TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (6-3, 1-0 MAC) will look to extend its season-high three-game win streak when it hosts Northern Illinois (1-5, 0-1 MAC) on Tuesday, Dec. 22. The Rockets and Huskies will meet at 2:00 p.m. in Savage Arena with the contest being streamed on ESPN3.

Toledo closed out non-conference play with a 71-57 home triumph over Valparaiso on Saturday. Senior Marreon Jackson paced the Rockets with a game-high 18 points and five assists. Also scoring in double figures were junior Setric Millner Jr. (14 pts.) and freshman Ryan Rollins (11 pts.).

Senior Spencer Littleson spearheaded a strong effort on the boards from Toledo's backcourt with a career-high eight rebounds. Rollins grabbed seven boards, while Jackson collected six to help the Rockets to a 44-36 rebounding advantage.      

Jackson and Millner lead the Rockets offensively with 16.6 and 15.4 ppg, respectively. Also scoring in double figures are Rollins (13.6) and senior Spencer Littleson (10.6). Millner is grabbing a team-high 7.8 rpg with a team-best 52.4 3PTFG% (11-of-21), while Jackson is tallying a team-best 5.3 apg and 1.7 spg.

Northern Illinois snapped a season-opening five-game losing streak with Friday's 64-54 home win over Chicago State.  Sophomore guard Tyler Cochran leads the Huskies with 14.3 ppg and 7.0 rpg, with junior guards Darius Beane and Trendon Hankerson each averaging 12.2 ppg.

Toledo will be looking to avenge a pair of defeats to NIU last year, including a 66-61 loss in Savage Arena. The Rockets opened league play with a 91-74 win at EMU (Dec. 4), while the Huskies dropped a 79-70 (OT) decision to Ball State (Dec. 8).
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020.
Tip-Off: 2:00 p.m.
Location: Toledo, Ohio.
Arena: Savage Arena (7,014).
Televison: ESPN3. 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 48-31. The Rockets have lost their last three matchups vs. NIU after winning five in a row. The Huskies swept last year's season series between the two schools for the first time since the 2015-16 campaign.

POST TOUCHES
•  Marreon Jackson has scored in double figures in a career-high 30 straight games.  He has led the Rockets in scoring three times, including each of the last two games.
•  Jackson received MAC Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 20.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 6.5 apg and 2.0 spg to help Toledo to wins over Marshall and Valparaiso last week.
•  Jackson is a perfect 36-of-36 from the free-throw line which ranks first nationally with most free throws made without a miss to begin the season.
•  Spencer Littleson's eight treys vs. Oakland (Nov. 26) were one shy of the school record held by Kent Murphree on Nov. 24, 1991. Littleson tied Marreon Jackson (2018), Nate Navigato (2018) and Mark German (1986) for the second-most three-point field goals ever by a Rocket in a game.
•  Setric Millner Jr. . has registered two double-doubles this season, tallying 17 points and 15 rebounds at Xavier as well as 17 points and 10 boards vs. Kansas City.
•  Millner has scored in double digits in all nine games as a Rocket and has scored a season-high 17 points on five occasions. He is 7-of-9 from three-point range and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line in the last three games.
•  Millner averaged 7.1 ppg and 4.7 rpg as a freshman for Cleveland State.
•  Ryan Rollins has scored in double digits in eight of nine contests and ranks third on the team with 13.6 ppg and second with 5.4 rpg and an 83.8 FT%.
•  Rollins tallied 16 points and a team-high 13 rebounds at Marshall for his first collegiate double-double.
•  Keshaun Saunders is averaging 9.4 ppg and shooting 53.8 percent (14-of-26) from field in his last five contests.
•  Mattia Acunzo tied his season high with nine points in each of Toledo's games last week. In his last five contests, he is averaging 7.0 ppg and 4.0 rpg with a 65.2 FG% (15-of-23) and a 66.7 three-point FG% (4-of-6).
•  Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk is in his 11th season at the Rockets' helm and has guided Toledo to four 20-win campaigns in the last seven years, marking the first time for this accomplishment since Bob Nichols recorded five straight 20-win seasons from 1976-81.
•  Kowalczyk ranks third on Toledo's all-time win list with 190 victories, 13 behind second-place Stan Joplin. Nichols ranks first with a MAC-best 376 wins.
 
SOME TEAM STATISTICAL TIDBITS
•  The Rockets are leading the MAC with 10.2 three-point FGs per game and a 1.34 assist/turnover ratio. Toledo has limited its opponents to a 28.5 three-point mark and 6.6 triples per contest.
•  Toledo has an 81.0 FT% (68-of-84) in its last four games.
•  Toledo has limited its last three opponents to 15 total offensive rebounds, including four by Valparaiso on Saturday.
•  The Rockets' starting back court of Marreon Jackson, Spencer Littleson and Ryan Rollins have combined for 21 rebounds in each of Toledo's last two contests.
•  Toledo's bench has outscored its opponent in three straight games and is averaging 22.0 ppg during this stretch
•  The Rockets nearly tied their school record for three-pointers in a game with 16 triples vs. Oakland, one away from the record vs. Wright State on Dec. 22, 2003.
•  Toledo has registered 65 victories over the last three seasons, posting a 23-11 mark in 2017-18, a 25-8 ledger in 2018-19 and 17-15 last year. The Rockets registered 13-5 league marks in 2017-18 and 2018-19 and its 76 MAC victories over the last seven seasons are second in the league.

ON THE HORIZON
Toledo will take a short break for the Christmas holidays and return to action with a pair of road contests at Western Michigan (2-4, 1-0 MAC) on Saturday, Jan. 2 and Kent State (3-1, 0-0 MAC) on Tuesday, Jan. 5.