TOLEDO, Ohio - Toledo (20-6, 8-5 MAC) looks to maintain its hold on first place in the Mid-American Conference's West Division when it hosts Northern Illinois (12-14, 5-8 MAC) on Saturday, Feb. 23. Tip-off time is set for 6:00 p.m. with the contest being televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network.

        The Rockets enter Saturday's game with a one-game lead over Central Michigan (17-9, 7-6 MAC) in the West Division standings and are two games in front of Eastern Michigan (12-14, 6-7 MAC).

        Toledo dropped a 76-69 decision at EMU on Tuesday night after seeing a 53-41 lead with 11 minutes remaining disappear. UT committed seven turnovers in a 22-0 Eagle run that gave the hosts a 63-53 lead with four minutes to play. The Rockets reduced their deficit to four points with 1:03 left but couldn't come any closer.

        Sophomore Marreon Jackson topped Toledo with 14 points, with senior Nate Navigato adding 13 points. Junior Willie Jackson tallied 10 points and a team-high seven boards.

        The Rockets outrebounded EMU by a 34-29 margin but were hurt by 16 turnovers that the Eagles converted into 23 points. UT shot 43.9 percent from the field, 11-of-29 (37.9 percent) from three-point range, and knocked down all eight of its free-throw attempts. EMU posted a  48.0 shooting mark, 47.1 three-point FG% (8-of-17) and a 69.0 FT% (20-of-29).

        Toledo has won its last four meetings against the Huskies after dropping its previous four contests vs. NIU, The Rockets posted a wire-to-wire 69-55 road win over the Huskies  on Feb. 2. UT held NIU to a 35.5 field-goal percentage. Marreon Jackson led UT to the victory with 16 points with Navigato scoring all 14 of his points in the second half.

        Northern Illinois opened league play with three straight victories but enters Saturday's contest with a season-high five-game losing streak. The Huskies were off on Tuesday following last Saturday's 87-67 home loss to Bowling Green.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, February 23, 2019.
Tip-Off: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Toledo, Ohio
Arena: Savage Arena (7,014).
Television: CBS Sports Network. Jason Horowitz will provide play-by-play for broadcast with Tim Doyle 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 47-28. UT has won its last four games vs. NIU after losing four straight vs. the Huskies.

POST TOUCHES
•   Toledo has won 20 games for the fourth time in the last six years and for the 22nd time in program history.
•   UT is fourth nationally (as of Feb. 19) with its 78.4 FT%. The Rockets also rank in the Top 20 nationally in defensive rebounds per game (29.9/6th), rebounds per game (40.5/13th), assists per game (16.8/17th) and assist/turnover ratio (1.41/18th).
•   UT leads the MAC in FT% (78.4), assist/turnover ratio (1.41) and def. rpg (30.2) and is tied for first in three-point FG% (37.1). The Rockets are second in scoring defense (68.8 ppg) and tied for second in FG% defense (40.5).
•   Jaelan Sanford leads the MAC with an 86.6 FT% and is 10th with a team-high 15.9 ppg. The Evansville, Ind. native ranks seventh on UT's all-time scoring list with 1,689 points and is 12 points behind Greg Stempin (1997-2001).
•   Sanford is also fifth on UT's career three-point field-goal list with 227 and needs one more to tie Chad Kamstra (1996-2000) for fourth place. He is second in career minutes played (4,127), trailing only Juice Brown (2011-15) with 4,327.
•   Sanford registered his lone two career double-doubles with 12 points and a career-high 11 boards at Bowling Green (Feb. 9) and 24 points and 10 rebounds vs. Buffalo (Feb. 15).
•   Nate Navigato ranks 10th nationally with a 45.6 three-point FG%. Navigato holds the UT record for career three-point FGs and ranks second in MAC history with 291 treys. Navigato ranks 18th on UT's all-time scoring list with 1,323 points.
•   Willie Jackson ranks third in the MAC and 28th nationally with 9.5 rpg. He has eight double-doubles and has led or shared the team lead in rebounding on 18 occasions. Jackson dished out a career-high five assists to go along with nine points and 13 boards at Kent State (Jan. 22).
•   Two Rockets rank in the MAC's Top 5 in three different categories:
    Three-point FG% — Nate Navigato (45.6/2nd) and Luke Knapke (42.0/5th)
    Free-throw percentage — Jaelan Sanford (86.6/1st) and Chris Darrington (83.7/3rd) Blocked shots per game — AJ Edu (1.7/2nd) and Luke Knapke (1.3/4th)
•   Four Rockets rank in the MAC's Top 15 in 3PTFG% — Navigato, Knapke, Darrington (38.9/T-11th) and Spencer Littleson (38.9/T-11th). Six Rockets are also averaging at least one 3PTFG/game.
•   Marreon Jackson ranks fifth in the MAC with 4.4 apg and seventh with a 1.7 assist/turnover ratio. He ranks second on the team with 13.3 ppg in MAC play and scored a season-high 20 points in each of the Rockets' games vs. Buffalo.
•   Luke Knapke is third on the team in MAC play with an 11.8 scoring mark and ranks seventh in MAC play with a 55.8 FG%. Knapke is third on UT's all-time blocked shot list with 123 blocks, 11 behind J.C. Harris (1989-92) and 32 behind Nathan Boothe (2012-16).
•   Chris Darrington comes off the bench and ranks fifth on the team with a 9.6 scoring mark. He leads UT in free throws made (72) and free throws attempted (86) despite playing just 15.6 mpg. Darrington scored a career-high 21 points at Buffalo (Jan. 8) and he tallied 20 points in 20 minutes off the bench at Bowling Green (Feb. 9).
•   AJ Edu ranks second in the MAC with 1.7 blocks per game and is tied for first with 1.8 bpg in league play. He registered a season-high five rejections vs. Cornell (Dec. 19), Ball State (Jan. 4) and Ohio (Jan. 18) and his 43 rejections are the most by a freshman in UT history.
 
