TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team looks to continue building momentum for the 2020 Mid-American Conference Tournament when it hosts Ball State (16-12, 9-6 MAC) on Saturday, Feb. 29. Tip-off time is set for 2:00 p.m. in Savage Arena with streaming available on ESPN3.
 
        The Rockets have won three of their last four contests, including back-to-back wins at WMU (68-59) and CMU (93-81). Toledo would currently host a first-round home game in the upcoming MAC Tournament as the No. 7 seed. The Rockets are tied with Ohio and CMU in the overall standings but hold the tiebreaker.
 
        Toledo (14-14, 6-9 MAC) will be trying to gain a split of its season series vs. the Cardinals after dropping a 61-57 decision in Muncie, Ind. in its conference opener on Jan. 3. Senior Willie Jackson led the Rockets in that contest with 14 points and 12 rebounds, with senior Luke Knapke (11 pts.) and junior Marreon Jackson (10 pts.) also finishing in double figures.
 
        Marreon Jackson is leading Toledo in scoring and ranks second in the MAC with 19.8 ppg and 5.6 apg. Also appearing in the MAC's Top 10 in scoring for the Rockets is Knapke at 15.7 ppg (9th in MAC). Willie Jackson and Littleson are averaging 12.1 ppg and 10.8 ppg, respectively, with Jackson grabbing a MAC-best 11.8 rpg to rank fourth nationally.
 
        In Tuesday's victory over CMU, Marreon Jackson exploded for a career-high 37 points. He was extremely efficient shooting the ball as he went 12-of-18 from the field, 7-of-9 from three-point range and a perfect 6-of-6 at the free-throw line.
 
        Ball State enters today's matchup following back-to-back home wins over Eastern Michigan (64-55) and Western Michigan (71-61). The Cardinals are just 2-5 on the road in league play with victories at EMU (69-52) and Kent State (62-54).

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020.
Tip-Off: 2:00 p.m.
Location: Toledo, Ohio.
Arena: Savage Arena (7,014).
Television: 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 49-47. Toledo has dropped six of its last seven decisions vs. Ball State, including three in a row in Savage Arena. Prior to this stretch, the Rockets                   had won five of six vs. the Cardinals.
 
POST TOUCHES
•  Marreon Jackson ranks among the MAC leaders with 19.8 ppg (2nd), 5.6 apg (2nd) and 3.0 3FGs/game (1st). In league play, he is second with 22.2 ppg, 5.2 apg and 3.6 treys/game and fourth with an 86.6 FT%.
•  Jackson has hit seven treys at Akron, Kent State and CMU this season which is one shy of former Rocket Nate Navigato's school record for a conference game (eight vs. EMU on March 2, 2018).
•  Jackson has scored in double figures in a career-high 17 straight games.
•  Jackson's top five scoring outings of his career have all come on the road this season - 37 at Central Michigan, 36 at Akron, 32 at Kent State, 31 at Bowling Green and 29 at Ohio. He is averaging 27.7 ppg in his last seven road contests.
•  Luke Knapke, who has been named MAC West Division Player of the Week and MAC Male Scholar Athlete twice this season, has scored in double digits in 26 of 28 games. The only two games he hasn't was when he was plagued by foul trouble in a seven-point effort at Kent State (Jan. 7) and in a nine-point showing vs. Miami (Feb. 11).
•  Knapke ranks second on the team with 15.7 ppg and 8.0 rpg to go along with a MAC-best 2.0 bpg and is the only player to rank in MAC's Top 10 in points, rebounds and blocks.
•  Willie Jackson leads the MAC and ranks fourth nationally with 11.8 rpg after ranking fourth in the MAC last year with 8.9 rpg. In league play, he is averaging 13.1 ppg and 11.5 rpg with a 53.3 FG%. He has led Toledo on the boards in 22 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 19 points and 10 rebounds at Western Michigan (Feb. 22).
•  Spencer Littleson has scored in double digits 14 times and ranks fifth in the MAC with a 40.5 three-point FG%. In his last two games, he is averaging 14.5 ppg with a 64.7 FG% (11-of-17) and a 50.0 3PTFG% (4-of-8) and has seven steals.
•  Keshaun Saunders has started the last eight games and is averaging 8.0 ppg in 29.6 mpg during this stretch. In league play, he is third with a 41.8 three-point FG%.
 
SOME TEAM STATISTICAL TIDBITS
•  Toledo committed seven turnovers vs. WMU (Feb. 22) and is second in the MAC with a 1.15 A/TO ratio. UT is first in league play with a 1.12 A/TO ratio.
•  Toledo is shooting 83.3 percent (55-of-66) from the free-throw line in its last three games and now ranks third in the MAC in overall games with a 74.3 mark.
•  The Rockets lead the MAC in league play with 13.7 apg. a 37.8 three-point FG% and 1.12 assist/turnover ratio. Toledo is second in FG% (44.7), FT% (76.5) and three-point FGs made per game (8.8).
•  Toledo was 21-3 when outrebounding its opponent last year and is 10-4 this season.
•  UT was 21-1 last year when holding its opponent under a 45.0 FG% and is 12-6 this year.
•  Seven of the Rockets' losses in conference play have been by seven points or less. 
 
SOME INFO ON THE ROCKETS' OPPONENT
     Senior forward Tajhai Teague leads BSU with 14.5 ppg and 9.1 rpg with junior guard Ishmael El-Amin also scoring in double digits at 14.1 ppg. The Cardinals rank first in the MAC in league play in scoring defense (63.5 ppg) and are second in FG% defense (41.1).
 
ON THE HORIZON
     The Rockets will close out their regular season with a trip to Northern Illinois on Tuesday, March 3 before hosting Eastern Michigan on Friday, March 6. Toledo's annual Senior Night ceremony honoring Willie Jackson and Luke Knapke will take place following the contest vs. the Eagles.