TOLEDO, Ohio - Toledo men's basketball team (15-4, 10-1 MAC) will try to avenge its lone Mid-American Conference defeat this season when it hosts Akron (10-3, 8-2 MAC) on Tuesday, Feb. 2 at 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+). The Zips posted a 95-94 (OT) victory over the Rockets on Jan. 16 in Rhodes Arena in a contest in which UT held a seven-point lead in with 1:46 remaining in the extra session.

Toledo's 10-1 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 (10-3, 8-2 MAC) and three games ahead of Kent State (9-4, 6-3 MAC) in the MAC standings. UT has received nine votes in this week's Associated Press Top 25 poll and three in the USA Today Coaches Top 25 poll.

Toledo won its fourth straight game on Saturday thanks to six Rockets scoring in double figures for a second time this season in a convincing 84-66 road victory over arch-rival Bowling Green (10-7, 6-5 MAC) in the Stroh Center. Senior Spencer Littleson paced the Rocket attack with 19 points thanks to a red-hot 5-of-8 showing behind the three-point line. Senior Marreon Jackson supported Littleson's perimeter prowess with a strong all-around performance that featured 15 points, a career-high 12 rebounds and seven assists.

Jackson leads the Rockets with 16.9 ppg, 5.6 apg, 2.1 spg and a 93.8 FT% (No. 7 nationally). Freshman Ryan Rollins ranks second in scoring at 14.7 ppg with senior Spencer Littleson (13.2 ppg), junior Setric Millner Jr. (12.8 ppg) and junior JT Shumate (11.4 ppg) also scoring in double digits. Littleson ranks seventh and ninth nationally with a 47.8 three-point FG% and 3.37 treys per game, respectively.

Akron has won six straight games and is 2-2 on the road. Senior Loren Cristian Jackson, who leads the Zips with 20.5 ppg and 6.7 apg, tallied 34 points, seven assists and five rebounds against Toledo in the first meeting between the two teams.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021.
Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Toledo, Ohio.
Arena: Savage Arena (7,014).
Television: ESPN+. 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 37-28. Toledo has won eight of its last 10 games vs. Akron after losing seven in a row to the Zips. Ten of the last 14 meetings between Akron and Toledo have been decided by double digits.

POST TOUCHES
•  Toledo is the only school to have three players averaging 15.0 ppg or more in league play with Marreon Jackson (17.5/8th), Ryan Rollins (15.5/T-10th) and Spencer Littleson (15.5/T-10th).
•  Jackson's season-high 31 points vs. Kent State (Jan. 23) are the most he has ever scored in Savage Arena.
•  Jackson is in ninth place on Toledo's all-time scoring list with 1,595 career points, six points ahead of No. 10 Rian Pearson (2011-14).  Jackson also needs one three-pointer 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 14.7 ppg, a figure that ranks 14th in the conference. He also ranks second on the team with 5.6 rpg and third with 30 3PTFGs.
•  Rollins has scored in double digits in 13 straight games and 18 of 19 contests this year.
•  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 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 second and third in the MAC in league play with 1.6 bpg and a 66.7 FG%, respectively. He blocked four shots against Ohio (Jan. 8) and CMU (Jan. 19).
•  Mattia Acunzo registered his second-straight double-digit outing and third of the season with 13 points and a season-high seven boards at Bowling Green (Jan. 30). Acunzo, who tallied a season-high 15 points vs. NIU (Dec. 22), ranks second on the team with a 54.0 FG% and is 12-of-26 (.462) 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 199 victories, four behind second-place Stan Joplin. Nichols ranks first with a MAC-best 376 wins.
 
SOME TEAM STATISTICAL TIDBITS
•  Toledo's 10-1 start to the MAC season has elevated it to a No. 8 ranking in the CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major Top 25 poll (Jan. 25). The Rockets are also the MAC's top ranked team in the NET (No. 53) and KenPom (No. 58) rankings.
•  The Rockets received nine points in the Associated Press Top 25 poll this week, an increase of five points from last week.
•  Toledo ranks in the Top 25 nationally in four categories - seventh with 10.7 3PTFGs/game, 15th with 1.47 A/TO ratio, 16th with 28.7 3PTFG% defense, 21st with a 38.8 3PTFG% and 23rd with a 76.8 FT%.
•  Toledo has connected for 10 or more treys in a game in 13 of 19 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. 10 in kenpom.com's Offensive Efficiency ranking and is averaging 89.1 ppg and 18.9 apg with a 52.1 FG% and 40.1 3PTFG% in its last seven contests.
•  The Rockets have won eight of their 10 MAC games by nine points or more and lead the league with a plus-13.5 scoring margin in conference games.
•  Toledo is leading the MAC with a 38.8 3PTFG% and 10.7 3PTFGs per game. Toledo has limited its opponents to a 28.6 three-point mark (3rd in MAC) and 7.1 triples per game.
 
TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT TOLEDO VS. AKRON
•  Senior Spencer Littleson is averaging 14.3 ppg with a 54.5 3PTFG% (11-of-20) vs. Akron.
•  Senior Marreon Jackson is averaging 13.4 ppg with a 41.5 3PTFG% (22-of-53) vs. Akron. Jackson scored 36 points at Akron last year.
•  Sophomore Keshaun Saunders is averaging 9.0 ppg and 3-of-3 from three-point range.

ON THE HORIZON
Toledo will head back out on the road for contests at Ball State (6-8, 4-5 MAC) on Saturday, Feb. 6 and Northern Illinois (2-10, 1-6 MAC) on Tuesday, Feb. 9.