Rockets to Host Ohio on Wednesday Evening in Savage Arena
2/7/2012 6:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball
QUICK HITTERS
- Toledo entertains MAC East Division foe Ohio on Wednesday, Feb. 8 looking to snap a three-game losing skid, including Saturday's gut-wrenching 72-65 home setback to Buffalo. Tip-off time is set for 7:00 p.m.
- The Rockets (10-13, 2-7 MAC) are one of only three MAC West Division schools to post a win over an East squad in 24 contests during the cross-over portion of the league schedule.
- Sophomore G Rian Pearson has been the hottest player in the MAC over the last two weeks, averaging 25.0 ppg, 9.3 rpg and 1.8 spg with a 50.6 FG% in his last four games. Those stellar performances have earned the Raytown, MO native the last two MAC West Division Player of the Week accolades.
- An all-conference candidate, Pearson leads the MAC with 17.3 ppg and is third with 8.0 ppg and fifth with 1.7 spg and is the only player to appear in the Top 10 of all three categories.
- The Bobcats (19-4, 7-2 MAC) have already matched their win total from the 2010-11 campaign and lead the MAC in 3PTFGs made (7.3/game), scoring margin (+9.5), 3PTFG% defense (28.5), turnover margin (+5.3) and rank second in steals (9.1 spg).
- Junior G D.J. Cooper ranks seventh in the MAC with a team-high 13.3 ppg and also sits second with 2.4 spg and third with 5.6 apg.
- The Rockets lead the MAC with a 73.6 FT% and rank fourth in scoring offense (71.0 ppg) and fifth in FG% (45.3).
- UT's 10 victories this year are its most since posting an 11-19 ledger in 2007-08. The Midnight Blue and Gold has already matched its combined MAC win totals from the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons combined when it posted identical 1-15 win-loss marks.
- The Rockets are 2-6 in games decided by three points or less. Prior to this season, UT was involved in just seven contests (3-4 record) decided by three points or less in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 campaigns combined.
Rockets Fall To Red-HoT Shooting Zips, 86-72; Pearson Scores Career-High 29 Points & Grabs 12 Boards
Toledo came close to pulling off an upset on Saturday evening but saw Buffalo rally for a 72-65 victory in Savage Arena in UT's second-annual 'Tie One On' game.
Sophomore G Rian Pearson continued his impressive season, tallying a team-high 26 points and eight rebounds for his fourth consecutive contest scoring 22 or more points. Freshman G Julius Brown also was in double figures for Toledo (10-13, 2-7 MAC) with 10 points to go along with a career-high nine assists.
Senior F Titus Robinson came off the bench to lead Buffalo (14-6, 7-2 MAC) in scoring with 14 points, while sophomore F Javon McCrea notched 12 points and eight boards. Senior F Mitchell Watt contributed nine points and a game-high 13 caroms.
The Rockets committed just 10 turnovers to match their season low, but Buffalo dominated the glass by a 50-32 margin and held UT to a 37.9 FG%.
Toledo led for the majority of the first half thanks to Pearson's 16 points and knocking down 6-of-10 attempts from behind the three-point arc.
UT expanded its cushion to as many as 13 points early in the second half, but the Bulls utilized a 31-15 rebounding advantage to key their comeback. The MAC's top rebounding squad outscored the Rockets by a 24-4 margin in the paint in the second stanza and scored all of its 16 second-chance points following intermission.
Pearson Powering Rockets
Sophomore G Rian Pearson is producing at an all-conference level in his first season donning a Midnight Blue and Gold uniform. Pearson leads the MAC in scoring with 17.3 ppg and is third with 8.0 rpg (2nd with 3.0 offensive rpg). He also has made the most of his shot attempts with a 49.4 FG% that ranks 12th in the MAC. Pearson is a strong defender as well, leading the team with 1.7 spg (5th in MAC) and ranking second in the MAC with 2.7 spg in league games only. He tied a school record with seven steals to go along with 19 points and seven rebounds in a career-high 38 minutes vs. Ball State (Jan. 10).
Pearson tallied a career-best 29 points, 12 rebounds and four steals at Akron (Feb. 1). He has nine 20-point outings and six double-doubles (T-2nd in MAC) this season and was named to CollegeHoops.net Mid-season All-MAC team.
Prior to transferring to Toledo, the Raytown, MO native saw action in 32 contests at Green Bay in the 2009-10 campaign and averaged 6.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in 16.5 minutes per game. He came on strong at the end of the year, averaging 11.3 points and 4.9 boards over his last seven games. Pearson's top performance came with a season-best 17 points vs. Indiana State on Feb. 20.
