Senior Willie Jackson ranks third nationally with 12.0 rebounds per game.
Rockets Ready to Battle Falcons in MAC Quarterfinals
3/11/2020 1:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball
TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (17-15) looks to bring its late-season momentum to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse when it takes on No. 2 seed Bowling Green (21-10) on Thursday, March 12 in the quarterfinals of the 2020 Mid-American Conference Tournament presented by Visit Myrtle Beach. Tip-off time is set for 6:30 p.m. (ESPN-Plus).
The Rockets have won five of their last six contests and knocked off No. 10 seed Western Michigan, 76-73, at home on Monday night. Junior Marreon Jackson led Toledo with 25 points, while seniors Willie Jackson (22 pts./16 reb.) and Luke Knapke (18 pts./11 reb.) registered double-doubles for a second-straight game.
The Rockets led by as many as 19 points before WMU closed to within a point at 70-69 with two minutes left. Toledo answered with a 6-0 run to secure the win.
Toledo dropped a pair of close decisions to Bowling Green this season, an 85-79 loss at home on Jan. 25 and an 85-83 setback on the road on Feb. 8. It was the first time the Rockets lost twice to the Falcons since the 1998-99 season.
Toledo possesses a 4-1 win-loss mark against Bowling Green in the MAC Tournament, including a 77-62 victory in a first-round contest in 2017. The Rockets won the only meeting between the schools in Cleveland with a 52-48 triumph in a 2008 first-round contest.
Marreon Jackson ranks among the MAC leaders with 19.8 ppg (2nd), 5.4 apg (2nd) and 3.1 three-point FGs per game (1st). Also appearing in the MAC's Top 10 in scoring for the Rockets is Knapke at 15.7 ppg (8th in MAC). Willie Jackson and Littleson are averaging 12.2 ppg and 10.5 ppg, respectively, with Jackson grabbing a MAC-best 12.0 rpg to rank third nationally. Jackson is also tied for sixth in the nation with 18 double-doubles.
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Thursday, March 12, 2020.
Tip-Off: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Cleveland, Ohio.
Arena: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (20,562).
Television: ESPN-Plus. Michael Reghi 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 92-82. Toledo has won nine of its last 12 games vs. Bowling Green but dropped a pair of decisions this season. The Rockets are 4-1 vs. the Falcons in MAC Tournament play.
POST TOUCHES
• Marreon Jackson ranks second in league play with 21.6 ppg and 3.5 treys/game. Jackson was named MAC West Division Player of the Week three times this season.
• Jackson has surpassed Navigato's school record for three-point field goals (94) in a season and now has 99 after going 5-for-7 behind the arc vs. WMU (Mar. 9. Jackson's 63 treys in league play broke the record held by Nick Moore (59, 2001-02).
• Jackson has scored in double figures in a career-high 21 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.
• Jackson's 635 points this season rank third in school history, 24 behind Harvey Knuckles (659, '80-81). Craig Thames holds the school record with 699 points in the 1995-96 season. Jackson's 389 points in league played ranked second in school annals behind Thames' 395 in '95-96.
• 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 29 of 32 games.
• Knapke ranks second on the team with 15.8 ppg and 8.2 rpg to go along with a MAC-best 1.9 bpg and is the only player to rank in MAC's Top 10 in points, rebounds and blocks.
• Knapke has tied the school record with 133 career games played. He is tied with former Rockets Jordan Lauf (2013-17), Nate Navigato (2015-19) and Jaelan Sanford (2015-19).
• Knapke became UT's career blocked shot leader with a school-record 10 blocks (2nd in MAC history) at Cleveland St. He now has 197 blocks, 42 more than Nathan Boothe.
• Willie Jackson leads the MAC and ranks third nationally with 12.0 rpg after ranking fourth in the MAC last year with 8.9 rpg. In league play, he averaged 12.7 ppg and 11.6 rpg with a 51.5 FG%. He has led Toledo on the boards in 27 games, including a career-high tying 20 caroms at Notre Dame (Nov. 21).
• Jackson's 383 rebounds this season rank second in school history. He trails only Steve Taylor Jr.'s total of 404 in the 2016-17 season.
• 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). In the Rockets' regular-season finale vs. EMU last Friday, he tallied 16 points, 15 boards and a career-high seven assists. He followed that up with 22 points, 16 rebounds and four assists vs. WMU on Monday.
• Spencer Littleson has scored in double digits 15 times and is tied for seventh in the MAC with a 39.3 three-point FG%. He leads the Rockets with 1.7 spg, a total that ranks fifth in the MAC.
