TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (16-6, 11-3 MAC) looks to maintain its standing atop the Mid-American Conference standings when it hosts Miami (8-8, 5-6 MAC) on Tuesday, Feb. 16. Tip-off time in Savage Arena is set for 7:00 p.m. with streaming on ESPN3.

The Rockets currently lead second-place Akron (12-4, 10-3 MAC) by a half-game in the Mid-American Conference standings. The Zips are hosting Northern Illinois on Tuesday afternoon.

Toledo dropped an 88-81 decision to Bowling Green on Saturday for its first home setback of the season. Senior Marreon Jackson nearly registered triple-double with a game-high 27 points, career-best 14 rebounds and eight assists for the Rockets. Joining Jackson in double figures was junior Setric Millner Jr. (15 pts.) junior JT Shumate (14 pts.) and senior Spencer Littleson (11 pts.).

Jackson tops the Rockets with 17.2 ppg, 5.8 apg, 1.8 spg and a 93.5 FT% (No. 6 nationally). Freshman Ryan Rollins ranks second in scoring at 13.4 ppg with Littleson (13.1 ppg), Millner (12.7 ppg) and JT Shumate (12.6 ppg) also scoring in double digits. Littleson ranks fifth nationally with a 47.7 three-point FG% and eighth with 3.36 treys per game,  while Millner is grabbing a team-high 6.5 rpg.

Miami has lost four of its last five games, including an 83-76 home setback to Akron last Friday. Sophomore Dae Dae Grant and junior Mekhi Lairy lead the RedHawks with 13.4 and 13.2 ppg, respectively.

Toledo posted a 90-81 win at Miami on Jan. 26 for its 14th straight victory over the RedHawks. Shumate set a school record by making all 11 of his field-goal attempts en route to a season-high 33 points. The Rockets' last defeat to Miami occurred in Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk's first year at the Toledo helm.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 16, 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
   Miami leads 68-63. Toledo has won 14 in a row over Miami, with seven wins at home, six on the road and one in the 2018 MAC Tournament quarterfinals. The Rockets posted a 90-81 win at Miami on Jan. 26.

POST TOUCHES
•  Marreon Jackson is averaging 11.0 rpg and has three double-doubles in his last four games
•  Jackson's season-high 31 points vs. Kent State (Jan. 23) are the most points he has ever scored in Savage Arena in his Rocket career.
•  Jackson is in ninth place on Toledo's all-time scoring list with 1,652 career points, 26 points behind No. 8 Steve Mix (1966-69).  Jackson also is in second place with 281 three-point FGs and fourth with 521 assists 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.
•  Ryan Rollins leads MAC freshmen with 13.4 ppg. He also ranks second on the team with 5.8 rpg and third with 31 3PTFGs.
•  Rollins scored a season-high 25 points vs. CMU (Jan. 19) and has two double-doubles with 16 points and 13 rebounds at Marshall (Dec. 16) as well as 16 points and 11 boards vs. Northern Illinois (Dec. 22).
•  Jackson and Rollins are ranked fifth and seventh in MAC league games only with 5.4 and 4.6 defensive rpg, respectively.
•  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.
•  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 ranks among the MAC leaders in three categories in league play. He is second with 1.5 bpg, tied for second with a 50.0 three-point FG% and third with a 62.5 FG%. He blocked four shots against Ohio (Jan. 8) and CMU (Jan. 19).
•  Mattia Acunzo has scored in double digits three times, including 13 points and five rebounds in the Rockets' first meeting vs. Miami. Acunzo, who tallied a season-high 15 points vs. NIU (Dec. 22), ranks second on the team with a 53.6 FG% and is 14-of-31 (.452) 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 200 victories, three behind second-place Stan Joplin. Nichols ranks first with a MAC-best 376 wins.
 
SOME TEAM STATISTICAL TIDBITS
•  Toledo ranks seventh in the CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major Top 25 poll (Feb. 8). The Rockets are also the MAC's top ranked team in the KenPom (No. 64) and NET (No. 70) rankings.
•  Toledo ranks No. 16 in kenpom.com's Offensive Efficiency ranking.
•  Toledo's 13-game home winning streak ended with its loss to Bowling Green. The 13-game streak marked the longest home unbeaten stretch since an 18-game win streak from March 5, 2013-Nov. 24, 2014.
•  Toledo tied its school record held by the 1966-67 and 1979-80 squads with its 11-1 start to the Mid-American Conference season.
•  Toledo ranks in the Top 20 nationally in four categories (through games of Feb. 14) - 3rd in 3PTFGs made (235), T-5th with 10.7 3PTFGs/game, 15th with 1.45 A/TO ratio and 15th with a 78.2 FT%.
•  Toledo's loss to Bowling Green was the first time it lost this season in 12 games when outrebounding its opponent.
•  Toledo has connected for 10 or more treys in a game in 15 of 22 contests but tied its season low with seven in its loss at Ball State (Feb. 6).
•  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.
•  The Rockets have won nine of their 11 MAC games by nine points or more and rank second in the league with a plus-10.1 scoring margin in conference games.
 
KNOCKING THEM DOWN
     Toledo leads the MAC and ranks 18th nationally with a 78.2 FT%, marking its highest conversion rate at the line in Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk's tenure. The previous best is 77.2 in the 2018-19 season.
     Four of the five Rocket starters are shooting over 80 percent from the charity stripe. Marreon Jackson leads the way at 93.5 percent followed by Spencer Littleson (88.9), JT Shumate (83.3) and Ryan Rollins (81.1).

ON THE HORIZON
     Toledo will head to Buffalo (9-6, 7-4 MAC) on Friday, Feb. 19 for a 9:00 p.m. contest that will be televised nationally on ESPN2.