TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo men's basketball team (19-6, 14-3 MAC) will look to capture the outright Mid-American Conference regular-season title when it visits Central Michigan (6-15, 2-12 MAC) on Tuesday, March 2. The contest will be streamed on ESPN+ and will tip off in McGuirk Arena at 5:00 p.m.

       The Rockets clinched a share of the MAC title with Saturday's 91-44 victory over Western Michigan. The MAC crown is UT's first regular-season championship since 2013-14 and ninth in program history.

       Toledo dominated from the start against the Broncos to register its second-largest victory ever in a MAC game. WMU's 44 points were the fewest allowed by Toledo since a 59-44 win over EMU in the 2014 MAC Tournament. Marreon Jackson produced another strong all-around game, finishing with 22 points, eight boards, eight assists and a career-high tying five steals. Spencer Littleson scored 17 points on 5-of-8 three-point shooting, and Ryan Rollins tallied 16 points, six assists and five rebounds.

       Jackson leads Toledo with 17.5 ppg, 6.1 apg (No. 15 nationally), 2.0 spg (No. 3 in MAC) and a 91.8 FT% (No. 6 nationally). Littleson ranks second in scoring at 13.7 ppg with Rollins (13.6 ppg), Setric Millner Jr. (12.1 ppg) and JT Shumate (12.0 ppg) each scoring 12.0 ppg or more. Littleson is second nationally with a 48.4 three-point FG% and 89 three-point FGs,  while Millner is grabbing a team-high 6.6 rpg.

       Central Michigan is on an eight-game losing streak with three of those defeats coming last week. Travon Broadway Jr. leads the Chippewas in scoring with 17.9 ppg but has missed the last three games.

       Toledo has won seven of its last eight meetings vs. CMU, including an 89-72 victory in Savage Arena on Jan. 19.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Tuesday, March 2, 2021.
Tip-Off: 5:00 p.m.
Location: Mt. Pleasant, Mich.
Arena: McGuirk Arena (5,300).
Television: ESPN+. Adam Jaksa will provide play-by-play for broadcast with Matt DeVries 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 66-39. Toledo has won seven of its last eight games vs. CMU, including an 89-72 home win on Jan. 19. The Rockets have posted double-digit victories in
   six of their seven wins during this stretch.
 
POST TOUCHES
•  Marreon Jackson ranks second on the team with 5.7 rpg and is averaging 21.8 ppg, 9.5 rpg, 8.3 apg and 2.8 spg with a 54.4 FG% (31-of-57) in his last four games. In league play, he has grabbed a team-high 6.4 rpg and ranks fourth in the MAC with 5.8 defensive rpg.
•  Jackson moved into seventh place on Toledo's all-time scoring list Saturday and now has 1,712 career points, seven points ahead of Greg Stempin (1997-2001).  Jackson also is in second with 291 three-point FGs and fourth with 546 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.
•  Littleson has hit four or more triples in 13 games, including 10 times in MAC play.
•  Ryan Rollins leads MAC freshmen with 13.6 ppg. He also is second on the team with  2.8 apg, third with 5.5 rpg and ranks sixth all-time for points (341) by a Rocket freshman. He trails Julius Brown (427, 2011-12), Ken Epperson (420, 1981-82), Jake Barnett (414, 2009-10), Terry Reynolds (390, 2000-01) and Craig Thames (342, 1992-93).
•  Rollins scored a season-high 25 points vs. CMU (Jan. 19) and has two double-doubles with 16 pts. and 13 reb. at Marshall (Dec. 16) as well as 16 pts. and 11 boards vs. NIU (Dec. 22).
•  Jackson and Rollins are ranked fourth and 10th in MAC league games only with 5.8 and 4.4 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.
•  Millner has scored a season-high 17 points on six occasions this season.
•  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 NCAA 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 ranks second with a 50.0 three-point FG% and is third with a 63.2 FG% and 1.4 bpg.
•  Littleson and Shumate are the MAC's top two three-point shooters in league play with 50.0 and 48.5 three-point shooting marks, respectively.
•  Mattia Acunzo ranks second on the team with a 51.9 FG% and has a 40.0 3FG% (14-of-35).
•  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 is tied for second place with Stan Joplin on Toledo's all-time win list with 203 victories. Nichols ranks first with a MAC-best 376 wins.
 
