QUICK HITTERS
•   Toledo (17-11, 8-7 MAC) and Central Michigan (15-13, 8-7 MAC) will break their second-place tie when the Rockets and Chippewas square off on Saturday, Feb. 27 in Savage Arena. Tip-off time is set for 7:00 p.m. with the game being streamed on ESPN3.
•   Toledo will honor former letterwinners at halftime as part of its celebration of 100 Years of Basketball. UT Hall of Famers scheduled to appear are Jay Gast (1981-85), Larry Jones (1960-64), Jay Lehman (1977-81), Ned Miklovic (1956-60), Steve Mix (1966-69), Nick Moore (1999-2003), Tim Selgo (1976-80) and Craig Thames (1992-96).
•   UT is looking to avenge a 77-69 setback at CMU 11 days ago. The Rockets trailed by a 45-29 margin at halftime and rallied to within three points with just over five minutes to play but couldn't get any closer. Senior Nathan Boothe topped Toledo with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Braylon Rayson topped the Chippewas with 26 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
•   UT and CMU are one game behind Ball State (18-10, 9-6 MAC) in the division standings and lead Northern Illinois (18-10, 7-8 MAC) and Eastern Michigan (15-13, 7-8 MAC) by one game.
•   Toledo is 4-3 in MAC home games, while Central Michigan is 2-5 in league road games,
•   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 102-89 (.534) record on the Rocket bench, including a 98-61 (.616) 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.
•   Boothe and freshman Nate Navigato led UT to Tuesday's 77-67 home win over BSU with 23 and 19 points, respectively. The Rockets led by eight or more points over the final 15 minutes.
•   Boothe and junior Jonathan Williams rank among the MAC's top scorers with Boothe setting the pace at 19.1 ppg and Williams in fourth place at 17.8 ppg. Boothe also is second in the MAC with 7.1 defensive rpg, third with a team-high 9.0 rpg, fifth with an 82.1 FT%, 10th with a 49.8 FG% and tied for 10th with 3.4 apg.
•   Boothe, who is third in league play in scoring (19.8 ppg) and is third in rebounding (9.2 rpg), has been named the MAC West Division Player of the Week six times this season.
•   UT tops the MAC with 78.9 ppg, 16.8 apg and a 1.50 assist/turnover ratio and is second with a 46.3 FG% and 74.9 FT%. Ohio leads the MAC with a 47.6 FG% and 75.3 FT%.
•   Central Michigan paces the MAC with just 9.5 turnovers per game and ranks second with 10.0 three-point field goals per game.
•   The Chippewas' backcourt trio of senior Chris Fowler (16.1), junior Braylon Rayson (16.0) and senior Rayshawn Simmons (12.9) is averaging a combined 45.0 ppg.
 
ROCKET ROUNDUP FROM UT'S 77-67 VICTORY OVER BALL STATE
• The Rockets extended their home winning streak vs. Ball State to three games.
• Toledo has won seven of its last nine meetings against the Cardinals.
• UT's 62.1 first-half field-goal percentage was a season high for the Rockets
• The Rockets are 14-2 when leading at halftime.
• Toledo is undefeated in the 15 games when it has outshot its opponent.
• Toledo is 14-3 when being outrebounded by its opponent with one of those defeats coming in UT's 77-69 loss at Central Michigan.
• The Rockets are 16-2 when shooting 45 percent or higher from the field.
• Toledo is 12-4 when it makes eight or more three-point field goals or more.
• The Rockets shot over 80 percent from the charity stripe for the sixth time in their last seven games and are shooting 83.1 percent (123-of-148) from the charity stripe in their last seven contests.
• Toledo won for just the fifth time in 13 games when less than four players score in double digits.
• Senior center Nathan Boothe tied his season highs with two steals and three blocked shots. He has led or shared the team lead in scoring on a team-high 16 occasions, rebounding a team-best 21 times, blocks a team-high 16 times and assists on 10 occasions.
• Junior guard Jonathan Williams scored 12 points, marking just the second time this season he hasn't scored 14 or more points. He has scored in double digits in 27 of 28 outings.
• Freshman forward Nate Navigato produced his best scoring outing in league play with 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting from three-point range.
• Sophomore guard Stuckey Mosley has dished out five or more assists in seven of his last eight games. He has a 2.19 assist/turnover ratio (46/21) in this stretch.
• Junior forward Zach Garber's career-high four-game streak of scoring in double digits came to an end with his six-point, seven-rebound outing. In the last five games, Garber is averaging 11.0 ppg and 6.6 rpg with a 72.7 FG% (16-of-22) and 85.2 FT% (23-of-27).
• Junior forward Jordan Lauf has connected for a three-point field goal in a career-high five straight games and is 5-of-6 (.833) behind the arc during this stretch.
 
ROCKETS RANKING AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS IN 2015-16
        Toledo is tied for 14th nationally (through games of Feb. 24) with a 1.50 assist/turnover ratio, tied for 20th with 16.8 assists per game and tied for 27th with fewest fouls per game (16.9).
        Individually, Nathan Boothe is tied for 22nd with 7.1 defensive rebounds per game and is tied for 46th with 19.1 ppg.
 
IF THE SEASON ENDED TODAY...
        Toledo is currently in a two-way tie for the sixth-best record in the Mid-American Conference at 8-7 with Central Michigan. The Rockets would be the No. 7 seed in the 2016 MAC Tournament if the season ended today..
        Below is a listing of the seeds for the 2016 MAC Tournament if the season ended today:
        Team                          MAC Record     Remaining Games
1.     Akron                                 10-5           BG; Ohio; KSU
2.     Ohio                                    9-6            UB; @Akron; @Miami
3.     Buffalo                                9-6            @Ohio; Miami; @BG
4.     Kent State                         9-6            @Miami; BG; @Akron
5.     Ball State                           9-6            EMU; CMU; @NIU
6.     Central Michigan             8-7            @Toledo; @BSU; WMU
7.     Toledo                                 8-7            CMU; @WMU; EMU
8.     Northern Illinois               7-8            WMU; @EMU; BSU
9.     Eastern Michigan             7-8            @BSU; NIU; @Toledo
10.   Bowling Green                5-10           @Akron; @KSU; UB
11.    Western Michigan          5-10           @NIU; Toledo; @CMU
12.   Miami                                 4-11            KSU; @UB, Ohio
 
A LOOK AHEAD
        The Rockets will play at Western Michigan (11-17, 5-10 MAC) on Tuesday, March 1 before returning home to end their regular season vs. Eastern Michigan (15-13, 7-8 MAC) on Friday, March 4.