SOME TEAM STATISTICAL TIDBITS
•   Thirteen of UT's 20 wins have been by 11 points or more.
•   UT has had at least four players score in double digits in 18 of 26 contests and has had five players score in double figures on six occasions.
•   Toledo has six different players shooting 76.1 percent or better from the free-throw line. Nate Navigato leads the way with an 89.3 FT% (25-of-28).
•   Toledo has held double-digit rebounding advantages against 11 opponents, including a plus-25 effort vs. Detroit Mercy (Dec. 5) and a plus-22 outing vs. Cornell (Dec. 19).
•   Toledo is 17-3 when outrebounding its opponent.
•   Toledo is 17-1 when holding its opponent under 45 percent shooting from the field. UT is 19-2 when holding its opponent under 80 points.
•   UT is 18-2 when leading at halftime as well as when leading or tied with five minutes to play.
•   EMU's win over Toledo on Tuesday was just the second time the Rockets have lost this season when holding their opponent under 80 points.
•   Toledo is 11-3 in games decided by five points or less since the start of last season.

COMPARING THE ROCKETS AND HUSKIES
•   Toledo leads the MAC with 30.0 defensive rpg, and NIU ranks last with 9.0 offensive rpg.
•   The Rockets rank third in the MAC in three-point FG% defense (31.2) and Northern Illinois ranks 11th in the same category with a 36.4 mark.
•   Toledo ranks second in the MAC in three-point FGs per game (9.7) and NIU is 10th with 6.6 treys per game.
•   Toledo leads the MAC with a 78.4 FT% with Northern Illinois in second place with a 73.0 mark.
 
SOME INFO ON THE ROCKETS' OPPONENT
        Northern Illinois opened conference play with three straight victories but saw a season-high five-game losing streak begin with its 69-55 loss to Toledo on Feb. 2. The Huskies lead the MAC with a 47.8 FG% and are fourth in three-point FG% (35.1).
        Junior Eugene German ranks second in league play with 20.2 ppg and is seventh with a 40.7 three-point FG%. Seniors Levi Bradley and Dante Thorpe are also scoring in double digits  with 14.3 and 14.0 ppg, respectively.
 
DEFENSE! DEFENSE!
        Toledo ranks second in the Mid-American Conference in scoring defense (68.8 ppg), tied for second in field-goal percentage defense (40.5) and is third in three-point FG% defense (31.2). The Rockets also rank No. 36 nationally with their 40.5 FG% defense.
        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
                The Rockets will be on the road next week for games at Ball State (14-12, 5-8 MAC) on Tuesday, Feb. 26 and Central Michigan (18-8, 7-6 MAC) on Saturday, March 2. Toledo will close out its regular season with home games vs. Western Michigan (8-18, 2-11 MAC) on Tuesday, March 5 and Eastern Michigan (12-14, 6-7 MAC) on Friday, March 8.