TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (8-7, 0-2 MAC) entertains Western Michigan (8-7, 1-1 MAC) on Saturday, Jan. 11 in its first Mid-American Conference home game this season. Tip-off time is set for 7:00 p.m. in Savage Arena with streaming available on ESPN3.
       
The Rockets have opened league play with a pair of single-digit road losses at Ball State (61-57) and Kent State (84-77). The Broncos have split their first two MAC games, with a 77-65 home win over Ohio and an 84-69 road setback at Akron.
       
Saturday's contest will feature two of the MAC's top scorers with WMU junior guard Michael Flowers and Toledo junior guard Marreon Jackson ranking second and third with 17.8 ppg and 17.5 ppg, respectively. Also scoring in double digits for the Rockets are senior Luke Knapke at 15.3 ppg (8th in MAC), junior Spencer Littleson at 11.9 ppg and senior Willie Jackson at 11.7 ppg. Willie Jackson is also averaging 12.3 rpg, a total that ranks fourth in the nation. He also is tied for seventh nationally with nine double-doubles.
         
In Tuesday's loss at Kent State, Marreon Jackson erupted for a career-high 32 points, with Willie Jackson tallying 17 points and a game-high 13 rebounds for the Rockets. The Golden Flashes shot 52.4 percent from the field, marking the first time this season Toledo has allowed an opponent to shoot higher than 45 percent.
 
POST TOUCHES
•  The Rockets are playing their first home game since Dec. 21 and have played five of their last six contests away from Savage Arena. Toledo is 5-1 at home with its only defeat a 79-72 setback to Horizon frontrunner Wright State (14-3).
•  Toledo has swept its season series vs. WMU each of the last two years, marking the first time it has accomplished that since the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons.
•  The Rockets possess a 50.0 3PTFG% (49-of-98) in their last four games vs. WMU.
•  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 and is third in the MAC with 17.5 ppg and 2.3 spg, second with 6.0 apg, and fourth with a 1.9 A/TO ratio.
•  Luke Knapke, who has been named MAC West Division Player of the Week twice this season, didn't score in double digits for the first time this season at Kent State on Tuesday. He ranks second on the team with 15.3 ppg and 7.9 rpg, to go along with a MAC-best 2.6 bpg.
• Knapke became Toledo's all-time blocked shot leader with a school-record 10 blocks (2nd in MAC history) at Cleveland State. He now has 175 blocks, 20 more than Nathan Boothe (2012-16).
•  Willie Jackson leads the MAC and ranks fourth nationally with 12.3 rpg (3rd in nation with 8.8 defensive rpg) after ranking fourth in the MAC last year with 8.9 rpg. He has scored in double digits in a career-high eight straight outings and led the Rockets on the boards in 12 games, including a career-high tying 20 rebounds at Notre Dame (Nov. 21).
•  Jackson scored a season-high 17 points to go along with 13 boards at Kent State on Tuesday with his scoring output one shy of his career high in the 2018 MAC semifinals.
•  Spencer Littleson has scored in double digits eight times and possesses a team-best 42.5 3PTFG% (5th in MAC). He also is tied for eighth in the MAC with 2.5 three-point field goals per game. Marreon Jackson ranks fifth in the MAC with a team-high 2.7 treys per game.
 
SOME TEAM STATISTICAL TIDBITS
•  Toledo has held all but one of its opponents to a 45.0 FG% or lower, including six under 40.0.
•  Toledo has shot 43.5 percent (20-of-46) from three-point range in its last two games after posting a 24.0 mark (18-of-75) in its previous three contests.
•  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 1-3 this year with a pair of two-point defeats at Valpo and Notre Dame and a four-point setback at Ball State. The Rockets are 13-6 in games decided by five points or less since the start of the 2017-18 season.
 
SOME INFO ON THE ROCKETS' OPPONENT
     Junior Michael Flowers ranks second in the MAC in two categories (17.8 ppg and 86.9 FT%) and fourth with a 44.7 three-point FG%, while junior Brandon Johnson is 11th with 14.6 ppg and fourth with 8.6 rpg.
     The Broncos rank third in the MAC in three-point FG% defense (32.0) but is 11th with their 31.5 3PTFG%. WMU also is last in rebounding margin (-3.1), 11th in three-point field goals made (7.3), 10th in field-goal percentage (42.2) and ninth in FG% defense (42.6).
 
ON THE HORIZON
     Toledo will host Central Michigan on Tuesday, Jan. 14 before playing its next two games on the road at Akron (Jan. 18) and Ohio (Jan.21). The Rockets will return home to host arch-rival Bowling Green on Saturday, Jan. 25.