TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team will host MAC West Division co-leader Northern Illinois (13-9, 6-3 MAC) on Tuesday, Feb. 4 in Savage Arena. Tip-off time is set for 7:00 p.m. with streaming available on ESPN-Plus.

        The Rockets have dropped three consecutive decisions and will be taking on a Huskies' squad that has won four straight games and sits atop the MAC's West Division with Central Michigan. NIU is 2-2 on the road in MAC play with wins at Buffalo (73-72) and Kent State (76-69).

        Junior Marreon Jackson is leading Toledo (11-11, 3-6 MAC) in scoring and ranks second in the MAC with 19.2 ppg. He is also second in league play with 22.4 ppg. Also ranking in the MAC's Top 10 in scoring for the Rockets is senior Luke Knapke at 15.9 ppg (6th in MAC), senior Willie Jackson at 11.8 ppg and junior Spencer Littleson at 10.8 ppg. Willie Jackson is averaging a MAC-best 12.2 rpg, a total that ranks third in the nation, while Littleson has sat out Toledo's last two games due to injury.

        The Rockets fell at Eastern Michigan, 61-57, in their most recent outing. The Eagles put together a 17-3 run midway through the second half to take an 11-point lead before holding off a late Toledo charge.

        Senior Eugene German leads NIU with a MAC-best 19.6 ppg. Senior Lacey James is averaging 9.1 ppg and 7.6 rpg and has helped the Huskies to a conference-best plus-5.4 rebounding margin. Sophomore Trendon Hankerson is leading the MAC with a 49.2 three-point field-goal percentage.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 4, 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 48-29. Toledo has won five of its last six games vs. NIU but dropped an 80-76 decision to the Huskies in last year's MAC Quarterfinals. Toledo is 4-1 vs. NIU in the MAC Tournament.
 
POST TOUCHES
•  Marreon Jackson was named to the Lou Henson Award Mid-Season Watch list in January, an award presented to the top mid-major player in the nation. He is averaging 26.2 ppg in his last five games. Jackson ranks among the Top Five in the MAC with 19.2 ppg (2nd), 6.0 apg (2nd), 1.9 spg (4th) and a 2.0 assist/turnover ratio (T-4th). In league play, he is second with 22.4 ppg, 6.0 apg, 4.0 treys per game and an 85.7 FT%.
•  Jackson has scored in double figures in a career-high 11 straight games.
•  Luke Knapke, who has been named MAC West Division Player of the Week twice this season, has scored in double digits in 21 of 22 games. The only game he didn't was a seven-point effort at Kent State (Jan. 7) when he was plagued by foul trouble.
•  Knapke ranks second on the team with 15.9 ppg and 8.3 rpg to go along with a MAC-best 2.2 bpg.
•  Willie Jackson leads the MAC and ranks third nationally with 12.2 rpg (3rd in nation with 8.8 defensive rpg) after ranking fourth in the MAC last year with 8.9 rpg. In league play, he is averaging 12.1 ppg and 12.2 rpg with a 51.7 FG%. He has led Toledo on the boards in 18 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 seventh in the MAC with a 40.2 three-point FG%. He has sat out UT's last two games due to injury.
•  Keshaun Saunders has scored eight or more points in seven straight games and is averaging 10.7 ppg during this stretch. In league play, he is seventh with a 46.3 three-point FG% (19-of-41).
•  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.
•  The Rockets' 25 victories last year ranked second in school history. Toledo won a school-record 27 games under Coach Kowalczyk in the 2013-14 campaign.
•  Toledo's 48 victories over the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons are the most in a two-year period in Rocket history. The previous best was 47 from 2013-14 to 2014-15.
•  The Rockets have registered 13-5 league marks in each of the last two years and their 71 MAC victories over the last six-plus seasons rank second in the league.
•  Toledo also is third in the MAC with 140 overall wins over the last six-plus years.
 
SOME TEAM STATISTICAL TIDBITS
•  Toledo committed a season-low four turnovers vs. Bowling Green (Jan. 25) and leads the MAC with a 1.20 A/TO ratio. UT is also first in league play with a 1.23 A/TO ratio.
•  Toledo has made 80-of-94 free-throw attempts (85.1 percent) in its last six games after shooting 61.4 percent (43-of-70) in its previous four contests.
•  UT's 15 treys at Akron rank third in school history and are two shy of the school record.
•  The Rockets' 15 three-pointers are the most made under Coach Kowalczyk and one away from the school record in a MAC game - 16 vs. Marshall in 2000.
•  Toledo was 21-3 when outrebounding its opponent last year and is 8-3 this season.
•  UT was 21-1 last year when holding its opponent under a 45.0 FG% and is 10-6 this year.
 
SOME INFO ON THE ROCKETS' OPPONENT
     Northern Illinois leads the MAC in FG% defense (39.2), three-point FG% defense (29.6) and rebounding margin (plus-5.4). Senior Eugene German became the Huskies' first 2,000-point scorer ever in Saturday's 70-55 win over Miami.
     NIU is allowing just 55.3 ppg in its last three contests and holding its opponents to a 35.8 FG% and 29.3 three-point FG%.
 
ON THE HORIZON
        Toledo will make the short trip down I-75 to face arch-rival Bowling Green on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 4:30 p.m. The Rockets will then play back-to-back home games vs. Miami (Feb. 11) and Buffalo (Feb. 14).