MORE RIAN RUMBLINGS
Rian Pearson is the only player to rank in the MAC's Top 10 in points (17.3 ppg/1st), rebounds (8.0 rpg/3rd) and steals (1.7 spg/5th)...In his last four games, Pearson is averaging 25.0 ppg, 9.3 rpg and 1.8 spg with a 50.6 FG% (39-of-77) and 84.6 FT% (22-of-26)...He is tied for seventh nationally in rebounding among guards...Pearson has led the Rockets in rebounding a team-high 17 times, scoring on a team-best 12 occasions and steals a team-high 10 times.
Running the Show
Freshman G Julius Brown serves as the quarterback of Toledo's high-powered offense and has served as the igniter for one of the MAC's top offenses. He has dished out seven or more assists on 10 occasions and has had a negative assist/turnover ratio in just four games this season.
Brown has helped the Rockets rank among the league leaders with their 70.8 ppg (4th in MAC) and 45.0 FG% (5th in MAC). He ranks third nationally among freshman in assists and is in the MAC's Top 20 in assists (4th/5.3 apg), assist/turnover ratio (7th/1.4), steals (T-14th/1.4 spg), FT% (12th/73.5 FT%) and points (17th/11.2 ppg).
The Chicago, IL native scored a season-high 29 points with a season-best seven treys at Florida Gulf Coast (Dec. 22).
DENNIS DELIVERING FOR ROCKETS
Junior G Curtis Dennis has provided a spark off the bench since becoming eligible following the fall semester. Dennis sat out the past year after transferring to UT from New Mexico last winter.
The 6-5, 195-pound Bronx, NY native ranks second on the team with 12.0 ppg and third with 4.1 rpg in 14 games as a Rocket. He has scored in double figures on eight occasions, including a career-high 20 points vs. Norfolk State (Dec. 20), 19 points at Central Michigan (Jan. 7), 18 points vs. Northern Illinois (Jan. 18) and 17 points at Miami (Jan. 25). Dennis has scored in double digits in four of his last six games.
FROM WAY DOWNTOWN
Junior G Dominique Buckley leads the MAC with an 87.9 free-throw percentage and also has a team-high 41.6 3PTFG% (8th in MAC) and 1.9 treys per game (6th in MAC). He also ranks second on the team with 3.1 apg (11th in MAC), a 1.3 assist/turnover ratio (9th in MAC) and 31.6 mpg and fourth with 10.6 ppg (T-25th in MAC). Buckley and Julius Brown each rank among the MAC's Top 11 in assists and assist/turnover ratio.
A Romulus, MI native, Buckley was named MAC West Player of the Week on Dec. 5 after scoring a career-high 21 points in back-to-back games vs. UNC-Wilmington and Chicago State. He also averaged 5.5 apg and 5.0 rpg with a 50.0 3PTFG and 93.8 3PTFG and scored 18 second-half points in each contest.
Buckley played in 27 games in 2009-10 for Iowa State before transferring to Toledo. He averaged 1.4 points and 0.9 assists for the Cyclones and shot 40.9 percent (9-of-22) from three-point range in 7.4 mpg. Buckley enjoyed a standout prep career at Romulus High School where he was ranked as the 124th-best player in the country according to ESPN 150 rankings.
SMITH SETTLING IN DOWN LOW
Sophomore F Matt Smith, who ranks fifth on the team with 8.8 ppg and 4.0 rpg, is third in the MAC with a team-high 55.8 FG%. The Whitewright, TX native scored a career-high 21 points on 8-of-9 shooting vs. IU-Northwest (Jan. 3) and grabbed six boards. He also scored 13 points and grabbed seven boards against Kent State on Saturday, his first double-digit contest in MAC play.
Smith is tied for 13th in the MAC with a team-high 16 blocks (0.7 bpg) and is shooting 44.0% (11-of-25) from three-point range.
A DOUBLE-DOUBLE THREAT
Sophomore F Reese Holliday is averaging 6.8 ppg and ranks second on the team and 10th in the MAC with 6.2 rpg. He is also seventh in the MAC with 4.5 defensive rpg and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds vs. Youngstown State (Dec. 17). Holliday opened the season with his sixth career double-double, collecting 10 points and 13 rebounds against Texas State (Nov. 18).
Holliday topped the league's freshmen and sophomores and ranked eighth overall in the MAC last year with 6.6 rpg. He also led the league with 2.83 offensive rpg.
The Kansas City, KS native was the first Rocket to register double-doubles in back-to-back games since Jerrah Young performed the feat vs. EMU and at CMU on Mar. 4 and Mar. 9, 2008. He also was the first UT player to record double-digit rebound totals in three straight contests in over 10 years (Greg Stempin-Jan. 29-Feb. 5, 2000).
