GAME INFORMATION
Date: Friday, January 4, 2019.
Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Toledo, Ohio.
Arena: Savage Arena (7,014).
Television: CBS Sports Network. Dave Ryan will provide play-by-play for broadcast with Steve Wolf serving as analyst.
Radio: Rocket Radio Network. WSPD(1370 AM) in Toledo. Brent Balbinot will provide play-by-play for broadcast with Jay Lehman serving as analyst.

        TOLEDO, Ohio - Toledo (12-1) will enter its 68th season of Mid-American Conference play with a 10-game winning streak when it hosts Ball State (9-4) on Friday, Jan. 4. The contest will be televised live nationally on the CBS Sports Network with a tipoff time of 7:00 p.m. in Savage Arena.
        UT is ranked No. 3 in this week's collegeinsiders.com Mid-Major Poll and has moved up to No. 43 (as of Dec. 30) in the NCAA NET rankings. BSU enters league play with eight wins in its last nine contests and is ranked No. 82 in the NET rankings.
        Toledo turned in a dominant defensive performance in its most recent outing, a convincing 77-45 home triumph over Penn (10-3) in Savage Arena. The victory came against a Quaker squad which had posted wins over defending NCAA champion Villanova and Miami (Fla.) earlier this season. Penn's 45 points were the fewest by a Rocket opponent since a 59-44 win over Eastern Michigan in the 2014 Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinals. In addition, Toledo limited the Quakers to a 30.5 field-goal percentage, the lowest by a UT opponent since Miami (Ohio) shot 30.4 percent on Feb. 13, 2016.
        Seniors Jaelan Sanford and Nate Navigato paced a balanced attack against Penn with 15 and 14 points, respectively. Junior Willie Jackson tied his career high with 16 rebounds to go along with eight points. He teamed with junior Luke Knapke (9 pts., season-high 10 rebounds) and freshman AJ Edu (6 pts., 7 reb.) to help the Rockets own a 45-35 advantage on the glass. Knapke and Edu also dominated the paint defensively with four and two blocked shots, respectively.
        Senior Tayler Persons leads Ball State with 16.8 ppg and a 43.2 three-point FG%. Juniors K.J. Walton and Tahjai Teague are also scoring in double digits at 15.0 and 14.5 ppg, with Teague grabbing a team-high 7.2 rpg.
        Friday's matchup will match the MAC's top two three-point shooting squads (UT-39.2%, BSU-38.4%) and two of the top three-point defending squads (UT-29.2%, BSU-31.3%).
 
POST TOUCHES
•   Toledo's 12-1 start is its best since opening 12-1 in its 2013-14 season. The Rockets' 92.3 winning percentage is tied for sixth nationally (as of Dec. 30).
•   UT ranks third nationally (as of Dec. 30) with its 78.8 FT%. The Rockets also rank in the Top 30 nationally in scoring margin (17.6/16th), 3PTFGs per game (10.2/20th), assists per game (17.5/21st), assist/turnover ratio (1.46/22nd), defensive rebounds per game (29.8/23rd), three-point FG% (39.2/26th) and 3PTFG% defense (29.2/29th).
•   UT leads the MAC in FT% (78.8), 3PTFG% (39.2), three-point FGs per game (10.4) and three-point FG% defense (29.2) and is tied for first in assists per game (17.5).
•   Jaelan Sanford leads the MAC with an 89.5 FT% and ranks sixth with a team-high 17.8 ppg. The Evansville, Ind. native ranks 11th on UT's all-time scoring list with 1,507 points, seventh with 207 career treys and ninth with an 80.6 career free-throw percentage.
•   Nate Navigato leads the MAC and ranks fourth nationally with a 53.2 three-point FG%. He also ranks second in the MAC as well as ninth nationally with a 4.0 assist/turnover ratio.
•   Navigato paced the MAC last year with 2.8 treys/game and was second with a 42.7 3PTFG%. He ranks second at UT with 266 career three-point field goals, 10 away from Nick Moore's school record. 
•   Willie Jackson ranks second in the MAC and ninth nationally with 10.8 rpg. He is tied for 19th nationally with six double-doubles and has 10 in 33 career games as a Rocket.
•   Three Rockets rank in the MAC's Top 10 in 3PTFG% — Nate Navigato (53.2/1st), Luke Knapke (47.1/3rd) and Chris Darrington (41.9/10th) — with two in the Top 10 in FT% - Jaelan Sanford (89.5/1st) and Chris Darrington (82.5/4th).
•   Marreon Jackson is fourth in the MAC with 4.6 assists per game and seventh with a 2.1 assist/turnover ratio.
•   Luke Knapke is third in the MAC with a 47.1 three-point FG% (16-of-34). 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 10.1 scoring mark and is one of five Rockets scoring in double digits. Darrington leads the Rockets in free throws made (47) and free throws attempted (57).
•   AJ Edu ranks fourth in the MAC with 1.5 blocked shots per game and is averaging 2.3 bpg in his last six contests.

SOME TEAM STATISTICAL TIDBITS
•   Nine of UT's 12 wins have been by 11 points or more. The Rockets' scoring margin of plus-17.6 leads the MAC and ranks 16th nationally.
•   The Rockets have won their first seven home games for the first time since winning all 15 home contests in their 2013-14 campaign.
•   Toledo has seven different players shooting 70.0 percent or better from the free-throw line. Nate Navigato leads the way with a 93.8 FT% (15-of-16).
•   Toledo has had at least four players score in double digits in 10 of 13 contests and has had five players score in double figures on five occasions.
•   Toledo has held nine of its last 10 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.
•   Toledo have held double-digit rebounding advantages against seven opponents, including a plus-25 effort vs. Detroit Mercy (Dec. 5) and a plus-22 outing vs. Cornell (Dec. 19).
•   Toledo is undefeated in its 10 games that it has outrebounded its opponent.
•   At least five different Rockets have made three-point field goals in 10 of 13 games.
•   UT has shot 75.0 percent or better from the free-throw line in 9 of 13 games.