TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (1-0) looks to build off Tuesday's season-opening 69-61 victory at Valparaiso when it hosts Detroit Mercy (0-1) on Saturday, Nov. 13. Tip-off time in Savage Arena is set for 7:00 p.m. with streaming on ESPN3.

        Toledo is ranked No. 17 in the CollegeInsiders.com Mid-Major Preseason Poll and will be looking to continue a run of success that has seen the Rockets post an 87-43 (.669) record since the start of the 2017-18 campaign. Toledo's 87 wins and .669 winning percentage ranks among the Top 50 in the nation.

        Junior JT Shumate led Toledo with 20 points and nine rebounds and buried a key three-pointer with 1:06 remaining to propel the Rockets to their win at Valpo. Sophomore Ryan Rollins finished with 15 points and was joined in double figures by junior Setric Millner Jr. (10 pts.).

        Toledo controlled the boards by a 38-28 margin and outscored the Beacons in both second-chance (13-7) and fast-break points (18-9).

        Rollins is the Rockets' top returning scorer with 13.5 ppg, a figure that propelled him to Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year honors. He ranked second on the team with 2.6 apg and third with 5.3 rpg.

        Millner and Shumate also averaged in double digits last season with 12.9 and 11.3 ppg. Millner also averaged a team-best 6.8 rpg.

        Detroit Mercy opened its 2021-22 season with an 85-47 loss at Wyoming on Wednesday evening. The Titans were picked to finish fifth in the Horizon League's Preseason Coaches Poll.

        Senior Antoine Davis was named the Horizon's Preseason Player of the Year for the second time after ranking third in the nation last year with 24.0 ppg.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Nov. 13, 2021.
Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m.
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 36-25. Toledo has won the last four matchups vs. the Titans, including a 101-57 home victory in 2018 and an 80-72 road win in 2019. Toledo's last loss to Detroit Mercy was a 75-72 setback in 2015.
 
POST TOUCHES
•  Ryan Rollins topped MAC freshmen with 13.5 ppg last year and was named MAC Freshman of the Year as well as being named a finalist for the Kyle Macy National Freshman of the Year. He ranked second on the team with 2.6 apg, third with 5.3 rpg.
•  Setric Millner Jr. scored a career-high 26 points vs. Ohio in the MAC semifinals last season and registered three double-doubles last year. One of those double-doubles was a 13-point, 12-rebound outing vs. Ball State in the MAC Quarterfinals.
•  JT Shumate ranked among the MAC leaders in two categories last year. He was third with 1.4 bpg and a 59.6 FG%. He tied his career high with nine rebounds at Valpo on Tuesday.
•  Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk is in his 12th season at the Rockets' helm and has guided Toledo to five 20-win campaigns in the last eight years, marking the first time for this accomplishment since Bob Nichols recorded five straight 20-win seasons from 1976-81.
•  Kowalczyk was named 2020-21 MAC Coach of the Year after leading the Rockets to a 21-9 overall record and a 15-4 league mark.
  
A RARE TRIPLE CROWN
     Toledo became just the second program in Mid-American Conference history to receive Player of Year, Coach of Year and Freshman of Year last season.
     Marreon Jackson, Ryan Rollins and Tod Kowalczyk were named Player of Year, Freshman of Year and Coach of Year, respectively.
     Eastern Michigan was the first school to be honored with all three awards when Grant Long, Lorenzo Neely and Ben Braun were the recipients in 1988.
 
HORIZON SUCCESS
        The Rockets are 25-11 vs. the Horizon League over the last nine years, including an 18-6 mark since the start of the 2015-16 season.
        Prior to taking over at the Rocket helm, Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk spent eight seasons coaching in the Horizon League at Green Bay
 
ON THE HORIZON
     Toledo will face another Horizon League opponent when it travels to Rochester, Mich. to face Oakland on Wednesday, Nov. 17 at 7:00 p.m.