TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (11-12, 3-7 MAC) will visit Bowling Green (17-6, 8-2 MAC) on Saturday, Feb. 8 for this season's second edition of the Battle of I-75. Tip-off time is set for 4:30 p.m. in the Stroh Center with streaming available on ESPN3.

        The Rockets will be taking on a Falcons' squad that leads the MAC East Division with an 8-2 record but suffered a 92-82 setback at CMU on Tuesday.

        Junior Marreon Jackson is leading Toledo in scoring and ranks second in the MAC with 19.0 ppg. He is also second in league play with 21.6 ppg. Also ranking in the MAC's Top 10 in scoring for the Rockets is senior Luke Knapke at 15.8 ppg (6th in MAC), who was named the MAC's Male Scholar Athlete of Week on Wednesday. Senior Willie Jackson and junior Spencer Littleson are averaging 11.7 ppg and 10.8 ppg, respectively.

        The Rockets dropped a 66-61 decision to Northern Illinois on Tuesday. Toledo had a chance to knot the score at 60-60 with 1:07 left, but Marreon Jackson's jumper in the lane rimmed out.
       
        Bowling Green defeated Toledo, 85-79, on Jan. 25 before a sold-out crowd of 7,268 fans in Savage Arena. Marreon Jackson topped the Rocket attack with 27 points, while Knapke tallied 23 points and nine rebounds. Toledo committed a season-low four turnovers against the Falcons and had two chances to make it a one-possession game trailing 66-61 with 5:15 left but committed a turnover and missed a three-pointer.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020.
Tip-Off: 4:30 p.m.
Location: Bowling Green, Ohio.
Arena: Stroh Center (4,347).
Television: ESPN3. Brad Woznicki will provide play-by-play for broadcast with Brent Klassen 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 92-81. Toledo has won nine of its last 11 games vs. Bowling Green but dropped an 85-79 decision to the Falcons on Jan. 25. The Rockets posted a 78-71 win over the Falcons at the Stroh Center last year.
 
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 24.2 ppg in his last six games. Jackson ranks among the Top Five in the MAC with 3.0 3FGs/game (T-1st), 19.0 ppg (2nd), 6.0 apg (2nd), a 2.0 assist/turnover ratio (T-4th) and 1.8 spg (5th). In league play, he is second with 21.6 ppg, 5.9 apg, 3.8 treys per game and fifth an 85.1 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 12 straight games.
•  Luke Knapke, who has been named MAC West Division Player of the Week twice this season, has scored in double digits in 22 of 23 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. He is the only MAC player to rank in Top 10 in points, rebounds and blocks.
•  Willie Jackson leads the MAC and ranks third nationally with 12.1 rpg (3rd in nation with 8.7 defensive rpg) after ranking fourth in the MAC last year with 8.9 rpg. In league play, he is averaging 12.4 ppg and 11.9 rpg with a 52.6 FG%. He has led Toledo on the boards in 19 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 11 times and ranks fifth in the MAC with a 41.2 three-point FG%. He scored 12 points vs. NIU after missing two games.
•  Keshaun Saunders has scored eight or more points in seven of eight games and is averaging 10.0 ppg during this stretch. In league play, he is tied for fifth with a 45.5 three-point FG% (20-of-44).
 
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 committed 11 or fewer turnovers in five or its last seven contests.
•  Toledo has made 93-of-110 free-throw attempts (84.5 percent) in its last seven 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.
•  Six of the Rockets' losses in conference play have been by seven points or less.
 
SOME INFO ON THE ROCKETS' OPPONENT
     Bowling Green is led by the trio of Justin Turner (18.9 ppg), Dylan Frye (13.9 ppg) and Daeqwon Plowden (12.7 ppg). Plowden leads the team with 8.2 rpg, while Frye is dishing out a team-best 4.1 apg. The Falcons were the preseason pick by the league's head coaches to win this year's Mid-American Conference Tournament and are 10-1 at home this season.
 
ROCKET SUCCESS VS. MAC EAST DIVISION
     Toledo has a 40-17 record vs. the MAC's East Division since start of the 2013-14 season.

ON THE HORIZON
     Toledo will return to Savage Arena next week to play back-to-back home games vs. Miami (Feb. 11) and Buffalo (Feb. 14). The Rockets will then be idle until traveling to Kalamazoo, Mich. to face Western Michigan (Feb. 22).