TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (21-7, 15-4 MAC) faces No. 5 seed Ohio (14-7, 9-5 MAC) tonight in the 2021 Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinals. The contest will be televised on CBS Sports Network and tip off in Cleveland's Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse at 5:00 p.m.

      The top-seeded Rockets advanced to the semifinals yesterday with a 91-89 (OT) victory over No. 8 Ball State. Marreon Jackson tallied 29 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals and made a career-high 11-of-12 free throw attempts. JT Shumate added 16 points, Ryan Rollins scored seven of his 14 points in overtime, Setric Millner Jr. contributed 13 points and a team-high 12 rebounds, and Spencer Littleson had 12 points. Littleson hit four three-pointers in the contest and now has a school-record 100 triples, one more than Jackson's total of 99 last year.

      Jackson leads Toledo with 18.0 ppg, 6.1 apg (No. 10 nationally), 1.9 spg (No. 3 in MAC) and a 91.3 FT% (No. 7 nationally). Ryan Rollins ranks second in team scoring at 13.8 ppg with Spencer Littleson right behind him at 13.6 ppg. Setric Millner Jr. (12.4 ppg) and JT Shumate (11.7 ppg) are also scoring in double digits. Littleson leads the team with a 47.8 three-point FG%,  while Millner is grabbing a team-high 6.7 rpg.

      Junior Jason Preston leads Ohio with 16.1 ppg and 7.1 apg, while senior Dwight Wilson III ranks second on the team with 14.9 ppg to go along with a team-best 7.4 rpg and 67.0 field-goal percentage.

      Toledo has won its last five meetings as well as eight of its last 10 contests vs. Ohio, but the Rockets hold just a 1-6 all-time record vs. the Bobcats in the MAC Tournament. UT's lone win was an 85-84 (OT) victory in the 1993 MAC Quarterfinals.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Friday, March 12, 2021.
Tip-Off: 5:00 p.m.
Location: Cleveland, Ohio.
Arena: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse (20, 562).
Television: CBS Sports Network. Alex Del Barrio  will provide play-by-play for broadcast with Steve Wolf 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
Ohio leads 71-62. Toledo has won five straight vs. Ohio, including eight of its last 10. The Rockets posted a 95-78 home win over Ohio in their only meeting this season.
 
NOTES FROM THE MAC QUARTERFINAL WIN OVER BALL STATE
•  Marreon Jackson's career-high 11 free throws were the most ever by a Rocket in a MAC Tournament game, surpassing Jay Lehman's 10 vs. Eastern Michigan on March 3, 1981.
•  Setric Millner Jr. scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.
•  Toledo is 9-1 when five or more Rockets score in double digits.
•  The Rockets knocked down 10 or three-pointers in a game for a 20th time this season.
•  Toledo improved to 3-5 vs. Ball State in the MAC Tournament and 15-14 in the MAC Quarterfinals.
•  The Rockets are now 4-1 as the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament and 4-2 in overtime games in the MAC Tournament.
•  Toledo is 3-3 in games decided by two points or less and 2-1 in overtime games this season.
 
POST TOUCHES
•  Marreon Jackson ranks second on the team with 6.3 rpg and he put the Rockets on his back down the stretch by averaging 19.8 ppg, 10.1 rpg and 7.0 apg in his last 10 games. He also registered a pair of triple-doubles and six double-doubles during this time.
 • Jackson is the only player in the nation averaging more than 17.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 6.0 apg.
•  Jackson moved past Jonathan Williams (2013-17) into sixth place on Toledo's all-time scoring list yesterday and now has 1,778 career points, 11 behind Jaelan Sanford (2015-19). Jackson also is in second place with 301 three-point FGs and third place with 566 assists in Rocket history.
•  Spencer Littleson has hit four or more triples in 15 games, including 11 times in league play.
•  Ryan Rollins leads MAC freshmen with 13.8 ppg. He also is second on the team with  2.6 apg, third with 5.4 rpg and ranks fifth all-time for points (387) by a Rocket freshman. He trails Julius Brown (427, 2011-12), Ken Epperson (420, 1981-82), Jake Barnett (414, 2009-10) and Terry Reynolds (390, 2000-01).
•  Setric Millner Jr. scored a season-high 19 points vs. Ball State last Friday and has registered three double-doubles this season. Prior to his 19-point outing vs. the Cardinals, Millner had scored a season-high 17 points on six occasions.
•  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.
•  Mattia Acunzo ranks second on the team with a 53.0 FG% and has a 41.7 3FG% (15-of-36). Acunzo has knocked down 21 of his last 23 free throws, including 16 straight before a 6-of-8 outing from the line vs. Ball State on March 5.
 
SOME TEAM STATISTICAL TIDBITS
•  The Rockets have won their last five matchups vs. Ohio with an average margin of victory of 18.2 ppg.
•  Toledo won a school-record 15 league games this season and is the only MAC school to win 13 or more league games in three of last four years.
•  Toledo has allowed an opponent to register a 40.0 3PTFG% or higher only four times.
•  The Rockets have held opponents under a 30.0 3PTFG% on 13 occasions.