TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (12-4, 7-1 MAC) will host Kent State (7-3, 4-2 MAC) on Saturday, Jan. 23 in a matchup of two of the top teams in the Mid-American Conference. The contest will tip off at Noon in Savage Arena and be streamed on ESPN3.

The Rockets currently sit at the top of the conference standings with a 7-1 league record, while the Golden Flashes possess a 4-2 MAC mark. In addition, Toledo is ranked No. 63 in the NCAA's NET rankings, with KSU coming in at No. 72.

The Rockets rallied for an 84-82 win at KSU on Jan. 5 in the two teams' first meeting. Freshman Ryan Rollins' driving layup with 17.3 seconds left gave Toledo the win after Kent State took a 76-70 lead with 3:34 to play. Seniors Spencer Littleson and Marreon Jackson paced the Rockets' attack with 26 and 22 points, respectively.

In its most recent outing, Toledo notched an 89-72 win over Central Michigan on Tuesday to improve its home record to a perfect 7-0. The Rockets also had five or more players score in double digits for a fourth straight game.

Jackson leads the Rockets offensively with 16.6 ppg, 5.6 apg, 2.0 spg and a 94.7 FT% (No. 3 nationally). Rollins ranks second in team scoring with 14.9 ppg, with Littleson (13.6 ppg) and junior Setric Millner Jr. (13.4 ppg) also scoring in double digits. Littleson sits fifth nationally with 3.56 treys per game, while Millner leads the Rockets with 6.9 rpg.

Kent State has won four straight games since falling to Toledo, including an 84-81 home win over Buffalo. Seniors Danny Pippen (19.3 ppg) and Michael Nuga (19.1 ppg) lead the Golden Flashes offensively to rank fourth and fifth in the MAC, respectively. Pippen also ranks second in the MAC with 8.4 rpg.
 

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021.
Tip-Off: Noon.
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 84-51. Toledo has split its last 12 meetings vs. Kent State but was swept by the Golden Flashes last season. Toledo won 84-82 at Kent on Jan. 5 by rallying from a six-point deficit with 3:34 to play.

POST TOUCHES
•  Toledo is the only school in the MAC to have four players ranked among the Top 20 scoring leaders. Marreon Jackson ranks eighth at 16.6 ppg and is followed by Ryan Rollins (14.9/10th), Spencer Littleson (13.6/18th) and Setric Millner Jr. (13.4/T-20th).
•  Toledo is the only MAC school to have three scoring leaders in the Top 10 with Jackson and Littleson tied for seventh at 17.1 ppg with Rollins 10th at 16.3 ppg.
•  Marreon Jackson has scored in double figures in a career-high 37 straight games.
•  Jackson is in 12th place on Toledo's all-time scoring list with 1,540 career points.
•  Spencer Littleson has scored in double digits in every MAC game and is averaging 20.0 ppg with a 61.0 FG% (25-of-41) and a 57.1 3PTFG% (20-of-35) in his last five contests.
•  Littleson's eight treys at Kent State (Jan. 5) and vs. Oakland (Nov. 26) were one shy of the school record held by Kent Murphree on Nov. 24, 1991. Littleson's eight triples at Kent State tied Nate Navigato (2018) for most triples ever by a Rocket in a MAC game.
•  Setric Millner Jr. has registered two double-doubles this season, tallying 17 points and 15 rebounds at Xavier as well as 17 points and 10 boards vs. Kansas City.
•  Millner has scored in double digits in 14 of 16 games and has scored a season-high 17 points on five occasions.
•  Ryan Rollins has scored in double digits in 15 of 16 contests and leads MAC freshmen with 14.9 ppg, a figure that ranks 10th in the conference. He ranks second on the team with 5.6 rpg and third with 27 3PTFGs.
•  Rollins leads Toledo with 4.8 defensive rpg and has two double-doubles with 16 points and 13 rebounds at Marshall as well as 16 points and 11 boards vs. Northern Illinois.
•  JT Shumate tallied a season-high 16 points and nine rebounds at WMU (Jan. 2) in his first start as a Rocket and is averaging 8.6 ppg and 4.5 rpg in 26.0 mpg. Shumate, whose sister Katie is a sophomore guard at Kent State, transferred to Toledo from Division II Walsh University and received immediate eligibility in mid-December.
•  Shumate ranks third and fifth in the MAC in league play with 1.6 bpg and a 61.4 FG%, respectively. He has blocked four shots against Ohio (Jan. 8) and CMU (Jan. 19).
•  Keshaun Saunders has scored in double digits in three of his last four games, averaging 11.5 ppg with a 60.0 FG% (15-of-27) and a 50.0 3PTFG% (6-of-12) in this stretch.
•  Mattia Acunzo scored a season-high 15 points and tied his season best with six rebounds vs. NIU (Dec. 22). Acunzo leads Toledo with a 55.1 FG% and is 10-of-21 (.476) from three-point range.
 
