TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (16-4, 11-1 MAC) looks to continue its red-hot play when it travels to Ball State (6-9, 4-6 MAC) on Saturday, Feb. 6 for a nationally televised contest on the CBS Sports Network. Tip-off time is set for noon.
       
Toledo has tied the school record held by the 1966-67 and 1979-80 squads for best start to a Mid-American Conference season after winning 13 of its last 14 outings. The Rockets' latest victory was Tuesday's 91-76 home triumph over second-place Akron, a win that avenged UT's only MAC setback this season.

Toledo currently sits two-and-a-half games in front of Akron (10-4, 8-3 MAC) and three games ahead of third-place Kent State (10-4, 7-3 MAC). The Zips and Golden Flashes face each other on Friday, Feb. 5.

Junior JT Shumate scored 25 points to lead a balanced attack in the Rockets' win over Akron. Seniors Marreon Jackson and Spencer Littleson also played a key role in the victory. Jackson registered his second-straight double-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, while Littleson tallied 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting from behind the three-point arc.

Jackson tops the Rockets with 17.0 ppg, 5.8 apg, 2.0 spg and a 92.9 FT% (No. 7 nationally). Freshman Ryan Rollins ranks second in scoring at 14.0 ppg with Littleson (13.4 ppg), junior Setric Millner Jr. (12.7 ppg) and junior JT Shumate (12.5 ppg) also scoring in double digits. Littleson ranks fourth and sixth nationally with a 49.3 three-point FG% and 3.45 treys per game, respectively.

Ball State enters Saturday's contest on a four-game losing streak with three of those defeats on the road. Seniors K.J. Walton and Ishmael El-Amin are pacing the Cardinals in scoring at 16.1 and 15.6 ppg, respectively.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021.
Tip-Off: Noon.
Location: Muncie, Ind.
Arena: Worthen Arena (11,500).
Television: CBS Sports Network. Alex del Barrio will provide play-by-play for the broadcast with Tim Doyle 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 50-47. Toledo posted a 69-63 home win in its last meeting vs. Ball State but has dropped six of its last eight decisions vs. the Cardinals.Prior to this stretch, the Rockets had won five of six vs. BSU.

POST TOUCHES
•  JT Shumate is leading Toledo with 18.6 ppg, a 72.7 FG% (32-of-44) and 68.8 3PTFG% (11-of-16) during its five-game winning streak. Marreon Jackson ranks second with 17.8 ppg and a team-high 7.4 rpg and 7.0 apg.
•  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 1,614 career points, 62 points behind No. 8 Steve Mix (1966-69).  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.
•  Ryan Rollins leads MAC freshmen with 14.0 ppg, a figure that ranks 18th in the conference. He also ranks second on the team with 5.8 rpg and third with 30 3PTFGs.
•  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.
•  Jackson and Rollins are ranked sixth and seventh in MAC league games only with 4.9 and 4.8 defensive rebounds per game, 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 leads the MAC in league play with a 57.9 three-point FG%. He also ranks second and third with 1.6 bpg and a 67.5 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 55.1 FG% and is 13-of-27 (.481) 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
•  The Rockets received nine points in the Associated Press Top 25 poll this week.
•  Toledo's 11-1 start to the MAC season has elevated it to a No. 6 ranking in the CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major Top 25 poll (Feb. 1). The Rockets are also the MAC's top ranked team in the NET (No. 51) and KenPom (No. 52) rankings.
•  Toledo ranks No. 6 in kenpom.com's Offensive Efficiency ranking and is averaging 89.4 ppg and 18.5 apg with a 51.9 FG% and 40.7 3PTFG% in its last eight contests.
•  The Rockets have posted a 50.0 FG% or higher in three straight games and are 12-0 this season when shooting 45.0 percent or better from the field.
•  Toledo ranks in the Top 20 nationally in six categories (through games of Feb. 4) - 1st in 3PTFGs made (217), 6th with 10.8 3PTFGs/game, 15th with 1.46 A/TO ratio, 15th with 28.8 3PTFG% defense, 17th with a 39.1 3PTFG% and 19th with a 77.4 FT%.
•  Toledo has connected for 10 or more treys in a game in 14 of 20 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.
•  The Rockets have won nine of their 11 MAC games by nine points or more and lead the league with a plus-13.6 scoring margin in conference games.
•  Toledo is leading the MAC with a 39.1 3PTFG% and 10.9 3PTFGs per game. Toledo has limited its opponents to a 28.8 three-point mark (2nd in MAC/14th in nation) and 7.1 triples per game.
 
A WIN OVER BALL STATE WOULD ...
•  Give the Rockets a school-record 12-1 start to Mid-American Conference play.
•  Extend Toledo's win streak to six games and give it 14 wins in its last 15 games.
•  Improve the Rockets' road record to 7-3 this season.
•  Bring Toledo within three victories of its fifth 20-win season under Coach Kowalczyk.
 
KNOCKING THEM DOWN
Toledo leads the MAC and ranks 19th nationally with a 77.4 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. Spencer Littleson leads the way at 93.8 followed by Marreon Jackson (92.9), JT Shumate (82.5) and Ryan Rollins (80.3).

ON THE HORIZON
Toledo will return to the road for a contest at Northern Illinois (2-10, 1-6 MAC) on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 2:00 p.m. CT before hosting Bowling Green (10-8, 6-6 MAC) on Saturday, Feb. 13 at 2:00 p.m.