TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team brings a three-game winning streak into its final week of the regular season as it builds momentum for the 2020 Mid-American Conference Tournament. The Rockets will put that unbeaten stretch on the line when it visits MAC West Division leader Northern Illinois (17-12, 10-6 MAC) on Tuesday, March 3. Tip-off time is set for 7:00 p.m. (CT) in the Convocation Center with streaming available on ESPN-Plus.

        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 in the overall standings but hold the tiebreaker.

        Toledo (15-14, 7-9 MAC) will be trying to gain a split of its season series vs. the Huskies after suffering a 66-61 home setback on Feb. 4. Seniors Willie Jackson and Luke Knapke led the Rockets in that contest with 15 points apiece, while senior Eugene German paced the Huskies with 25 points.

        Junior Marreon Jackson ranks among the MAC leaders with 19.7 ppg (3rd), 5.6 apg (2nd) and 3.0 three-point FGs per game (T-1st). Also appearing in the MAC's Top 10 in scoring for the Rockets is Knapke at 16.2 ppg (8th in MAC). Willie Jackson and Littleson are averaging 11.8 ppg and 10.8 ppg, respectively, with Jackson grabbing a MAC-best 11.8 rpg to rank fourth nationally.

        In Saturday's 69-63 victory over Ball State, Knapke poured in 31 points, grabbed nine rebounds and was 12-of-18 from the field. The Rockets trailed by five at the half but took the lead for good on a Knapke trey with 13:34 to play.

        Northern Illinois is 6-1 at home in league play with its only defeat a 72-49 loss to Akron. German leads the MAC with 20.5 ppg and ranks third in league play with 20.7 ppg. He is the only Huskies' player scoring in double digits.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Tuesday, March 3, 2020.
Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m. CT.
Location: DeKalb, Ill.
Arena: Convocation Ctr. (9,100).
Television: ESPN-Plus. Andy Garcia will provide play-by-play for broadcast with Mark Lindo 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 48-30. Toledo has lost two straight vs. NIU after winning five in a row. One of the defeats was an 80-76 decision to the Huskies in last year's MAC Quarterfinals.

POST TOUCHES
•  Marreon Jackson ranks among the MAC leaders with 19.7 ppg (3rd), 5.6 apg (2nd) and 3.0 3FGs/game (T-1st). In league play, he is second with 21.9 ppg, 5.3 apg and 3.6 treys/game and fourth with an 86.7 FT%. 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.
•  Jackson has hit seven treys at Akron, Kent State and CMU 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 18 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.
•  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 27 of 29 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 16.2 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 24 games, including a career-high tying 20 caroms at Notre Dame (Nov. 21).
•  Spencer Littleson has scored in double digits 14 times and ranks fifth in the MAC with a 39.9 three-point FG%. In his last three games, he is averaging 12.0 ppg with a 57.1 FG% (12-of-21) and a 40.0 3PTFG% (4-of-10) and has eight steals.
•  Keshaun Saunders ranks sixth in league play with a 40.7 3FG%.

SOME TEAM STATISTICAL TIDBITS
•  Toledo committed seven turnovers vs. WMU (Feb. 22) and leads the MAC with a 1.15 A/TO ratio. The Rockets are also first in league play with a 1.13 A/TO ratio.
•  Toledo is shooting 79.6 percent (74-of-93) from the free-throw line in its last four games. The Rockets rank third in the MAC in with a 74.1 mark and are second in league play at 76.0 percent.
•  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 is 14-1 when leading with five minutes remaining and its win over Ball State was its fourth victory in 12 contests when trailing at halftime.
•  Toledo was 21-3 when outrebounding its opponent last year and is 11-4 this season.
•  UT was 21-1 last year when holding its opponent under a 45.0 FG% and is 13-6 this year.

SOME INFO ON THE ROCKETS' OPPONENT
     Northern Illinois leads the MAC in league play in FG% defense (40.8) and is third in scoring defense (65.5) and 3PTFG% defense (31.0)...Eugene German is the Huskies' all-time leading scorer with 2,174 points...NIU's 17 wins are tied for sixth-most in school history.
 
ON THE HORIZON
                The Rockets will close out their regular season at home vs. 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.