QUICK HITTERS
•  Toledo (15-15, 8-9 MAC) wraps up its 2016-17 regular season when it travels to Ypsilanti, MI on Friday, March 3 to battle MAC West Division foe Eastern Michigan (15-15, 7-10 MAC). Tip-off time is set for 7:00 p.m. with the game being televised on BCSN and streamed on ESPN3.
•  The Rockets are one game ahead of the Eagles, as well as Bowling Green and Northern Illinois, in the overall league standings. UT currently possesses the No. 7 seed for the 2017 MAC Tournament and would host the Falcons in a first-round matchup on March 6.
•  Toledo concluded the home portion of its 2016-17 campaign on Tuesday with an 82-74 setback to MAC West Division leader Ball State. The defeat was the second in three consecutive games for UT on its home floor and eliminated any hopes the Rockets possessed of capturing the West Division title.
•  The Cardinals led the entire contest thanks to a hot start from sophomore Tayler Persons (career-high 31 pts.), who buried six treys in the first seven-and-half minutes. Senior Jonathan Williams led Toledo with 23 points, while senior Steve Taylor, Jr., registered a double-double with 17 points and 15 boards.
•  Williams ranks third in the MAC with a team-high 19.9 ppg. He also leads UT with an 81.1 FT%, 129 FTs made and 159 FTs attempted and is averaging 3.6 apg in league play.
•  Taylor ranks second in team scoring with 15.8 ppg to go along with a MAC-best 12.4 rpg and a team-high 3.7 apg. He sits third nationally in rebounding (through Feb. 28) and leads the country with 10.0 defensive rpg (ahead of Purdue's Caleb Swanigan 9.8 mark). In addition, Taylor's 22 double-doubles rank third in the nation.
•   Sophomore guard Jaelan Sanford is also a double-digit scorer for the Rockets with 13.6 ppg and is playing a team-high 35.9 mpg. In league play, he is averaging 14.0 ppg and a team-high 3.8 apg with a 50.3 FG%, 45.3 3PTFG% and 2.2 assist/turnover ratio.
•  As a team, Toledo ranks second in the MAC with 80.1 ppg and is first with a 48.4 FG% (21st nationally) and 16.2 apg. UT leads the MAC in league play with a 49.0 FG% and 17.2 apg.
•  The Rockets have tied a national record with eight overtime games that was previously held by Western Kentucky (1978), Portland (1984) and Valparaiso (1993). UT's previous record for overtime games was five in the 1971-72 campaign.
•  EMU has won its last two contests after enduring a seven-game losing streak.
•  Senior Willie Mangum IV is one of three Eagles averaging 14.0 ppg or higher at 16.3 ppg. He is joined by senior guard Ray Lee (15.5 ppg), who scored a career-high 50 points Tuesday vs. CMU, and sophomore center James Thompson IV (14.7 ppg, 10.9 rpg).

POST-GAME NOTES FROM UT'S 82-74 LOSS TO BALL STATE
•  Toledo was swept in its season series with Ball State for the first time since the 2010-11 season.
•  The Rockets have outrebounded their opponent in seven of their last eight games and have a plus-10.3 rebounding margin in their last four contests.
•  Toledo is winless in its only three games that only two Rockets scored in double digits.
•  Ball State's 14 three-point field goals were the most by a Rocket opponent this season, three more than Akron (Feb. 14) and Central Michigan (Jan. 13).
•  Toledo is 4-7 when trailing at halftime and 2-11 when trailing with five minutes remaining.
•  The Rockets are 6-11 when scoring under 80 points and 2-9 when their opponent scores 80 or more points.
•  The Rockets are 2-10 when shooting under 45 percent from the field and 9-5 when their opponent shoots under 45 percent.
•  UT is 2-12 when its opponent posts a higher field-goal percentage.
•  Senior guard Jonathan Williams moved past Greg Stempin (1,705 pts./1997-2001) into fifth place on UT's all-time scoring list with 1,707 points, 107 points away from the No. 4 spot.
•  Senior forward Steve Taylor Jr.'s 361 rebounds rank third in school history. The school record is 371 by Doug Hess, who averaged 15.5 rpg in the 1969-70 campaign. Taylor's 13.1 rpg in conference play ranks fourth in school history, trailing only Hess (14.9/1969-70), Ray Wolford (14.5/1962-63) and Bob Aston (13.8/1965-66).
•  Senior guard Jordan Lauf has seven or more rebounds in his eight consecutive games and is averaging 8.8 rpg during this stretch.
•  Sophomore forward Taylor Adway registered a career-high five rebounds in addition to tallying his most points ever (8) in a conference contests.
 
TAKING A LOOK AT MAC TOURNAMENT SEEDING
        With a victory over EMU, Toledo will be the No. 7 seed in the 2017 MAC Tournament and host a first-round MAC Tournament home game since 2012. After not participating in postseason play in 2013, UT received a bye in 2014 and 2015 before playing on the road in 2016.
        If the Rockets lose to the Eagles, UT could finish as the No. 7, No. 8 or No. 9 seed depending on the results of Northern Illinois' game at Ball State and Bowling Green's game at Buffalo.
        If the Rockets and Eagles finish tied for the No. 7 seed, the winner of the tiebreaker would be determined on who the No. 2 seed in the MAC Tournament is since both UT and EMU are winless vs. No. 1 seed Akron.
        If the Rockets, Eagles and Huskies finish tied for the No. 7 seed, the winner of the tiebreaker would be determined on who the No. 2 seed in the MAC Tournament is since each team posted a 1-1 record against the other.
        If the Rockets, Eagles, Huskies and Falcons finish tied for the No. 7 seed, EMU and NIU would be the No. 7 and 8 seeds since they would each have a 3-2 mark in games among the four schools. UT would be the No. 9 seed in that scenario with its 3-3 record, and Bowling Green the No. 10 seed due to its 1-3 mark.
 
FOUR ROCKETS RANKED AMONG TOP 30 IN MAC LEAGUE SCORING
        Toledo and Buffalo are the only schools to have four players appear in the Mid-American Conference's Top 30 scorers in league play. Senior Jonathan Williams ranks fourth with 20.0 ppg and is followed by senior Steve Taylor, Jr. (11th/15.6 ppg), sophomore Jaelan Sanford (21st/14.0 ppg) and sophomore Nate Navigato (29th/11.4 ppg.
 
IF THE SEASON ENDED TODAY...
        Toledo is currently in third place in the MAC's West Division. If the season ended today, UT would be the No. 7 seed and host No. 10 Bowling Green in the first round of the MAC Tournament.
        Below is a listing of the teams' records with their remaining schedules:
        Team (H/A rem.)       MAC Record     Remaining Games
1.     Akron (0/1)                        13-4           @KSU
2.     Ohio (1/0)                           10-7            Miami
3.     Buffalo (1/0)                      10-7            BG
4.     Western Michigan (1/0)  10-7            CMU
5.     Kent State (1/0)                10-7            Akron
6.     Ball State (1/0)                   9-7            NIU
7.     Toledo (0/1)                        8-9            @EMU
8.     Eastern Michigan (1/0)   7-10            Toledo
9.     Northern Illinois (0/1)      7-10            @BSU
10    Bowling Green (0/1)        7-10            @UB
11.    Central Michigan (0/1)    6-11            @WMU
12.   Miami (0/1)                        4-13           @Ohio

ON THE HORIZON
        Following Friday's contest, Toledo will compete in the first round of the 2017 MAC Tournament at campus sites on Monday, March 6.