Toledo Earns No. 1 Seed in MAC Tourney with 91-44 Win Over WMU

Saturday, February 27

Toledo, Ohio

5:00 p.m.

University of Toledo

19-6,14-3MAC

Western Michigan

4-15,3-11MAC

Western Mich.

Toledo

Senior Marreon Jackson tallied 22 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and five steals in a 91-44 victory vs. WMU on Saturday.

Toledo Earns No. 1 Seed in MAC Tourney with 91-44 Win Over WMU

2/27/2021 8:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo secured the No. 1 seed in the 2021 Mid-American Conference Tournament on Saturday evening with a dominating 91-44 victory over Western Michigan. The win improved the Rockets to 19-6 overall and 14-3 in league play and was their ninth straight over the Broncos.

"We obviously played really well tonight," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "Western is a lot better than they played. We just had a really good night. I thought the key to the game was our defensive intensity at the start. Winning a share of the regular season is important for us, but we still have a lot to play for Tuesday night at Central Michigan."

Senior Marreon Jackson produced another strong all-around game to lead Toledo, finishing with 22 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and a career-high tying five steals in just 29 minutes.

Jackson's backcourt mates, senior Spencer Littleson and freshman Ryan Rollins, enjoyed standout performances as well. Littleson scored 17 points on 5-of-8 three-point shooting, while Rollins tallied 16 points, six assists and five rebounds. Junior JT Shumate and sophomore Keshaun Saunders also finished in double figures with 13 points each.

Toledo never trailed and held a 54-16 halftime lead after shooting 60.0 percent from the field and 10-of-18 from three-point range in the opening 20 minutes. The Rockets finished with a 54.5 shooting mark and a 41.9 (13-of-31) three-point FG%.

Western Michigan was limited to a 28.8 FG% and a 3-of-26 showing behind the three-point arc by the stifling Toledo defense.

Toledo will have a chance to gain sole possession of the MAC regular-season title when it travels to Central Michigan (6-15, 2-12 MAC) on Tuesday, March 2. Tip-off time at McGuirk Arena in Mt. Pleasant, Mich. is set for 5:00 p.m.

HOW IT HAPPENED

FIRST HALF

Toledo jumped right on the Broncos with Spencer Littleson and Ryan Rollins each hitting three-pointers en route to a 12-1 lead in the game's first four minutes.
Another Littleson triple increased Toledo's margin to 27-12 and forced the Broncos to take the game's first timeout at the 8:12 mark.
Marreon Jackson then spearheaded an 18-0 spurt to increase the Rockets' lead to 47-14 just over three minutes before halftime.
Toledo scored the final seven points of the opening stanza to take a 54-16 lead to the locker room.

SECOND HALF

The Broncos trimmed the Rockets' lead to 58-28 with a 12-4 run in the first two minutes after halftime.
Jackson responded with five straight points and Rollins followed with a steal and dunk to put Toledo in front 65-28 at the 15:58 mark.
The Rockets took their largest lead, 91-40, on Mattia Acunzo's jumper with 3:02 to play.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Toledo's 14 MAC victories are its most since posting a 14-4 mark in the 2013-14 season. The Rockets also finished 14-2 in the 2006-07 season, the last time UT earned the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament.
The Rockets' 47-point victory was their second-largest ever in a Mid-American Conference game, trailing only 52-point win over Buffalo on Feb. 11, 1999.
Western Michigan's 44 points and 16 first-half points were the fewest scored by a Division I opponent against Toledo since a 59-44 win over Eastern Michigan in the 2014 MAC Tournament.
Toledo has swept its season series vs. Western Michigan four straight years.