Unbeaten Rockets to Visit Wright State on Wednesday Night

Wednesday, November 14

Dayton, Ohio

7:00 p.m.

University of Toledo

Wright State

Sophomore guard Spencer Littleson leads the Rockets with a 66.7 three-point field-goal percentage.

Unbeaten Rockets to Visit Wright State on Wednesday Night

11/13/2018 8:34:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

Toledo, Ohio - The University of Toledo men's basketball team (2-0) looks to continue its strong start to the 2018-19 season when it travels to Horizon League favorite Wright State (1-1) on Wednesday, Nov. 14. Tipoff time from the Nutter Center is 7:00 p.m. and the contest vs. the Raiders can be seen on ESPN+.

   The Rockets opened their season last weekend with an 87-86 victory at Oakland on Friday and a 99-58 home triumph over NAIA foe Wilberforce on Saturday. The two wins helped UT maintain its No. 13 ranking in the collegeinsiders.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll.

   Senior Jaelan Sanford and junior Willie Jackson led the Rockets last weekend. Sanford averaged a team-high 23.0 ppg, while Jackson posted a pair of double-doubles with 16.0 ppg and a team-best 11.0 rpg and shot an impressive 76.5 percent from the field.

   Wright State returns four starters from last year's squad that posted a 25-10 mark and advanced to the NCAA Tournament by winning the Horizon League title. The Raiders are led by 2017-18 Horizon League Freshman of the Year Loudon Love, a 6-9, 280-pound center who is averaging 16.0 ppg and a team-best 7.0 rpg. WSU has split its first two contests, downing Western Carolina 96-73 last Tuesday before falling at Murray State 73-54 on Friday.

   Toledo dropped a 77-69 home decision to the Raiders in Savage Arena last year but pulled out an 82-78 road win over WSU in its last visit to the Nutter Center in 2016.

POST TOUCHES
•   UT is looking to win three straight games to start the season for a second straight year.
•   The Rockets have won eight straight home openers after defeating Wilberforce on Saturday.
•   Toledo is 18-9 vs. the Horizon League over the last six years, including an 11-4 mark since the start of the 2015-16 campaign.
•   The all-time series between the Rockets and Raiders is tied at six wins apiece. In addition, each team also has three home and three road victories in the all-time series.
•   Jaelan Sanford was named to the Preseason All-MAC West Division squad. The Evansville, Ind. native ranks 19th on UT's all-time scoring list with 1,322 points.
•   Willie Jackson opened the season with two double-doubles and now has six in 22 career games in a Rocket uniform. Jackson also tallied double-doubles in last year's MAC Tournament vs. Eastern Michigan (career-high 18 pts.-10 reb.) in the semifinals and Buffalo (11 pts.-10 reb.) in the championship game.
•   Nate Navigato is tied for third place on the Rockets' career three-point field goal list with 228 treys. Navigato set a school record for most three-point field goals in a season last year with 94. He surpassed the previous record held by former Rocket Nick Moore, who sank 89 triples in the 2002-03 campaign. Moore holds UT's career record with 276 treys.
•   Luke Knapke didn't miss a shot in the Rockets' first two games. He is 5-of-5 from the field, 1-of-1 from three-point range and 6-of-6 from the free-throw line.
• Marreon Jackson dished out a career-high 10 assists with zero turnovers vs. Wilberforce. He leads the MAC with 7.5 assists per game and a 7.5 assist/turnover ratio.
•   Spencer Littleson leads the Rockets with a 66.7 three-point field-goal percentage after knocking down 4-of-6 attempts behind the three-point arc.

SOME TEAM STATISTICAL TIDBITS
• Five Rockets have scored in double digits in each of UT's first two games.
• Toledo has four players scoring in double digits with senior Chris Darrington coming off the bench with a 10.5 scoring mark. He is also averaging a team-high 2.0 spg.
• Toledo leads the MAC with a 55.8 field-goal percentage and an 81.1 free-throw percentage. The Rockets posted a 60.0 shooting mark in their season opener at Oakland.
• Toledo has six different players shooting 80 percent or better from the free-throw line with each of those individuals making at least five trips to the charity stripe.
• Toledo is 8-2 in games decided by five points or less since the start of last season