No. 2 Seed Rockets to Face No. 7 Seed Miami in MAC Quarters on Thursday

Thursday, March 8

Cleveland, Ohio

6:30 p.m.

University of Toledo

No. 7 Miami

Photo by: Toledo Athletics

No. 2 Seed Rockets to Face No. 7 Seed Miami in MAC Quarters on Thursday

3/6/2018 4:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball

2018 MAC Tournament Notes (PDF)

SETTING THE SCENE
        Toledo (21-10, 13-5 MAC) heads to Cleveland, Ohio with a MAC West Division title in its pocket and its sights set on winning the program's first tournament crown since 1980. The Rockets will face MAC East Division foe Miami (16-16, 8-10 MAC) on Thursday, March 8 in the quarterfinals of the 2018 Mid-American Conference Tournament presented by VisitMyrtleBeach.com. Tip-off time is set for 6:30 p.m. in Quicken Loans Arena with streaming available on ESPN3.
        The Rockets are the No. 2 seed in this year's tourney, while the RedHawks are the No. 7 seed. The winner of Thursday's matchup will face either No. 3 seed Eastern Michigan or No. 11 seed Akron in the MAC semifinals on Friday, March 9 at 9:00 p.m.
        Toledo posted a 73-67 road victory over Miami on Feb. 9 with junior Nate Navigato tallying 19 points and collecting six rebounds in the victory. Senior Tre'Shaun Fletcher also registered his team-best 11th double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

QUICK HITTERS
• UT has received a first-round bye and won 20 or more games in three of the last five years.
• UT possesses a 3-4 win-loss mark against Miami in the MAC Tournament but hasn't faced the RedHawks in postseason play since 2012.
• UT has won at least one game in each of its trips to Cleveland under Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk.
• Fletcher is the lone individual to appear in the MAC's Top 10 in points, rebounds and assists with 18.7 ppg (3rd), 8.2 rpg (4th) and 4.5 apg (3rd). Fletcher has 1,060 points as a collegian, which includes 580 points at Toledo and 480 in three seasons at Colorado.
• Junior Jaelan Sanford also is a top 10 scorer in the MAC, ranking sixth with 16.3 ppg.
• Junior Nate Navigato leads the MAC with 2.9 treys per game and ranks second with a 43.8 3PTFG%. Sophomore Luke Knapke is second with a 59.2 FG% and fourth with 1.6 bpg.
• Navigato set a school record for a Mid-American Conference contest and tied a Savage Arena record with a career-high eight treys vs. EMU last Friday
• As a team, Toledo ranks ninth nationally (as of March 5) with its 40.6 3PTFG% and also tops the MAC with its 9.8 treys per game and 1.4 assist/turnover ratio. The Rockets are also second with their 80.2 ppg, 16.0 apg, 47.4 FG% and 73.6 FT%.
• Miami ranks first in the MAC in 3PTFG% defense (32.7) and is second in steals per game (7.0) and scoring defense (68.8 ppg)..
• Freshman guard Nike Sibande is the only RedHawk scoring in double figures at 14.6 ppg. Junior guard Darrian Ringo ranks seventh nationally in both assists (7.1) and steals (2.8) per game.
• Toledo has won its last nine meetings vs. Miami with its last defeat a 68-66 setback on Feb. 12, 2011 in Coach Kowalczyk's first season at the helm of the Rockets.