TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (6-2) looks to extend its three-game winning streak on Sunday, Dec. 8 when it hosts Conference USA foe Marshall (2-5). The contest will be streamed on ESPN-Plus and tip off at 2:00 p.m. in the Savage Arena.
        Senior Luke Knapke spurred the Rockets to an 80-65 victory at Cleveland State on Wednesday night by recording the third triple-double in program history. Knapke tallied 12 points, 12 rebounds and a school-record 10 blocked shots and also broke the school record for career blocked shots (162).
        Also scoring in double digits for the Rockets were junior Spencer Littleson (19 pts.), junior Marreon Jackson (17 pts.), senior Willie Jackson (season-high 13 pts.) and redshirt freshman Keshaun Saunders (13 pts.). Willie Jackson also grabbed 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.
        Marreon Jackson leads Toledo offensively with 17.3 ppg and ranks 11th nationally with 6.9 apg. He is joined in double figures by Knapke (14.8 ppg), Littleson (14.3 ppg) and redshirt freshman Keshaun Saunders (10.9 ppg).
        The Thundering Herd suffered an 85-73 home setback to Akron on Wednesday and will be looking to avenge a 96-70 defeat to Toledo on Nov. 10. Sophomore Taevion Kinsey and junior Jarrod West lead Marshall offensively with 14.9 and 14.1 ppg, respectively, with Kinsey also posting a team-high 5.7 rpg and 5.3 apg.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019.
Tip-Off: 2:00 p.m.
Location: Toledo, Ohio.
Arena: Savage Arena (7,014).
Streaming: ESPN-Plus.
   Mason Lowry will provide play-by-play for broadcast with Rhett Boyd 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 35-23. The Rockets have won two in a row over Marshall, including a 96-70 road win on Nov. 10. Toledo holds a 23-6 record vs. the Thundering                    Herd in games played in the Glass City.
 
POST TOUCHES
•  Toledo is ranked No. 17 in this week's CollegeInsiders.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll after being ranked No. 18 for the previous two weeks.
•  The Rockets' five double-digit wins this season give them 20 victories of 11 points or more since the start of the 2018-19 season.
•  Toledo ranks ninth nationally in scoring margin (+19.5) and def. rpg (31.0), 14th in 3FG/game (10.3), 17th in scoring offense (82.8) and 19th in assists/game (17.0) (as of Dec. 4).
•  Marreon Jackson was named to the Lou Henson Award Preseason Watch list at the start of the season. The award is presented to the top mid-major player in the nation. He has dished out a career-high 10 assists twice this year and ranks fourth in MAC with 17.3 ppg.
•  Jackson has scored a career-high 27 points on two occasions, the first in the Rockets' season opener at Valparaiso and the second vs. Howard on Nov. 17.
•  Luke Knapke, who was named MAC West Division Co-Player of the Week on Nov. 18, is the only Rocket to score in double digits in every game this season. He ranks second on the team with 14.8 ppg and 8.8 rpg and ranks 10th in the nation with 3.3 bpg.
• Knapke became Toledo's all-time blocked shot leader with a school-record 10 blocks at Cleveland State. He now has 162 career blocks, seven more than Nathan Boothe (2012-16).
•  Knapke joined Boothe as one of three Rockets to register a triple-double. Boothe tallied 12 pts., 13 reb. and 10 asst. vs. San Jose State in 2015, while Tre'Shaun Fletcher recorded 20 pts., 11 reb., and 11 asst. at Northern Illinois in 2018. Toledo went 100 years without having a triple-double and now has three in the last five seasons under Coach Kowalczyk.
•  Willie Jackson leads the MAC and ranks fourth nationally with 12.3 rpg after ranking fourth in the MAC last year with 8.9 rpg. He has led the Rockets on the boards in six games this season, including a career-high tying 20 rebounds at Notre Dame on Nov. 21. Jackson registered nine double-doubles last year and led or shared the team lead in rebounding on 21 occasions.
•  Spencer Littleson has scored in double digits six times and ranks second on the team with 48.8 FG% and third with a 45.8 3PTFG%. He also is tied for fifth in the MAC with a team-high 2.8 three-point field goals per game.
•  Dylan Alderson ranks fourth in the MAC with a team-high 56.3 field-goal mark and is also fifth with a team-best 50.0 3PTFG% (12-of-24).
•  Keshaun Saunders is Toledo's Sixth Starter and has scored in double digits off the bench four times. He ranks fourth in team scoring with 10.9 ppg and ranks second with a 47.1 3PTFG% (16-of-34). He has scored a season-high 18 points twice, at Valpo (Nov. 5) and vs. Robert Morris (Nov. 16).
 
SOME TEAM STATISTICAL TIDBITS
•  Toledo has made nine or more three-pointers in seven of eight games, including 14 treys at Marshall which is tied for third in program history and three shy of the school record.
•  The Rockets have connected for 14 treys in a game on nine occasions during Coach Kowalczyk's tenure, including eight times since the start of the 2017-18 campaign.
•  Toledo was 5-1 last season in games decided by five points or less but is 1-2 this year with a pair of two-point defeats at Valpo and Notre Dame. The Rockets are 13-5 in games decided by five points or less since the start of the 2017-18 season.
•  Toledo has held all eight opponents under a 45.0 FG%, including five under 40.0 percent.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
     The Rockets are 18-2 (.900) at home since the start of the 2018-19 campaign and possess a 76-21 (.784) win-loss mark in Savage Arena over the last six-plus years. Toledo's only double digit defeats at home since Jan. 26, 2013 have come vs. Ball State - a 79-64 setback on Jan. 4, 2019; a 75-63 loss on Jan. 30, 2018; and an 86-72 setback on March 2, 2013.
     Toledo posted a 12-4 record on its home court in 2016-17 and 2017-18, a 9-6 mark in 2015-16, a 10-5 ledger in 2014-15 and a perfect 15-0 mark in 2013-14.
     The Rockets' unbeaten record (15-0) at home in 2013-14 was their first since 1966-67 and just the fourth time in school history UT has accomplished the feat.
 
ON THE HORIZON
       The Rockets' final three games before a week-long Christmas break will include a pair of road games at Detroit Mercy (Dec. 14) and UMKC (Dec. 17) as well as a home game vs. Wright State (Dec. 21).