• Keshaun Saunders finished tied for ninth in league play with a 39.1 3FG% and started the Rockets' final contests of the season.
SOME TEAM STATISTICAL TIDBITS
• Toledo averaged just 8.0 turnovers per game in its final three contests and leads the MAC with a 1.19 A/TO ratio. The Rockets were also first in league play with a 1.17 A/TO ratio.
• Toledo is shooting 79.9 percent (115-of-144) from the free-throw line in its last seven games. UT ranks third in the MAC with a 74.6 mark and made 21-of-22 free throws vs. EMU on (Mar. 6).
• The Rockets paced the MAC in league play with 13.7 apg and 1.17 assist/turnover ratio. Toledo was second with a 36.3 three-point FG%.
SOME INFO ON THE ROCKETS' OPPONENT
Bowling Green is led by the trio of Justin Turner (18.8 ppg), Dylan Frye (13.3 ppg) and Daeqwon Plowden (12.7 ppg). Plowden leads the team with 8.5 rpg, while Frye is dishing out a team-best 4.0 apg. The Falcons were the preseason pick by the league's head coaches to win this year's Mid-American Conference Tournament.
ROCKET SUCCESS VS. MAC EAST DIVISION
Toledo has a 41-19 mark vs. MAC East teams (including tourney play) since the start of the 2013-14 season. The Rockets were 7-1 ('13-14), 6-2 ('14-15), 6-2 ('15-16), 5-3 ('16-17), 7-1 ('17-18), 5-3 ('18-19) and 3-5 this season.
TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT TOLEDO'S MATCHUPS VS. BOWLING GREEN
• Marreon Jackson (29.0 ppg) and Luke Knapke (23.0 ppg) led Toledo offensively vs. the Falcons. Willie Jackson was the only other Rocket in double digits with 14.0 ppg. Spencer Littleson (57.1), Marreon Jackson (44.4) and Knapke (43.8) paced UT in three-point FG%.
• Willie Jackson and Knapke led Toledo on the boards with 8.0 rpg with Marreon Jackson averaging 5.0 apg.
• Toledo committed a season-low four turnovers vs. the Falcons in its 85-79 defeat in Savage Arena on Jan. 25.
ON THE HORIZON
if Toledo defeats Bowling Green in the quarterfinals, the Rockets will face the winner of No. 3 seed Ball State and No. 6 seed Kent State in the semifinals on Friday, March 13 at 9:30 p.m. The contest will be televised on the CBS Sports Network.
The Rockets have won five of their last six contests and knocked off No. 10 seed Western Michigan, 76-73, at home on Monday night. Junior Marreon Jackson led Toledo with 25 points, while seniors Willie Jackson (22 pts./16 reb.) and Luke Knapke (18 pts./11 reb.) registered double-doubles for a second-straight game.
The Rockets led by as many as 19 points before WMU closed to within a point at 70-69 with two minutes left. Toledo answered with a 6-0 run to secure the win.
Toledo dropped a pair of close decisions to Bowling Green this season, an 85-79 loss at home on Jan. 25 and an 85-83 setback on the road on Feb. 8. It was the first time the Rockets lost twice to the Falcons since the 1998-99 season.
Toledo possesses a 4-1 win-loss mark against Bowling Green in the MAC Tournament, including a 77-62 victory in a first-round contest in 2017. The Rockets won the only meeting between the schools in Cleveland with a 52-48 triumph in a 2008 first-round contest.
Marreon Jackson ranks among the MAC leaders with 19.8 ppg (2nd), 5.4 apg (2nd) and 3.1 three-point FGs per game (1st). Also appearing in the MAC's Top 10 in scoring for the Rockets is Knapke at 15.7 ppg (8th in MAC). Willie Jackson and Littleson are averaging 12.2 ppg and 10.5 ppg, respectively, with Jackson grabbing a MAC-best 12.0 rpg to rank third nationally. Jackson is also tied for sixth in the nation with 18 double-doubles.
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Thursday, March 12, 2020.
Tip-Off: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Cleveland, Ohio.
Arena: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (20,562).
Television: ESPN-Plus. Michael Reghi 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 92-82. Toledo has won nine of its last 12 games vs. Bowling Green but dropped a pair of decisions this season. The Rockets are 4-1 vs. the Falcons in MAC Tournament play.
POST TOUCHES
• Marreon Jackson ranks second in league play with 21.6 ppg and 3.5 treys/game. Jackson was named MAC West Division Player of the Week three times this season.
