TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (11-9, 3-4 MAC) will look to avenge an 84-77 setback at Kent State earlier this month when it hosts the Golden Flashes (14-6, 4-3 MAC) on Tuesday, Jan. 28. Tip-off time is set for 7:00 p.m. in Savage Arena with streaming available on ESPN+.

        The Rockets need to bounce back from Saturday's 84-79 defeat to arch-rival Bowling Green before a sold-out crowd of 7,268 fans. KSU snapped a three-game losing streak in its most recent action with a 70-66 road win over Buffalo on Friday.

        Junior Marreon Jackson is leading Toledo in scoring and ranks second in the MAC with 19.2 ppg. He is also second in league play with 23.2 ppg. Also scoring in double digits for the Rockets is senior Luke Knapke at 16.1 ppg (7th in MAC), senior Willie Jackson at 11.8 ppg and junior Spencer Littleson at 10.8 ppg. Jackson is also averaging a MAC-best 12.5 rpg, a total that ranks third in the nation. He also is tied for ninth nationally with 11 double-doubles.

        Marreon Jackson has been red-hot during Toledo's last three games, scoring a career-high 36 points at Akron, 29 at Ohio and 27 vs. Bowling Green to propel him over the 1,000-career point mark for his collegiate career. Knapke also has excelled for the Rockets during this stretch, averaged 21.3 ppg and 8.0 rpg.

        Kent State features four players scoring in double digits with senior forward Danny Pippen lead the way with 14.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg and 1.9 bpg. The Golden Flashes lead the MAC with a 45.8 field-goal percentage and 4.7 blocked shots per game.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020.
Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Toledo, Ohio.
Arena: Savage Arena (7,014).
Television: 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 83-49. Toledo has split its last six meetings vs. Kent St. but has played only two home games during this stretch. The Rockets posted 78-58 and 72-65 wins over KSU in Savage Arena in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

POST TOUCHES
•  Marreon Jackson was named to the Lou Henson Award Mid-Season Watch list, an award presented to the top mid-major player in the nation. He is averaging 30.7 ppg in his last three games. Jackson ranks among the Top Five in the MAC with 19.2 ppg (2nd), 6.2 apg (2nd), 2.0 spg (4th) and a 2.0 assist/turnover ratio (4th). In league play, he is second with 23.3 ppg, 6.3 apg, 4.0 treys per game and an 84.6 FT%.
•  Jackson hit seven treys at both Akron and Kent State which is one shy of former Rocket Nate Navigato's school record for a conference game (eight vs. EMU on March 2, 2018). He hit a career-high eight threes as a freshman in the 2018 MAC semifinals vs. EMU.
•  Jackson has scored in double figures in a career-high nine straight games.
•  Luke Knapke, who has been named MAC West Division Player of the Week twice this season, has scored in double digits in 19 of 20 games. He ranks second on the team with 16.1 ppg and 8.1 rpg to go along with a MAC-best 2.4 bpg.
• Knapke became UT's career blocked shot leader with a school-record 10 blocks (2nd in MAC history) at Cleveland St. He now has 183 blocks, 28 more than Nathan Boothe.
•  Knapke joined Boothe as one of three Rockets to register a triple-double with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks at CSU. 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 third nationally with 12.5 rpg (3rd in nation with 8.9 defensive rpg) after ranking fourth in the MAC last year with 8.9 rpg. In league play, he is averaging 13.1 ppg and 12.9 rpg with a 53.4 FG%. He has led Toledo on the boards in 17 games, including a career-high tying 20 caroms at Notre Dame (Nov. 21).
•  Jackson scored a career-high 23 points to go along with 12 boards at Akron (Jan. 18). and also tallied 17 points and 13 rebounds at Kent State (Jan. 7).
•  Spencer Littleson has scored in double digits 10 times and ranks eighth in the MAC with a 40.2 three-point FG%.
•  Keshaun Saunders has scored eight or more points in five straight games and is averaging 11.0 ppg during this stretch. In league play, he ranks second with a 54.8 FG% (23-of-42) and a 63.6 three-point FG% (14-of-22) in MAC play.
•  Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk is in his 10th season at the Rockets' helm and has guided Toledo to four 20-win campaigns in the last six years, marking the first time for this accomplishment since Bob Nichols recorded five straight 20-win seasons from 1976-81.
 
SOME TEAM STATISTICAL TIDBITS
•  Toledo has a 40-16 record vs. the MAC's East Division since start of the 2013-14 season.
•  Toledo committed a season-low four turnovers vs. Bowling Green on Saturday and now leads the MAC and is tied for 35th nationally with a 1.23 assist/turnover ratio. The Rockets are also first in league play with a 1.34 assist/turnover ratio.
•  Toledo has committed 11 or fewer turnovers in four straight contests.
•  Toledo has made 62-of-71 free-throw attempts (87.3 percent) in its last four games after shooting 61.4 percent (43-of-70) in its previous four contests.
•  Bowling Green became just the third opponent to shoot over 45 percent from the field with his 47.5 mark on Saturday. Kent State posted an opponent season-best 52.4 mark vs. the Rockets on Jan. 7.
•  Toledo's 15 treys at Akron rank third in school history and are two shy of the school record.
•  The Rockets' 15 three-pointers at Akron are the most made under Coach Kowalczyk and one away from the school record in a MAC game - 16 vs. Marshall in 2000.
•  Toledo has shot 41.8 percent (59-of-141) from three-point range in its last six games after posting a 24.0 mark (18-of-75) in its previous three contests.
 
SOME INFO ON THE ROCKETS' OPPONENT
     Kent State features four players scoring in double digits with senior forward Danny Pippen topping the Golden Flashes with 14.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg and 1.9 bpg. KSU leads the MAC with a 45.8 field-goal percentage and 4.7 blocked shots per game. The Golden Flashes opened league play with wins over Bowling Green, Toledo and Central Michigan before falling to Miami, Western Michigan and Northern Illinois.
 
ROCKET SUCCESS VS. MAC EAST DIVISION
     Toledo has a 40-16 record vs. the MAC's East Division since start of the 2013-14 season.
 
ON THE HORIZON
     Toledo will begin the month of February with a trip to Ypsilanti, Mich. to face Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 2:00 p.m.  The Rockets will return to Savage Arena to host Northern Illinois on Tuesday, Feb. 4 before visiting Bowling Green on Saturday, Feb. 8.