
The Stempin Watch
Senior Greg Stempin moved into a tie for 11th place on UT's all-time scoring list with 19 points vs. Miami on Wednesday. He now is tied with Bob Gerber (1939-42) and is 10 points away from moving into ninth place.
Here's who Stempin will be looking to pass next on the Rockets' all-time scoring list:
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. Ted Williams (1974-78) 1,355
8. Larry Cole (1973-76) 1,352
9. Jim Swaney (1976-80) 1,328
10. Jay Gast (1981-85) 1,321
11. Bob Gerber (1939-42) 1,319
Greg Stempin (1997-pres.) 1,319
Stempin Drawing Praises
Miami Head Coach Charlie Coles had this say about Greg Stempin following UT's win over the RedHawks:
"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."
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 15.5 points per game to rank second on the team. He leads the team in assists (5.4 apg) and steals (1.7 spg.). The 5-9 guard ranks third in the MAC in assists, is tied for fifth in steals and is tied for 7th in points.
He has scored in double figures in nine of 12 contests this year.
In the Rockets' MAC opener on Wednesday vs. Miami, he shared team scoring honors with 17 points and dished out a season-high eight assists.
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. Against Southeast Missouri State in UT's season opener he registered a game-high 23 points, five rebounds, five assists and a pair of steals. To top it off, he sank all eight of his free throws and did not commit a turnover.
Then he turned it up another notch with 36 points and seven assists against Auburn in the semifinals. Reynolds took the game over with the Rockets trailing 64-61 with 6:20 to play. He scored 10 straight points and then dished off to Greg Stempin for what looked like the game-winning three-pointer with 17 seconds to play. After Auburn tied it at the end of regulation, he scored 13 of the Rockets' 21 points during the two overtimes and came up with a key steal late in the second overtime with UT holding a one-point lead.
In the championship game against Creighton, he recorded 10 points and five assists and sealed the victory by scoring UT's final five points.
"Moore" Three Point News
Sophomore guard Nick Moore leads UT with a 44.1 (26 of 59) three-point FG% (4th in MAC) and is first in three-point FG's made with 2.2 per game (6th in MAC).
The 6-1 Detroit native has scored in double figures in five straight games (11.6 ppg) and has registered a steal in nine straight contests (1.7 spg). In his last two games, Moore has connected on six-of-14 attempts (42.9 percent) from beyond the arc.
Moore's best outing of the season came when he nailed all six of his three-point attempts against George Mason on Dec. 2 to equal a school record set by Fred King at Kent State on Jan. 23, 1988.
Moore's 20 points against the Patriots were a personal career high and his six three-pointers in the game equalled his career best.
Rocket Three-Point News
*The Rockets have four primary three-point shooting threats. In addition to the previously mentioned Nick Moore, Greg Stempin (36.7 percent, 22-for-60), Robierre Cullars (34.9 percent, 15-for-43), (Terry Reynolds (34.4 percent, 22-for-64) are UT's other top shooting threats from three-point range.
* The Rockets are shooting 37.7 percent from beyond the three-point arc compared to 29.7 percent for their opponents.
* UT sank its first nine three-point attempts against George Mason on Saturday, Dec. 2 en route to a 10-for-12 first-half shooting performance from behind the arc.
* As a team, UT ranks third in the MAC in three-point field goals made per game (7.5) and is fourth in three-point FG% (37.7 percent). UT is also second in three-point FG% defense (29.7 percent).
Rory Jones Asserting Himself Off the Bench
Senior guard Rory Jones has been the Rockets' top contributor off the bench this season. He is averaging 5.0 points per game in 15.8 minutes of action. He has played a season-high 22 minutes in each of UT's last two games and scored a career-high 12 points in the Rockets' win over Miami on Wednesday.
Trips to the Line Becoming a Habit
With its strong inside game and the penetration of guard Terry Reynolds, the Rockets have made 18 more free throws (213) than their opponents have attempted (195) this year.
UT averages 28.3 free-throw attempts per game compared to 16.3 for its opponents. Toledo has been whistled for 17.1 personal fouls per contest, while its opponents have committed 23.2.
Rocket Defense Keying Success
UT has held all but one of its opponents to a 50 percent or under field goal percentage, including seven opponents under 43.1 percent. Fresno State is the only team to shoot over 50 percent and converted 58.3 percent of its attempts in an 88-72 victory.
Protecting the Homecourt
UT has won 10 of its last 11 home games. The Rockets hold a 47-13 (.783) record at Savage Hall under Stan Joplin, including a 36-9 (.800) mark since the start of the 1997-98 season.
In MAC games under Joplin, the Rockets have posted a 26-11 (.703) ledger at Savage Hall.
MAC Win Streak on the Line UT will be looking to extend its 11-game regular-season MAC win streak which dates back to the 1999-2000 season. Included in that streak are six home wins and five road wins with the last loss coming to Eastern Michigan, 71-68, at Savage Hall on Jan. 22, 2000.
The streak equals the longest regular-season streak in school history tying Bob Nichols' club which won 11 in a row over 1966-67 and 1967-68 seasons.
Rocket Attendance Among Tops in the MAC
Toledo enjoyed its largest attendance (6,522) of the season in its MAC opener vs. Miami. The Rockets are averaging 5,363 fans this season, one of four MAC schools above the 5,000 mark. Miami (5,550), Ohio (5,481) and Marshall (5,463) are the other schools to topping that mark.
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).
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 74 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.) 74
Taking on All Comers
Each of UT's eight victories has come against a team from a different conference. The Rockets faced schools from nine different conferences in their non-conference schedule.
UT has 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 have come against teams from the WAC (Fresno State) and Atlantic 10 (St. Bonaventure, Xavier).
Rockets to Make Five TV Appearances During Regular Season
Five Rocket basketball games will be televised in the 2000-01 campaign, and three more television appearances will also be possible in the 2001 MAC Tournament, including an appearance on ESPN2 in the MAC Championship Game.
The Rockets' contests vs. Xavier and Cincinnati have already been televised.
Toledo's game vs. Kent State at Savage Hall on Saturday, Feb. 3 will be televised by ESPN Plus. As a result, the starting time for that contest has been changed from 7:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
A pair of UT's road games will be televised on the Fox Regional Sports Network -- Monday, Jan. 29 at MAC East preseason favorite Marshall and Monday, Feb. 26 at arch-rival Bowling Green. Both games have been changed from their original 7:00 p.m. start time to 8:00 p.m.
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 ... Eastern Michigan
UT travels to Ypsilanti, MI for a matchup vs. Eastern Michigan (2-8, 0-1 MAC) on Wednesday, Jan. 10. The Rockets have won their last two contests at EMU's Convocation Center. The Eagles dropped their MAC opener at Kent State, 70-57, on Wednesday and host Ball State on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