• Jackson has surpassed Navigato's school record for three-point field goals (94) in a season and now has 99 after going 5-for-7 behind the arc vs. WMU (Mar. 9. Jackson's 63 treys in league play broke the record held by Nick Moore (59, 2001-02).
• Jackson has scored in double figures in a career-high 21 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.
• Jackson's 635 points this season rank third in school history, 24 behind Harvey Knuckles (659, '80-81). Craig Thames holds the school record with 699 points in the 1995-96 season. Jackson's 389 points in league played ranked second in school annals behind Thames' 395 in '95-96.
• 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 29 of 32 games.
• Knapke ranks second on the team with 15.8 ppg and 8.2 rpg to go along with a MAC-best 1.9 bpg and is the only player to rank in MAC's Top 10 in points, rebounds and blocks.
• Knapke has tied the school record with 133 career games played. He is tied with former Rockets Jordan Lauf (2013-17), Nate Navigato (2015-19) and Jaelan Sanford (2015-19).
• Knapke became UT's career blocked shot leader with a school-record 10 blocks (2nd in MAC history) at Cleveland St. He now has 197 blocks, 42 more than Nathan Boothe.
• Willie Jackson leads the MAC and ranks third nationally with 12.0 rpg after ranking fourth in the MAC last year with 8.9 rpg. In league play, he averaged 12.7 ppg and 11.6 rpg with a 51.5 FG%. He has led Toledo on the boards in 27 games, including a career-high tying 20 caroms at Notre Dame (Nov. 21).
• Jackson's 383 rebounds this season rank second in school history. He trails only Steve Taylor Jr.'s total of 404 in the 2016-17 season.
• 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). In the Rockets' regular-season finale vs. EMU last Friday, he tallied 16 points, 15 boards and a career-high seven assists. He followed that up with 22 points, 16 rebounds and four assists vs. WMU on Monday.
• Spencer Littleson has scored in double digits 15 times and is tied for seventh in the MAC with a 39.3 three-point FG%. He leads the Rockets with 1.7 spg, a total that ranks fifth in the MAC.
• Keshaun Saunders finished tied for ninth in league play with a 39.1 3FG% and started the Rockets' final contests of the season.
SOME TEAM STATISTICAL TIDBITS
• Toledo averaged just 8.0 turnovers per game in its final three contests and leads the MAC with a 1.19 A/TO ratio. The Rockets were also first in league play with a 1.17 A/TO ratio.
• Toledo is shooting 79.9 percent (115-of-144) from the free-throw line in its last seven games. UT ranks third in the MAC with a 74.6 mark and made 21-of-22 free throws vs. EMU on (Mar. 6).
• The Rockets paced the MAC in league play with 13.7 apg and 1.17 assist/turnover ratio. Toledo was second with a 36.3 three-point FG%.
SOME INFO ON THE ROCKETS' OPPONENT
Bowling Green is led by the trio of Justin Turner (18.8 ppg), Dylan Frye (13.3 ppg) and Daeqwon Plowden (12.7 ppg). Plowden leads the team with 8.5 rpg, while Frye is dishing out a team-best 4.0 apg. The Falcons were the preseason pick by the league's head coaches to win this year's Mid-American Conference Tournament.
ROCKET SUCCESS VS. MAC EAST DIVISION
Toledo has a 41-19 mark vs. MAC East teams (including tourney play) since the start of the 2013-14 season. The Rockets were 7-1 ('13-14), 6-2 ('14-15), 6-2 ('15-16), 5-3 ('16-17), 7-1 ('17-18), 5-3 ('18-19) and 3-5 this season.
TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT TOLEDO'S MATCHUPS VS. BOWLING GREEN
• Marreon Jackson (29.0 ppg) and Luke Knapke (23.0 ppg) led Toledo offensively vs. the Falcons. Willie Jackson was the only other Rocket in double digits with 14.0 ppg. Spencer Littleson (57.1), Marreon Jackson (44.4) and Knapke (43.8) paced UT in three-point FG%.
• Willie Jackson and Knapke led Toledo on the boards with 8.0 rpg with Marreon Jackson averaging 5.0 apg.
• Toledo committed a season-low four turnovers vs. the Falcons in its 85-79 defeat in Savage Arena on Jan. 25.
ON THE HORIZON
if Toledo defeats Bowling Green in the quarterfinals, the Rockets will face the winner of No. 3 seed Ball State and No. 6 seed Kent State in the semifinals on Friday, March 13 at 9:30 p.m. The contest will be televised on the CBS Sports Network.
Players Mentioned
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