SETTING THE SCENE
       Toledo (19-7, 11-2 MAC) looks to continue its torrid pace over the last two months when it visits Mid-American Conference West Division foe Ball State (17-9, 8-5 MAC) on Saturday, Feb. 17. Tip-off time from Worthen Arena is 2:00 p.m. with the game being streamed on ESPN3.
       The Rockets, who are 14-2 since opening their season with a 5-5 record, possess a three-game lead in the West Division over the Cardinals. BSU handed UT one of its two league setbacks with a 75-63 win in Savage Arena on Jan. 30. Toledo is tied with Buffalo (19-7, 11-2 MAC) for the league's best record in its quest for its first regular-season MAC title since the 2013-14 campaign.
        In Tuesday's 82-74 wire-to-wire win over Ohio, Toledo raced out to a 15-0 lead in the first five minutes. Junior Jaelan Sanford topped the Midnight Blue and Gold's attack with 21 points on 6-of-9 shooting, with senior Tre'Shaun Fletcher and junior Nate Navigato tallying 17 and 15 points, respectively. Toledo knocked down 10 of its first 15 shots and six of nine three-point attempts but finished with a 41.2 FG%.
 
QUICK HITTERS
•  The Rockets are one win away from their third 20-win campaign in the last five years under Coach Kowalczyk and 21st in program history. Since the start of the 2013-14 campaign, Toledo ranks second in the MAC with 100 overall victories for an average of 20.0 wins per season.
•  Fletcher is the lone individual to appear in the MAC's Top 10 in points, rebounds and assists with 18.7 ppg (3rd), 8.6 rpg (3rd) and 4.1 apg (5th). Fletcher is 33 points away from reaching 1,000 career points.
•  Sanford ranks second on the team and sixth in the MAC with 16.9 ppg, while freshman Marreon Jackson is second with a 43.8 3PTFG%. Navigato ranks fourth with 2.7 treys per game and fifth with a 41.6 3PTFG%, while sophomore Luke Knapke is fourth with 1.6 bpg and fifth with a 57.3 FG%.
•  As a team, Toledo ranks 18th nationally (as of Feb. 14) with its 40.1 3PTFG% and also tops the MAC with its 47.0 FG%, 1.3 assist/turnover ratio and 28.5 defensive rebounds per game. The Rockets are also second with 80.0 ppg, 15.6 apg and 9.7 three-point FGs per game.
•  Toledo is 8-4 on the road and has won eight of its last nine away from Savage Arena. UT's only loss during this stretch was a 104-94 loss at Buffalo (Jan. 2) and its current five-game MAC road win streak is its longest in one season since winning seven straight from Jan. 7-March 1, 1978.
•  Ball Sate is 12-1 at home with its lone defeat an 83-63 setback to Buffalo on Jan. 6.
•  Junior guard Tayler Persons leads BSU's offense with 14.7 ppg. Sophomore forward Tahjai Teague and junior center Trey Moses are both averaging 11.2 rpg and rank fourth and seventh in the MAC with 8.2 and 7.4 rpg, respectively. Sophomore forward Kyle Mallers (10.2 ppg) leads the MAC with an 86.7 FT%.
•  The Cardinals have won three straight meetings vs. Toledo and four of the last five after the Rockets swept the season series in the 2013-14 and 2014-15 campaigns.

POST-GAME NOTES FROM TOLEDO'S 82-74 WIN OVER OHIO
• UT has already surpassed last year's season (17) and conference win total (9) by two victories with five regular-season games remaining.
• The Rockets are one win away from their third 20-win campaign in the last five years under Coach Kowalczyk and 21st in program history.
• UT's 11-2 start to MAC play is its best since the 2013-14 season. The last time the Rockets opened a conference campaign with a 11-2 ledger was in 2006-07.
• Toledo is now 17-1 when not trailing at halftime and 18-3 when scoring 70 or more points.
• UT is 14-3 when allowing 80 points or less.
• Sophomore Luke Knapke has eight rejections in his last two games to move into a fourth-place tie on UT's season blocked shot list with former Rocket Nathan Boothe at 42 blocks in 2014-15 season. The Toledo season record is 60 by J.C. Harris in the 1991-92 campaign.
 
TAKING A LOOK AT THE ROCKETS IN CONFERENCE PLAY
• Toledo leads the MAC in 3PTFG% (41.2) and three-point field goals per game (9.8) and ranks second in points (81.8) and assists (15.9 apg) per game, FG% (48.4), scoring margin (+9.6), and assist/turnover ratio (1.5). UT is third in rebounding margin (+1.8).
• UT tops the MAC in 3PTFG% (31.3) defense and ranks third in scoring defense (72.2) and FG% (42.1).
• Tre'Shaun Fletcher ranks second in scoring at 20.1 ppg, and Jaelan Sanford is fifth at 17.8 ppg. • Sanford leads the MAC with an 87.1 free-throw percentage (54-of-62), and Luke Knapke ranks fifth in field-goal percentage at 58.9 percent
• Sanford is also second with a 3.2 assist/turnover ratio, and Fletcher is fifth with a 2.1 mark.
• Marreon Jackson is fourth with a 45.6 three-point field-goal percentage.