TOLEDO VS. OHIO GAME INFORMATION
Date: Friday, January 18, 2019.
Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Toledo, Ohio.
Arena: Savage Arena (7,014).
Television: CBS Sports Network. Darren Goldwater 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.
Series: Ohio leads 71-59. UT has won five of its last seven vs. Ohio, including its last three visits to Athens and an 82-74.home win last year.
       
SETTING THE SCENE 
Toledo (14-3, 2-2 MAC) looks to stretch its winning streak to three when it hosts MAC East Division foe Ohio (9-7, 1-3 MAC) on Friday, Jan. 18 in Savage Arena. The lone meeting of the season between the two schools will be televised on the CBS Sports Network at 7:00 p.m.
        The Rockets have rebounded from a 0-2 start in league action with an 85-77 win at Western Michigan last Saturday and a 71-59 home win over Miami on Tuesday. Toledo is currently tied for third place in the MAC's West Division and trails co-leaders Central Michigan (14-3, 3-1) and Northern Illinois (10-7, 3-1) by just one game.
        Senior Jaelan Sanford's 19 points led four Rockets in double figures in UT's win over the RedHawks. Sanford scored 15 of his points in the first half to help Toledo surge to a 26-10 lead. Miami cut the lead to one, 51-50, midway through the second half but Toledo pulled away down the stretch.
        Joining Sanford in double figures were sophomore Spencer Littleson (12 pts.), senior Luke Knapke (11 pts.) and sophomore Marreon Jackson (10 pts., team-high six assists, career-best four steals). Littleson knocked down 4-of-6 shots from long range and added a career-high seven rebounds in his second start as a Rocket.
        UT swept last year's season series with a 91-57 road win and an 82-74 home victory and has won five of its last seven meetings vs. the Bobcats.
        Ohio is looking to bounce back from a 66-52 home loss to Kent State. The Bobcats are 2-3 on the road, including a 70-52 conference road win over Ball State last Saturday.
 
POST TOUCHES
•   Toledo's 12-1 start to the season was its best since opening 12-1 in its 2013-14 season.
•   UT ranks fifth nationally (as of Jan. 15) with its 78.4 FT%. The Rockets also rank in the Top 30 nationally in 3PTFGs per game (10.2/17th), assist/turnover ratio (1.44/21st), fewest personal fouls per game (15.4/21st), assists per game (17.1/21st), defensive rebounds per game (29.1/22nd), win percentage (82.4/23rd) and three-point FG% (38.8/29th).
•   UT leads the MAC in FT% (78.4), three-point FGs per game (10.2) and three-point FG% (38.8).
•   Jaelan Sanford leads the MAC with an 87.8 FT% and is eighth with a team-high 16.8 ppg. The Evansville, Ind. native is tied for ninth on UT's all-time scoring list with 1,562 points, tied for sixth with 213 career treys and 10th with an 80.6 career free-throw percentage. He currently is tied with Rocket assistant coach Justin Ingram (2003-07) in career treys.
•   Nate Navigato ranks third nationally with a MAC-best 50.0 three-point FG% and third in the MAC with 3.0 treys per game. He is just one trey from tying the Rockets' school record of 276 held by Nick Moore (1999-2003).
•   Navigato has connected for three or more three-pointers in 11 of 17 games and has hit a season-high five three-pointers on five occasions. He scored a season-high 21 points and connected on 5-of-7 three-point field-goal attempts last Saturday at Western Michigan.
•   Willie Jackson ranks second in the MAC and 10th nationally with 10.4 rpg. He has seven double-doubles and has led or shared the team lead in rebounding on 14 occasions.
•   Four Rockets rank in the MAC's Top 10 in 3PTFG% — Nate Navigato (50.0/1st), Luke Knapke (44.7/3rd), Chris Darrington (41.4/9th) and Spencer Littleson (40.8/10th)— with two in the Top 5 in FT% - Jaelan Sanford (87.8/1st) and Chris Darrington (81.7/3rd).
•   Marreon Jackson is fourth in the MAC with 4.7 assists per game and followed up a season-high 20-point outing at Buffalo (Jan 8) with a 15-point, nine-assist effort at Western Michigan (Jan. 12). He ranks second on the team in league play with 13.3 ppg.
•   Luke Knapke is third in the MAC with a 44.7 three-point FG% (21-of-47). Knapke scored a career-best 20 points at Wright State (Nov. 14) thanks to a 6-of-6 effort behind the three-point arc. He has scored in double digits in UT's first four MAC contests.
•   Chris Darrington comes off the bench and ranks third on the team with a 10.6 scoring mark and scored a career-high 21 points at Buffalo (Jan. 8). He is one of six Rockets averaging 9.8 ppg or higher and leads UT in free throws made (58) and free throws attempted (71).
•   Darrington, Buffalo's CJ Massinburg and NIU's Levi Bradley are the only players in the MAC to rank in the MAC's Top 10 in both FT percentage and three-point FG%.
•   AJ Edu ranks second in the MAC with 1.8 blocks per game and has 2.8 bpg in his last six contests. He registered a season-high five rejections vs. Cornell (Dec. 19) and Ball State (Jan. 4) and three at Buffalo (Jan. 8).
 
SOME TEAM STATISTICAL TIDBITS
•   Ten of UT's 14 wins have been by 11 points or more.
•   Toledo has seven different players shooting 73.3 percent or better from the free-throw line. Nate Navigato leads the way with a 94.4 FT% (17-of-18).
•   Toledo has had at least four players score in double digits in 14 of 17 contests and has had five players score in double figures on five occasions.
•   Toledo is 11-1 when outrebounding its opponent.
•   At least five different Rockets have made three-point field goals in 14 of 17 games.
 
SOME INFO ON THE ROCKETS' OPPONENT
        Ohio ranks second in the MAC with a plus-6.2 rebounding margin but is 11th in scoring offense (71.4), free-throw percentage (63.9), three-point field-goal percentage (29.7) and turnover margin (minus-1.5). The Bobcats are also last with 5.9 three-point field goals per game.
        Ohio is the only school in the conference with two players in the MAC's Top 10 in scoring. Sophomore Jason Carter is tied for fourth with 16.9 ppg, while sophomore Teyvion Kirk ranks ninth with 16.3 ppg.
 
DEFENSE! DEFENSE!
        Toledo ranks second in the Mid-American Conference in three-point FG% defense (31.0) and scoring defense (69.0) and is fifth in field-goal percentage defense (41.5).
        Last year, UT ranked seventh in scoring defense (74.5) and fifth in field-goal percentage defense (43.7) and three-point FG% defense (34.3).

ON THE HORIZON
                UT will hit the road for a game at Kent State (13-4, 2-2 MAC) on Tuesday, Jan. 22. Tip-off time from the M.A.C. Center is set for 7:00 p.m.