Toledo Heading to DeKalb for First-Place Battle with NIU

Saturday, February 2

DeKalb, Ill.

2:00 p.m. CT

University of Toledo

Northern Illinois

Sophomore guard Marreon Jackson ranks third in the MAC with 4.7 apg.

Photo by: Will Edmonds

Toledo Heading to DeKalb for First-Place Battle with NIU

1/31/2019 2:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)

TOLEDO-NORTHERN ILLINOIS GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, February 2, 2019.
Tip-Off: 2:00 p.m. CT (3:00 p.m. ET)
Location: DeKalb, Ill.
Arena: Convocation Center (9,100).
Streaming: ESPN-Plus. Dave Bernhard will provide play-by-play for broadcast with Carl Armato 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
   Toledo leads 46-28. UT has won its last three games vs. NIU after losing four straight vs. the Huskies. UT is 4-2 in last 6 games at NIU.

SETTING THE SCENE
        Toledo (17-4, 5-3 MAC) travels to DeKalb, Ill. on Saturday, Feb. 2 for a battle for first place in the Mid-American Conference's West Division with Northern Illinois (12-9, 5-3 MAC). Tip-off time is set for 2:00 p.m. (CT) in NIU's Convocation Center with the contest being streamed on ESPN-Plus.
        The Rockets and Huskies hold a one-game lead over Central Michigan (15-6, 4-4 MAC) and are two games in front of Eastern Michigan (9-12, 3-5 MAC).
        Senior Nate Navigato scored the game's final five points in Toledo's 66-63 road win over Miami on Tuesday to give the Rockets five wins in their last six games. With Toledo trailing 63-61, Navigato nailed a three with 1:06 to play before sealing the game on a driving layup with 17.7 seconds remaining. Miami's Dalonte Brown missed a three-point shot with seven seconds left, and sophomore Marreon Jackson grabbed the rebound.
        Navigato finished with a game-high 20 points (17 in the second half) and also grabbed a season-high eight rebounds. Marreon Jackson scored 16 points and dished out a game-high five assists, while junior Luke Knapke tallied 13 points and a game-high nine boards.
        Knapke, Navigato and junior Willie Jackson (7 reb.) helped Toledo dominate the boards by a 42-28 margin and limit the RedHawks to just a pair of offensive rebounds.
        Toledo swept its season series vs. NIU last year for the first time since the 2012-13 campaign and has won its last three meetings against the Huskies. Tre'Shaun Fletcher registered a triple-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in a 97-67 win at NIU on Feb. 27 that clinched an outright MAC West Division title for UT.
        Northern Illinois opened league play with three straight victories, including a pair on the road over Ohio and Miami. The Huskies have won two of their last three games, including Tuesday's 71-60 home win over the Bobcats.

POST TOUCHES
•   UT is tied for fourth nationally (as of Jan. 30) with its 78.3 FT%. The Rockets also rank in the Top 25 nationally in defensive rebounds per game (29.5/13th), assists per game (17.4/14th), assist/turnover ratio (1.47/14th), fewest personal fouls per game (15.2/19th), 3PTFGs per game (9.8/24th).
•   UT leads the MAC in FT% (78.3), three-point FGs per game (9.8), three-point FG% (37.5) and blocked shots per game (4.5).
•   Two Rockets rank in the MAC's Top 5 in three different categories:
    Three-point FG% — Nate Navigato (47.2/2nd) and Luke Knapke (44.6/4th)
    Free-throw percentage — Jaelan Sanford (85.7/1st) and Chris Darrington (82.2/3rd) Blocked shots per game — AJ Edu (2.0/1st) and Luke Knapke (1.2/5th)
•   Jaelan Sanford leads the MAC with an 85.7 FT% and ranks eighth with a team-high 16.3 ppg. The Evansville, Ind. native ranks eighth place on UT's all-time scoring list with 1,618 points but scored just three points on Tuesday at Miami. It was just the third time this season Sanford has not scored in double digits.
•   Nate Navigato finished one point shy of his season high with 20 points at Miami on Tuesday and ranks eighth nationally with a 47.2 three-point FG%. Navigato holds the UT record for career three-point FGs with 283 treys 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 at Western Michigan (Jan. 12).
•   Willie Jackson ranks third in the MAC and 16th nationally with 10.1 rpg. He has eight double-doubles and has led or shared the team lead in rebounding on 15 occasions. Jackson dished out a career-high assists to go along with nine points and 13 boards at Kent State (Jan. 22).
•   Marreon Jackson is third in the MAC with 4.7 assists per game and sixth with a 2.0 assist/turnover ratio. He is Toledo's second-leading scorer in league play with 14.0 ppg.
•   Luke Knapke is the only Rocket to score in double digits in every league contest and leads the team with a 14.3 scoring mark in MAC play. Knapke earned this week's MAC West Division Player of Week honors and is averaging 18.0 ppg and 9.2 rpg with a 66.0 - FG% (31-of-47) in his last four games.
•   Knapke is in third place on UT's all-time blocked shot list with 114 blocks, two more than Casey Shaw (1994-98) and 24 behind J.C. Harris (1989-92).
•   Chris Darrington comes off the bench and ranks fifth on the team with a 9.4 scoring mark. He leads UT in free throws made (60) and free throws attempted (73) and scored a career-high 21 points at Buffalo (Jan. 8).
•   AJ Edu leads the MAC with 2.0 blocks per game and is averaging a MAC-best 2.6 bpg in league play. He registered a season-high five rejections vs. Cornell (Dec. 19), Ball State (Jan. 4) and Ohio (Jan. 18) as well as three at Buffalo (Jan. 8).

SOME TEAM STATISTICAL TIDBITS
•   11 of UT's 17 wins have been by 11 points or more.
•   The Rockets' 10-1 mark in Savage Arena is their best start at home since winning all 15 home contests in their 2013-14 campaign.
•   Toledo has six different players shooting 76.3 percent or better from the free-throw line. Nate Navigato leads the way with a 90.5 FT% (19-of-21).
•   Toledo has had at least four players score in double digits in 17 of 21 contests and has had five players score in double figures on five occasions.
•   Toledo is 11-3 in games decided by five points or less since the start of last season.
•   Toledo is 14-0 when holding their opponent under 45 percent shooting from the field. UT is 14-2 when scoring 80 or more points and 16-1 when holding its opponent under 80 points.

SOME INFO ON THE ROCKETS' OPPONENT
        Northern Illinois opened conference play with three straight victories and is 8-2 on its home floor, including a 77-75 win over No. 18 Buffalo (Jan. 22). The Huskies lead the MAC with a 49.3 FG% and are second in three-point FG% (37.3) and free-throw percentage (71.7).
        Junior Eugene German ranks second in league play with 20.5 ppg and is one of three Huskies ranked in the MAC's Top 10 in three-point FG%. German. Senior Dante Thorpe is fifth at 43.5%, senior Levi Bradley is sixth at 43.4% and German is seventh at 42.1%.

ON THE HORIZON
                The Rockets will return home on Tuesday, Feb. 5 to face East Division foe Akron (12-8, 4-3 MAC) in its only meeting vs. the Zips this season. Toledo will then visit arch-rival Bowling Green (14-6, 6-1 MAC) in the annual 'Battle of I-75' on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 6:00 p.m.