QUICK HITTERS
•  Toledo (9-5, 0-1 MAC) looks to bounce back from Wednesday's 87-69 setback at Ball State when it visits Miami (6-8, 0-1 MAC) on Saturday, Jan. 9 in Oxford, OH. The contest will tip off at 4:00 p.m. and be televised by Time Warner Cable's Sports Channel. It can be seen in the Toledo area on BCSN as well as on ESPN3.
•  The Rockets are in a familiar position having lost their league opener each of the last three years. In each season, UT went on to post a winning conference record in the previous two seasons — 14-4 in 2013-14 and 11-7 in 2014-15.
•  The RedHawks are looking to snap a season-high four-game skid after dropping a 73-62 decision at Bowling Green on Wednesday.
•  Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk is in his sixth season at UT's helm and has orchestrated a dramatic turnaround since his arrival in 2010. He possesses a 94-83 (.531) record on the Rocket bench, including a 90-55 (.621) win-loss ledger over the last five years.
•  Kowalczyk has guided Toledo to a share of the 2013-14 Mid-American Conference regular season title in addition to a piece of the 2012-13 MAC West Division title.
•  Sophomore Stuckey Mosley topped Toledo in scoring for the first time this season with 17 points, including a career-high three treys, against the Cardinals. Joining Mosley in double figures was senior Nathan Boothe (16 pts., team-high six boards) and junior Jonathan Williams (14 pts.).
•  Williams and Boothe are the Mid-American Conference's top two leading scorers with 19.3 and 18.1 ppg, respectively. Boothe also is second in the MAC with a 2.5 assist/turnover ratio, third with 8.6 rpg and sixth with 4.4 apg.
•  Williams registered his lone career double-double with 18 points and a career-best 10 boards vs. Miami in last year's 70-65 triumph over the RedHawks.
•  Boothe was named the MAC's West Division Player of the Week for a fourth time earlier this week, marking the fifth time this season a UT player has been honored. Williams was tabbed for the award on Dec. 28. Boothe also earned a spot on CollegeInsiders.com mid-season Mid-Major All-America squad.
•  Toledo ranks third nationally with its MAC-best 1.78 assist/turnover ratio and is tied for 12th for fewest turnovers per game (10.1) and 13th with 18.7 apg.
•  Miami is the lowest scoring team in the MAC at 65.6 ppg and is 11th in 3PTFG% (29.7) and 12th in FG% (41.0) and rebounding margin (-1.8). The RedHawks rank second in the league with a 32.6 three-point field-goal percentage defense.
•  Senior guard Eric Washington tops Miami with 14.4 ppg with senior guard Geovonie Knight also in double digits at 12.5 ppg.

ROCKET ROUNDUP FROM UT'S 87-69 LOSS AT BALL STATE
• Toledo's lead in its all-time series vs. Ball State was reduced to 47-41.
• The Rockets lost to the Cardinals for just the second time in their last eight meetings.
• The Rockets' four-game win streak in Worthen Arena ended with their defeat to Ball State.
• Toledo allowed a season-high 87 points, nine more than the previous best by Middle Tennessee and Youngstown State.
• UT is 0-4 when it shoots lower than 45 percent and 1-5 when its opponent registers a higher field-goal percentage.
• The Rockets are 1-4 when being outrebounded by their opponent.
• Toledo's 30.3 first-half FG% was its lowest in a half this season.
• Ball State's 49 second-half points matched Loyola (IL) for the most points scored vs. the Rockets in a half this season.
• Sophomore guard Stuckey Mosley led the Rockets in scoring for the first time in his career and knocked down a career-high three three-point field goals.
• Junior guard Jonathan Williams has scored 14 or more points in every game this season.
• Freshman guard Nick Rogers tallied a team-high four assists, marking the third time he has paced UT in helpers
 
TALKING CONFERENCE OPENERS
      Toledo has lost seven of its last eight Mid-American Conference openers (@NIU-'09, CMU-'10, EMU-'11, @CMU-'12,. @WMU-'14, CMU-'15 & @BSU-'16) with its lone victory coming in 2013 with a 70-58 triumph at Kent State...Toledo has opened its MAC campaign on the road in four of the last five seasons.
 
TOD THE BUILDER
      Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk is extremely proficient at turning around programs. When looking at his career record minus his first season at the helm of both Green Bay and Toledo, Kowalczyk's record is 216-147 (.595) overall and 111-76 (.594) in conference play. His record at the helm of the Rockets since the 2011-12 season is 90-55 (.621).
      Kowalczyk produced a seven-win improvement from Year 1 (10-20) to Year 2 (17-11) at Green Bay. He doubled that feat and more at Toledo in the 2011-12 campaign as UT registered 15 more wins (4-28 to 19-17) than his first season at the Rocket helm.
 
ROCKETS RANKING AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS IN 2015-16
     Toledo ranks third nationally (through games of Jan. 6) with its 1.78 assist/turnover ratio, tied for 12th in fewest turnovers per game (10.3) and 13th with 18.4 assists per game.
      Individually, Nathan Boothe ranks 45th with 6.6 defensive rebounds per game. He also is 123rd nationally with 4.6 assists per game and is the only center ranked among the Top 250 players nationally.
      Junior guard Jonathan Williams appears among the nation's Top 50 scoring leaders ranking 45th with 19.3 ppg,
 
A LOOK AHEAD
      The Rockets return home on Tuesday, Jan. 12 to face Northern Illinois (12-2, 1-0 MAC) after opening Mid-American Conference play with two road games.
      Toledo will then host MAC East Division favorite Akron (12-2, 1-0 MAC) on Friday, Jan. 15 at 7:00 p.m. The game was originally scheduled to be played on Saturday, Jan. 16 but was moved due to being televised nationally by the CBS Sports Network.