SOME TEAM STATISTICAL TIDBITS
•  Toledo's strong start to the season has elevated it to a No. 13 ranking in the CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major Top 25 Poll (Jan. 18). The Rockets are also the MAC's top ranked team in the NET (No. 63) and KenPom (No. 70) rankings.
•  The Rockets received two points in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Top 25 polls this week.
•  Toledo's 6-0 start to its MAC season was just one victory shy of the school record held by the 1978-79 and 2006-07 squads.
•  The Rockets have won six of their seven MAC games by double digits and lead the league with a plus-14.9 scoring margin in conference games.
•  Toledo is averaging 93.5 ppg in its last four contests with a 51.9 FG% (136-of-262) and a 43.1 3PTFG% (50-of-116) during this stretch.
•  Toledo is leading the MAC with a 39.3 3PTFG% and 10.9 3PTFGs per game. Toledo has limited its opponents to a 28.6 three-point mark (2nd in MAC) and 7.0 triples per game.
•  The Rockets tied their school record for three-pointers in a game with 17 triples vs. Eastern Michigan, matching the previous mark vs. Wright State on Dec. 22, 2003.
    Toledo has registered 65 victories over the last three seasons, posting a 23-11 mark in 2017-18, a 25-8 ledger in 2018-19 and 17-15 last year.

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT TOLEDO VS. KENT STATE
• Marreon Jackson is averaging 21.0 ppg, 5.2 apg and 3.0 rpg with a 44.2 3PTFG% (19-of-43) in five career games vs. the Golden Flashes.
• Spencer Littleson is averaging 11.7 ppg with a 57.9 3PTFG% (11-of-19) in three games vs. KSU, including a season-high 26-point outing on Jan. 5.
 
BALANCING ACT
Toledo has featured balanced scoring over the last two seasons and that is continuing in 2020-21. Five different Rockets — Marreon Jackson, Spencer Littleson, Setric Millner Jr., Ryan Rollins and Keshaun Saunders — have led the team in scoring this season. Jackson has led the way on five occasions, Littleson and Millner have set the pace in four contests, followed by Rollins three times and Saunders once.
In the 2018-19 season, seven different Rockets led or tied for the team lead in scoring. Jaelan Sanford led the way 16 times followed by Nate Navigato (6), Marreon Jackson (5), Luke Knapke (5), Chris Darrington (3), Willie Jackson (1) and Spencer Littleson (1).
The 2019-20 season was no different. Six different Rockets led the team in scoring. Marreon Jackson led or tied for Toledo scoring lead 17 times, while Luke Knapke led or tied for Toledo's scoring lead seven times. Willie Jackson led the team in scoring five times, Spencer Littleson was the Rockets' scoring leader four times and Dylan Alderson and Keshaun Saunders were the team scoring leader twice.
 
ON THE HORIZON
Toledo will begin a stretch of playing four of its next five games on the road at Miami (6-4, 3-2 MAC) on Tuesday, Jan. 26. The Rockets will then visit Bowling Green (10-5, 6-3 MAC) on Saturday, Jan. 30 before hosting Akron (7-3, 5-2 MAC) on Tuesday, Feb. 2.