TOLEDO, Ohio - Toledo (11-1) will return from a 10-day holiday break on Saturday, Dec. 29 when it hosts Ivy League favorite Penn (10-2) in Savage Arena. Tip-off time is set for 2:00 p.m.
       The Rockets will be shooting for their 10th straight victory in their final contest before entering Mid-American Conference play vs. Ball State on Friday, Jan. 4.
       Senior Jaelan Sanford poured in 29 points to power UT to its most recent win, an 86-70 triumph over Cornell on Dec. 19 that kept the Rockets' home record perfect in six games. Sanford finished two points shy of his career high by knocking down 9-of-13 shots from the field and all nine of his attempts from the free-throw line.
       Seniors Nate Navigato and Chris Darrington joined Sanford in double figures with 17 and 10 points, respectively. Junior Willie Jackson also grabbed a game-high 10 boards to help the Rockets dominate the glass by a 44-22 margin.
       Sanford dished out a team-high five assists as well to go along with five rebounds. Freshman AJ Edu dominated the paint defensively with a season-high five blocked shots in addition to scoring seven points and grabbing six rebounds.
       Junior guard Devon Goodman leads a balanced Penn attack with 14.7 ppg. Junior forward AJ Brodeur ranks second in team scoring at 13.8 ppg with a team-high 7.3 rpg. The Quakers, who posted a 75-65 at New Mexico on Dec. 22 in their most recent outing, are the reigning Ivy League champs and posted a 78-75 victory over defending national champion Villanova on Dec. 11.
 
POST TOUCHES
•  Toledo's 11-1 start is its best since winning its first 12 games in 2013-14 season. The Rockets' 91.7 winning percentage is tied for ninth nationally.
•  UT ranks second nationally with its 80.1 FT%. The Rockets also rank in the Top 25 nationally in assists per game (18.3/15th), 3PTFGs per game (10.4/17th), assist/turnover ratio (1.47/20th) and scoring margin (16.4/22nd).
•  UT leads the MAC in FT% (80.1), 3PTFG% (39.3) and three-point field goals per game (10.4) and is second in assists per game (17.8) and three-point FG% defense (29.7).
•  Jaelan Sanford leads the MAC with an 88.9 FT% and ranks fourth with a team-high 18.0 ppg, respectively. The Evansville, Ind. native ranks 13th on UT's all-time scoring list with 1,492 points.
•  Nate Navigato leads the MAC and ranks fourth nationally with a 52.6 three-point FG%. He also ranks second in the MAC as well as eighth nationally with a 4.1 assist/turnover ratio.
•  Willie Jackson is tied for 14th nationally with six double-doubles and has 10 in 31 career games as a Rocket. Jackson ranks second in the MAC and 13th nationally with 10.4 rpg.
•  Three Rockets rank in the MAC's Top 10 in 3PTFG% — Nate Navigato (52.6/1st), Luke Knapke (50.0/T-2nd) and Chris Darrington (42.5/10th) — as well as FT% - Jaelan Sanford (88.9/1st), Chris Darrington (84.9/3rd) and Luke Knapke (82.8/T-5th).
•  Marreon Jackson is tied for third in the MAC with 4.8 assists per game and sixth with a 2.1 assist/turnover ratio.
•  Luke Knapke is tied for second in the MAC with a 50.0 three-point FG% (14-of-28), tied for fifth an 82.8 FT% and 13th with a 54.5 FG%. Knapke scored a career-best 20 points at Wright State (Nov. 14) thanks to a 6-of-6 effort behind the three-point arc.
•  Chris Darrington comes off the bench with a 10.2 scoring mark and is one of five Rockets scoring in double digits. Darrington leads the Rockets in free throws made (45) and free throws attempted (53).
•  AJ Edu ranks fourth in the MAC with 1.5 blocked shots per game and is averaging 2.4 bpg in his last five contests.
 
SOME TEAM STATISTICAL TIDBITS
•  Eight of UT's 11 wins have been by 11 points or more. The Rockets' scoring margin of plus-16.4 leads the MAC and ranks 22nd nationally.
•  The Rockets have won their first six home games for the first time since winning all 15 home contests in their 2013-14 campaign.
•  Toledo has five different players shooting 80.0 percent or better from the free-throw line with each of those individuals making at least 14 trips to the charity stripe.
•  Toledo has had at least four players score in double digits in 10 of 12 contests and has had five players score in double figures on five occasions.
•  Toledo has held eight of its last nine opponents to 70 points or less. The only opponent to top 70 points during this stretch has been Marshall, which needed overtime to do so in the Rockets' 75-74 (OT) road win.

LAST YEAR VS. PENN (12/29/17)
        Toledo rallied from a four-point halftime deficit and pulled away late with an 11-2 run to register an 85-74 victory over Penn at the historic Palestra. UT was sizzling from the field in the final 20 minutes, converting an impressive 72.0 percent of its shots after intermission.
        Tre'Shaun Fletcher paced a balanced Rocket attack with 21 points and was joined in double figures by Jaelan Sanford (19 pts.), Nate Navigato (14 pts.) and Marreon Jackson (12 pts.). Fletcher and Jackson each grabbed a team-high seven boards to help the Rockets win the battle of the boards by a 37-30 margin.
        Ryan Betley led the Quakers with 20 points, while Max Rothschild registered a double-double with 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
        The Rockets posted a 52.6 FG% and knocked down 9-of-14 three-point shots (64.3 percent) and 16-of-20 free-throw attempts (80.0 percent). Toledo limited Penn to a 43.1 field-goal percentage and a 26.7 three-point mark (8-of-30).
        The contest was tight throughout and featured 15 occasions when the score was tied and eight lead changes. A Navigato triple that made the score 72-65 with 3:05 remaining helped Toledo pull away for the 11-point win..
 
DEFENSE! DEFENSE!
        Toledo ranks in the top three of the Mid-American Conference in each of the three primary defensive categories. The Rockets are first in three-point FG% defense (29.7), second in scoring defense (66.9) and third in field-goal percentage defense (40.7).
        Last year, UT ranked seventh in scoring defense (74.5) and fifth in field-goal percentage defense (43.7) and three-point FG% defense (43.7).
  
ON THE HORIZON
               Toledo concludes its four-game homestand next week with its conference opener vs. Ball State (Jan. 4). UT's next road game will be at No. 21 Buffalo on Jan. 8.