KNOCKING THEIR SHOTS DOWN
Matt Smith is third in the MAC with a 55.8 FG% and is one of three Rockets to appear in the conference rankings for shooting accuracy. Rian Pearson ranks 12th in the league with a 49.4 FG%, while Dominique Buckley is eighth with a 41.4 three-point FG%.
Taking Advantage of Charity
Toledo leads the Mid-American Conference and ranks 47th nationally with an impressive 73.3 FT% and is also setting the pace in league play with an even better 74.8 mark. Western Michigan (71.4), Miami (70.4) and Kent State (70.3) are the other schools at 70.0 percent or higher. The Rockets are making 15.3 free throws per game compared to its opponents' total of 12.0 per contest. Dominique Buckley sits atop the conference at 87.9 percent (51-of-58) with Julius Brown (.735, 50-of-68) in 12th place.
MORE FREE-THROW TALK
- Toledo has shot 82 percent or better from the free-throw line in four of its last six contests - 85.7 (12-of-14) vs. NIU, 87.5 (7-of-8) at Miami, 82.4 (14-of-17) vs. KSU and 87.5 (14-of-16) at Akron.
- The last time UT topped the 70 percent mark for an entire season was the 2004-05 campaign when it posted a 70.4 FT%. The Rockets' 73.3 mark this year is its highest since converting 74.6 percent in the 1995-96 season.
- The Rockets averaged 17.9 free throws made in non-conference action but are at 11.2 makes per game in league play.
- Rian Pearson is leading the Rockets with 69 free throws and 99 free-throw attempts. Toledo has three other players with 55-or-more free-throw attempts - Reese Holliday (77), Julius Brown (68) and Dominique Buckley (58).
TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT THE ROCKETS' CLOSE CALLS
Toledo has a 2-6 win-loss mark in games decided by three points or less. Below is a listing of each game and what occurred in the final seconds. Prior to this season, UT was involved in just seven contests (3-4 record) decided by three points or less in the 2009-10 and 2010-11 campaigns combined.
Nov. 18 - vs. Texas State (94-91 loss) - Texas State makes 1-of-2 free throws with 13.7 seconds remaining; D. Buckley misses three-pointer at buzzer.
Nov. 30 - UNC-Wilmington (75-73 win) - J. Brown gives Rockets 75-68 lead with 1:45 remaining; A. Smith misses three-pointer at buzzer.
Dec. 10 - Loyola (IL) (57-55 loss) - UT turns ball over underneath own basket with 1.2 seconds left; B. Averkamp hits winning shot with 0.1 seconds left
Dec. 20 - Norfolk State (72-70 loss) - D. Dear grabs def. rebound but steps out of bounds with 3.7 seconds left; K. O'Quinn hits winning shot with 2.4 seconds left
Dec. 22 - @Florida Gulf Coast (83-80 loss) - UT misses three three-point field-goal attempts in final 13 seconds.
Jan. 10 - Ball State (70-68 loss) - R. Holliday ties score with 6.3 seconds left; J. Jones scores on winning layup with 0.6 seconds left.
Jan. 21 - @Eastern Michigan (41-38 loss) - Final basket scored with 1:55 remaining; UT comes up empty on final two possessions to tie score.
Jan. 25 - @Miami (63-61 win) - C. Dennis hits a trey with 1:00 remaining to give UT 63-58 lead; J. Harris follows with three at :40 mark; Dennis steal prevents Miami from getting off last-second shot.
KEYS FOR A ROCKET VICTORY
Toledo is 9-3 when holding its opponent to 45 percent shooting or lower...UT is 1-7 when shooting less than 70 percent or higher from charity stripe...The Rockets are 0-11 when having a lower FG% than their opponent...Toledo is 6-2 when holding its opponent under 70 points...The Rockets are 8-4 when outrebounding their opposition...UT is 8-4 when leading at the half and 8-2 when leading with five minutes remaining...Toledo is 8-3 when Dominique Buckley scores in double figures.
TOLEDO AIMING FOR HOMECOURT TURNAROUND
Toledo has a 5-7 ledger in Savage Arena this season and is hoping to register its first winning home record since the 2007-08 campaign when it posted a 9-3 mark. After experiencing just one losing home campaign (7-9 in 1991-92) in the previous 51 years, the Rockets have posted 6-7, 4-11 and 4-12 win-loss marks for a combined 14-30 (.318) ledger over the last three years in Savage Arena.
Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk posted a 76-28 record (.731) at the Resch Center during his eight-year Green Bay tenure. In his last three seasons, the Phoenix were even better at home by posting a 35-9 (.795) win-loss mark.
