QUICK HITTERS
•  Toledo (7-6) opens its 66th Mid-American Conference campaign on Tuesday, Jan. 3 when it hosts East Division foe and two-time defending MAC Tournament champion Buffalo (6-7). Tip-off time from Savage Arena is set for 6:00 p.m. with the game being televised on the American Sports Network and streamed on ESPN3.
•   The Rockets bring a season-high three-game winning streak into their MAC opener following victories over Southeastern Louisiana (78-56), Loyola (IL) (74-70) and Ohio Christian (98-58).
•  Senior guard Jonathan Williams paced the Rocket attack against OCU with 20 points and has paced UT in scoring in five straight games. Also scoring in double digits for the Midnight Blue and Gold was sophomore guard Jaelan Sanford (17 pts.), senior forward Steve Taylor Jr. (13 pts.) and sophomore forward Nate Navigato (10 pts.).
•  Williams ranks second in the MAC with 19.8 ppg to go along with a 39.6 3PFTG% and a 79.4 FT%. He has posted a career-high six straight 20-point outings and is averaging 24.2 ppg with a 50.0 FG% and 41.9 3PTFG (18-of-43) during this hot stretch.
•  Taylor ranks second on the team in scoring with 15.9 ppg to go along with a team-best 11.5 rpg and a team-high 3.8 apg. He is tied for sixth nationally with 11.5 rpg (through Dec. 31) and leads the country with 9.7 defensive rpg. In addition, Taylor's 10 double-doubles rank fourth in the nation.
•  Sophomore guard Jaelan Sanford is also scoring in double digits for UT with 13.0 ppg and is leading the team with 35.2 mpg.
•  Senior guard Jordan Lauf, who notched his first double-double as a Rocket against Loyola with 11 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, is leading Toledo with a 66.0 FG%, a 42.1 3PTFG% (8-of-19), an 80.0 FT% (32-of-40) and 1.1 spg. He also ranks second on the team with 5.9 rpg and fourth with 7.8 ppg.
•  The Rockets have tied a school record (set in the 1971-72 campaign) with a nation-high five overtime games this season. UT has a 2-3 win-loss mark in its OT contests with wins over Youngstown State (Nov. 15) and Evansville (Nov. 25) and losses against Middle Tennessee (Nov. 26), Green Bay (Dec. 3) and Marshall (Dec. 10).
•  Toledo's five overtime games are one more than Cal. State-Fullerton, Eastern Kentucky Eastern Washington and Indiana State.
•  Senior guard Blake Hamilton leads the Bulls in scoring with 17.2 ppg with sophomore guard CJ Massinburg (14.6), senior forward Willie Conner (14.2) and sophomore forward Nick Perkins (14.1) also averaging double-digit point totals.

POST-GAME NOTES FROM UT'S 98-58 VICTORY OVER OHIO CHRISTIAN
•   The Rockets' improved their home record to 5-1. Since the start of the 2013-14 campaign, Toledo holds a 40-12 (.769) win-loss mark in Savage Arena.
•   UT committed a season-low nine turnovers and is 3-0 when notching fewer miscues than its opponent.
•   Toledo posted a season-high 84.6 free-throw percentage (22-of-26) to raise its season mark to a season-best 70.2 percent. UT has an 80.8 FT% (59-of-73) in its last three games.
•   The Rockets are 5-1 when registering a higher field-goal percentage than their opponent.
•   Senior Jonathan Williams has led or shared the team scoring lead in nine contests and now ranks 13th on UT's all-time scoring list with 1,387 points.
•   Senior Steve Taylor Jr. has led or tied for the team lead in rebounding and assists in nine games.
•   Sophomore Jaelan Sanford scored 17 points and has scored in double digits in five of his last six contests.
•   Senior Jordan Lauf scored nine points on 4-of-5 shooting and has an 82.6 FG% (19-of-23) in his last six games.
•   Sophomore Nate Navigato scored 10 points in 17 minutes and has posted double-digit scoring totals in three of his last four outings.
•   Senior Zach Garber blocked a career-high three shots and grabbed six rebounds in 18 minutes.
•   Freshman Justin Roberts scored four points and dished out a season-best two assists in a season-high 20 minutes. In his last two games, he has played 32 minutes and committed zero turnovers.
 
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...The Rockets are facing Buffalo in a MAC opener for the first time...Toledo has opened its MAC campaign on the road in four of the last five seasons...UT has an all-time mark of 34-31 in MAC openers and is 19-11 in home lidlifters.

ON THE HORIZON
        The Rockets conclude their season-long five-game homestand against Miami (7-6) on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 4:00 p.m. Toledo will then hit the road for four of its next five contests beginning with matchups at Western Michigan (4-8) on Tuesday, Jan. 10 and Central Michigan (10-3) on Friday, Jan. 13.
UT will return home to face Bowling Green (6-7) on Tuesday, Jan. 17 before visiting Kent State (8-5) on Saturday, Jan. 21 and Ohio (8-3) on Tuesday, Jan. 24.