SOME TEAM STATISTICAL TIDBITS
•  Toledo ranks eighth in the CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major Top 25 poll (Feb. 22). Toledo is also the MAC's top ranked team in the KenPom (No. 53) and NET (No. 58) rankings.
•  Toledo ranks No. 13 in kenpom.com's Offensive Efficiency ranking.
•  UT previously won MAC regular-season titles in 1953-54 (10-1), 1966-67 (11-1), 1971-72 (7-3), 1978-79 (13-3), 1979-80 (14-2), 1980-81 (10-6), 2006-07 (14-2) and 2013-14 (14-4).
•  Toledo ranks in the Top 20 nationally in seven categories (through games of Feb. 27) - 1st in 3PTFGs made (273), 3rd with 10.9 3PTFGs/game, 12th with a 78.4 FT%, 14th with a 1.47 A/TO ratio, 17th with a 29.1 three-point FG% defense, 18th with a 38.3 3PTFG%, 18th with 81.1 ppg.
•  Toledo is the only MAC school to win 13 or more league games in three of last four years.
•  The Rockets have won 12 of their 14 MAC games by nine points or more and lead the league with a plus-12.4 scoring margin in conference games.
•  Five or more Rockets have scored in double digits on nine occasions with six doing so vs. Ohio (Jan. 8) and Bowling Green (Jan. 30)
•  Toledo has connected for 10 or more treys in a game in 18 of 25 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.
 
A LOOK AT THE ROCKETS
     Toledo posted a 17-15 record last year and has an 84-40 (.677) win-loss mark over the last three-plus seasons. Toledo won a school-record 27 games under Coach Kowalczyk in the 2013-14 campaign. The Rockets' 25 victories in 2018-19 ranked second in program history.
     The Rockets were picked to finish sixth in the Mid-American Conference according to voting from the league's 12 head coaches. This season will mark the first time since the 1996-97 campaign that the MAC will not have divisional play for basketball.
 
KNOCKING THEM DOWN
     Toledo leads the MAC and ranks 12th nationally with a 78.4 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.

MARREON MAKING MARK
       Senior guard Marreon Jackson earned a spot on the All-MAC Freshman Team, progressed to Honorable-Mention All-MAC honors as a sophomore and was a Second-Team All-MAC selection last season. This year, he was voted to a spot on the pre-season First-Team All-MAC squad.
       Prior to registering a triple-double vs. Miami on Feb. 16, Jackson had nearly registered a triple-double on four occasions this season. He tallied 24 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds at Akron before notching 19 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists vs. the Zips in Savage Arena. He also tallied 15 points, 12 boards and seven assists at Bowling Green before posting 27 points, a career-best 14 boards and eight assists vs. the Falcons at home.
       Jackson currently ranks seventh in school history with 1,712 points. He also is second with 291 career three-point field goals and fourth with 546 career assists.
 
LITTLESON LAUNCHING AS ONE OF NATION'S BEST SHOOTERS
     Senior guard Spencer Littleson ranks in the nation's Top 5 in 3PTFG% (48.4/2nd), total 3PTFGs (89) and 3PTFG/game (3.56/5th). He has shot even better in league play, ranking first with a 50.0 3PTFG% and tied for first with 3.94 3PTFG/game.
     Littleson ranks second in team scoring in conference action with 15.4 ppg. He has set a school record for most treys by a Rocket (67) in a conference season. Marreon Jackson set that record last year with 63 triples. Littleson ranks third for 3PTFGs overall with 89. He is tied with Nick Moore (2002-03) and trails only Jackson (99 in 2019-20) and Nate Navigato (94 in 2017-18).
 
ON THE HORIZON
       The Rockets will close out their regular season at home with Senior Night vs. Ball State (9-11, 7-8 MAC) on Friday, March 5.