Prior to the last three seasons, UT had posted a 55-8 (.873) home record for a five-year period from 2003-08 and was 107-23 (.823) on its homecourt from 1998-2008.
FOCUS ON LIMITING TURNOVERS
Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk places a high emphasis on keeping turnovers at a premium. Kowalczyk's teams at Green Bay averaged fewer than 14.0 miscues per game in each of his last seven seasons at the Phoenix helm, including an impressive 11.7 in 2006-07 and 12.4 in 2009-10. The Rockets averaged 15.9 turnovers last year (with just seven scholarship players on their active roster) and ranked last in the MAC with a minus-4.26 turnover margin.
Toledo has committed 14.0 turnovers per contest this season (including a season-low 10 at WMU on Jan. 14 and vs. Buffalo on Feb. 4) and has a 0.95 assist/turnover ratio and plus-2.2 turnover margin that ranks third in the MAC.
MAKING IMPROVEMENTS FROM YEAR 1 TO YEAR 2
Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk posted a seven-win improvement from Year 1 (10-20) to Year 2 (17-11) at Green Bay. Now he has Toledo on the path of a similar improvement as UT has already surpassed its win total from his first season at the Rocket helm.
When looking at his career record minus his first season at the helm at both Green Bay and Toledo, Coach Kowalczyk's record is 136-105 (.564) overall and 71-56 (.559) in conference play.
UT RANKS NO. 5 NATIONALLY IN TERMS OF LEAST EXPERIENCE
Toledo's roster ranks as the fifth least-experienced team in the nation, according to research conducted by the Navy's sports information office. The Rockets average just 0.77 years experience per player and trails only UC-Irvine (0.71), Navy (0.74), CSU-Northridge (0.75) and Texas Tech (0.75).
TOLEDO CONTINUES TREND AS ONE OF MAC'S ATTENDANCE LEADERS
Toledo has ranked in the top two of the MAC in attendance the past five seasons and is second this year with its 4,129 average, including a season-high 4,710 fans vs. Kent State on Jan. 28. The Rockets led the league with a total of 5,751 fans per game in 2006-07 and totaled a conference-best average of 5,610 in 2008-09. UT averaged 4,455 fans last year to finish second in the conference.
Rockets Add Big Man to Fold
Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk and the Rockets added size and strength to the post for the future when 6-9, 250-pound center Nathan Boothe (Gurnee, IL) signed a National Letter of Intent to attend the University of Toledo during the early-signing period.
"Nathan is the perfect fit for our program and will give us exactly what we need - a physical inside presence," Kowalczyk said. "He has great hands, a very good shooting touch and he understands how to play."
Boothe was a key contributor last season for a Warren Township squad that appeared in Illinois' Class 4A state championship game. He averaged 9.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game for a Blue Devil squad which posted a 31-4 win-loss mark.
BREAKING THE CLASSES DOWN
The Rockets' roster for 2011-12 roster doesn't include any seniors with Dominique Buckley and Curtis Dennis the lone juniors on the squad. Toledo's roster, which consists of just eight scholarship players, has six sophomores and three freshmen on its roster.
JUNIORS: Dominique Buckley, Curtis Dennis.
SOPHOMORES: DeLino Dear, James Ewing, Reese Holliday, Rian Pearson, Matt Smith, Richard Wonnell.
FRESHMEN: Julius Brown, AJ Mathew, Zack Riddle.
FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA
Toledo's 11-player roster originates from seven different states across the United States of America. This year's Rockets hail from Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio and Texas.
NEW MAC TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The Mid-American Conference made some drastic changes to its tournament format for this season. The biggest difference is the fact that the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds receive byes to the semifinals, while the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds receive byes to the quarterfinals.
Seeding will also be based on conference winning percentage, regardless of division. So this year, the top two (or even three) seeds could come from the same division. Seeds No. 5 through No. 12 will play first-round games on campus sites with those four winners advancing to the second round in Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena.
The current seeds for the tourney are #1 Akron, #2 Ohio, #3 UB, #4 KSU, #5 EMU, #6 BG, #7 BSU, #8 WMU, #9 Miami, #10 CMU, #11 Toledo, #12 NIU.
On The Horizon
The Rockets will play their next three contests on the road. UT will visit arch-rival Bowling Green (11-11, 5-4 MAC) on Saturday, Feb. 11, Ball State (12-8, 4-4 MAC) on Wednesday, Feb. 15 and Sam Houston State (8-14) on Saturday, Feb. 18. Toledo will finish its season with three of its final four regular-season games at home beginning with home dates against Central Michigan (7-15, 2-7 MAC) on Wednesday, Feb. 22, Western Michigan (10-13, 4-5 MAC) on Saturday, Feb. 25.
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