TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (14-4, 9-1 MAC) looks to win its fourth straight game and maintain its stronghold on first place in the Mid-American Conference when it visits Bowling Green (10-6, 6-4 MAC) on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+). The Rockets' meeting vs. the Falcons is the first of two this season with the second match-up taking place on Feb. 13 in Savage Arena.

Toledo's 9-1 start to league play is its best since the 1979-80 campaign when it finished with a 14-2 mark. The Rockets are currently a game-and-a-half in front of Akron (9-3, 7-2 MAC) and three games ahead of Bowling Green (10-6, 6-4 MAC) and Kent State (8-4, 5-3 MAC) in the MAC standings.

Junior JT Shumate exploded for a career-high 33 points and set a school record by going 11-of-11 from the field in Toledo's 90-81 win at Miami on Tuesday. Shumate broke Casey Shaw's record (11-of-12) for field-goal percentage in a game and is the first Rocket ever to make 10 or more shots without a miss. In addition, his 11 field goals without a miss is the most by a NCAA Division I player this season.

Senior Marreon Jackson leads the Rockets with 17.0 ppg, 5.6 apg, 2.1 spg and a 95.1 FT% (No. 3 nationally). Freshman Ryan Rollins ranks second in scoring at 14.9 ppg with senior Spencer Littleson (12.9 ppg), junior Setric Millner Jr. (12.9 ppg) and Shumate (11.7 ppg) also scoring in double digits. Littleson ranks 12th nationally with 3.28 treys per game, while Millner leads the Rockets with 6.6 rpg.

Bowling Green has dropped four of its last five decisions since opening league play with a 5-0 mark. Senior Justin Turner ranks second in the MAC with 20.5 ppg and third with 5.1 apg. Senior Daeqwon Plowden is second in team scoring with 12.6 ppg and third with 8.3 rpg.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021.
Tip-Off: 5:00 p.m.
Location: Bowling Green, Ohio.
Arena: Stroh Center (4,347).
Television: ESPN+. 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 92-82. Toledo has won nine of its last 12 games vs. Bowling Green but dropped a pair of decisions last season. The Rockets have won three of their last five games in the Stroh Center.
 
POST TOUCHES
•  Toledo is the only MAC school with four players ranked among the Top 20 scorers. Marreon Jackson leads the way at 17.0 ppg (7th in MAC) and is followed by Ryan Rollins (14.9/12th), Spencer Littleson (12.9/T-20th) and Setric Millner Jr. (12.9/T-20th).
•  Toledo is the only school to have three players averaging 15.0 ppg or more in league play with Jackson (17.7/7th), Rollins (15.9/10th) and Littleson (15.1/12th).
•  Jackson's season-high 31 points vs. Kent State (Jan. 23) were the most he has ever scored in Savage Arena.
•  Jackson is in 10th place on Toledo's all-time scoring list with 1,580 career points, nine points behind No. 9 Rian Pearson (2011-14).  Jackson also needs two three-pointers to move past Nick Moore (276/1999-2003) into second place in Rocket history.
•  Spencer 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.
•  Ryan Rollins leads MAC freshmen with 14.9 ppg, a figure that ranks 12th in the conference. He also ranks second on the team with 5.6 rpg and third with 29 3PTFGs.
    Rollins has scored in double digits in 12 straight games and 17 of 18 contests this year.
•  Rollins leads Toledo with 4.7 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 career-high 33 points and set a school record by making 11-of-11 shots (5-of-5 3PTFG) at Miami (Jan. 26). Shumate, whose sister Katie is a sophomore guard at Kent State, transferred to Toledo from Division II Walsh University last spring and received immediate eligibility in mid-December.
•  Shumate is tied for second and third in the MAC in league play with 1.4 bpg and a 68.3 FG%, respectively. He blocked four shots against Ohio (Jan. 8) and CMU (Jan. 19).
•  Mattia Acunzo scored a season-high 15 points and tied his season best with six rebounds vs. NIU (Dec. 22). Acunzo, who scored 13 points at Miami (Jan. 26), ranks second on team with a 55.0 FG% and is 11-of-23 (.478) from three-point range.
•  Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk is in his 11th season at the Rockets' helm and has guided Toledo to four 20-win campaigns in the last seven years, marking the first time for this accomplishment since Bob Nichols recorded five straight 20-win seasons from 1976-81.
•  Kowalczyk ranks third on Toledo's all-time win list with 198 victories, five behind second-place Stan Joplin. Nichols ranks first with a MAC-best 376 wins.
 
SOME TEAM STATISTICAL TIDBITS
•  Toledo's 9-1 start to the MAC season has elevated it to a No. 8 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. 62) and KenPom (No. 67) rankings.
•  The Rockets received four points in the Associated Press Top 25 poll this week.
•  Toledo ranks in the Top 20 nationally in three categories - eighth with 10.8 3PTFGs/game, 14th with 1.49 assist/turnover ratio and 17th with 77.4 FT%.
•  Toledo has connected for 10 or more treys in a game in 12 of 18 contests.
•  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'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.
•  Toledo ranks No. 13 in kenpom.com's Offensive Efficiency ranking and is averaging 90.0 ppg and 19.8 apg along with a 52.4 FG%, 41.8 3PTFG% and 78.1 FT% in its last six contests.
•  Seven of the Rockets' nine MAC wins have been by nine points or more. Toledo leads the league with a plus-13.0 scoring margin in conference games.
•  Toledo is leading the MAC with a 39.3 3PTFG% and 10.8 3PTFGs per game. Toledo has limited its opponents to a 29.1 three-point mark (3rd in MAC) and 7.0 triples per game.
•  Toledo has registered 79 wins over the last three-plus seasons, posting a 23-11 mark in 2017-18, a 25-8 ledger in 2018-19, a 17-15 record last year and a 14-4 mark this season.
 
TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT TOLEDO VS. BOWLING GREEN
• Marreon Jackson is averaging 18.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg and 3.8 apg with a 37.9 3PTFG% (11-of-29) in four career games vs. the Falcons. Jackson averaged 29.0 ppg in two games last year, 27 points in Savage Arena and 31 points in the Stroh Center.
• Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk has a 9-5 record vs. Bowling Green as the Rockets' head coach.

ON THE HORIZON
Toledo will host Akron (9-3, 7-2 MAC) on Tuesday, Feb. 2 in Savage Arena at 7:00 p.m. The Rockets will then head back out on the road for contests at Ball State (6-7, 4-4 MAC) on Saturday, Feb. 6 and Northern Illinois (2-10, 1-6 MAC) on Tuesday, Feb. 9.