TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (11-4, 3-1 MAC) travels to Oxford, Ohio when it takes on Miami (7-6, 1-1 MAC) on Tuesday, Jan. 11 in the first of its two Mid-American Conference road games this week. Tip-off time in Millett Hall is set for 7:00 p.m. with streaming on ESPN+.
       
Toledo rolled to victories at Central Michigan (82-54) and vs. Northern Illinois (94-73) last week. Six Rockets scored in double figures against the Huskies on Saturday with juniors RayJ Dennis and Setric Millner Jr. leading the way with 16 points apiece. Sophomore Ryan Rollins also scored 15 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to help Toledo dominate the glass by a 43-31 margin. The Rockets rank ninth nationally with 30.1 defensive rpg.
       
Rollins leads Toledo and ranks second in the MAC with 19.1 ppg. He  also tops the MAC with 2.1 spg and has scored 20 or more points in eight contests. Junior JT Shumate ranks second on the team with 14.4 ppg and is grabbing a team-best 7.1 rpg. Also scoring in double digits are Millner Jr. (13.4 ppg, 6.0 rpg) and Dennis (11.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.7 apg).
       
Miami will be playing its first conference home contest after opening league play with a 91-81 win at Buffalo (Dec. 29) and an 87-83 (OT) setback at Bowling Green (Jan. 8). Junior Dae Dae Grant ranks sixth in the MAC with 17.4 ppg and third with 4.5 apg.
       
Toledo posted a pair of victories over the RedHawks last season, notching a 90-81 victory in Oxford before posting an 87-75 win in Toledo. Shumate poured in a career-high 33 points in Millett Hall, while former Rocket Marreon Jackson tallied a triple-double with 18 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds in Savage Arena.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2022.
Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Oxford, Ohio.
Arena: Millett Hall (6,400).
Television: ESPN+. Steve Baker will provide play-by-play for broadcast with Randy Hollowell 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 68-64. The Rockets posted a 90-81 win at Miami on Jan. 26 and an 87-75 win in Savage Arena last year. 

ROCKETS IN MAC TEAM RANKINGS
•  Toledo tops the MAC and ranks ninth nationally in defensive rpg (30.1). The Rockets also lead the MAC in FG% defense (39.1), 3PTFG% defense (28.5) and scoring margin (+12.5). UT ranks 26th nationally in FG% defense and 28th in 3PTFG% defense.
•  Toledo ranks second in the league in field-goal percentage (45.9), assists per game (14.2), assist/turnover ratio (1.23) and rebounding margin (+6.3).
 
ROCKETS IN MAC INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
•  Ryan Rollins ranks second in the MAC with 19.1 ppg and leads the MAC with 2.1 spg.
•  JT Shumate paces the conference with a 51.7 3PTFG% and ranks fourth with a 54.7 field-goal mark. He also is seventh with 7.1 rpg and an 81.8 FT% after knocking down his last 17 attempts at the charity stripe.
•  RayJ Dennis ranks fourth in the MAC with 3.7 apg and is eighth with a 50.4 FG%.
•  Four Rockets — RayJ Dennis (4.9/6th), JT Shumate (4.7/10th), Ryan Rollins (4.5/12th) and Setric Millner Jr. (4.4/15th) — rank among the MAC leaders in defensive rebounds per game.
 
ROCKETS VS. REDHAWKS
•  Junior JT Shumate averaged 22.0 ppg and was a perfect 14-of-14 from the field, 6-of-6 from three-point range and 10-of-11 from the free-throw line. He scored a career-high 33 points at Miami and was made all 11 shots he took with five coming from three-point range.
•  Sophomore Ryan Rollins averaged 12.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.0 apg and 3.0 spg in two games vs. the RedHawks.
 
POST TOUCHES
•  Toledo has not allowed an opponent to shoot over 38.0 percent from the field since Bradley shot 43.1 percent on Dec. 7. During this stretch, Marshall and Western Michigan both shot 32.1 percent from the field, while Kent State and Central Michigan each posted a 33.3 mark. Richmond posted a 35.5 FG% and NIU shot 37.1 percent.
•  Toledo leads the MAC in league play in scoring defense (59.8 ppg), FG% defense (34.0), three-point FG% defense (22.9), scoring margin (+20.8), turnover margin (+4.5), defensive rpg (30.0) and fewest turnovers (9.5).
•  Ryan Rollins scored a career-high 35 points en route to earning Tournament MVP honors at the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship. He was 12-of-20 from the field, a career-best 4-of-5 from three-point range and 7-of-9 from the free-throw line in the championship-game win over Coastal Carolina.
•  Rollins has scored in double digits in 39 career games and leads the MAC with 2.1 spg.
•  Ryan Rollins was held under 14 points for the only time this season against a Division I opponent when he scored just five points at Richmond (Dec. 11).
•  Setric Millner Jr. scored a career-high 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting vs. Charlotte and poured in 25 points with a career-high four three-pointers at Richmond.
•  JT Shumate ranks in the MAC's Top 15 in six categories. He leads the MAC with a 51.7 three-point FG% and is fourth with a 54.7 FG%, seventh with 7.1 rpg and and 2.5 offensive rpg, 10th with 4.7 defensive rpg, and 12th with 14.4 ppg.
•  RayJ Dennis scored a career-high 21 points and grabbed nine boards vs. Charlotte (Nov. 22). He tallied 20 points, seven boards and five assists vs. Marshall (Dec. 21) and is fourth in the MAC with a team-high 3.7 apg and sixth with 4.9 defensive rpg.
•  Dennis hit 7-of-9 shots from the field against NIU and is shooting 62.5 percent (15-of-24) from the field in his last three contests. Dennis leads all MAC guards and ranks eighth in the MAC with a 50.4 shooting mark.
•  Ra'Heim Moss has scored in double digits in three straight games and is averaging 11.7 ppg and 4.0 rpg in those contests.
•  Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk is in his 12th season at the Rockets' helm and has guided Toledo to five 20-win campaigns in the last eight years, marking the first time for this accomplishment since Bob Nichols recorded five straight 20-win seasons from 1976-81.

ON THE HORIZON
     Toledo will travel down I-75 to battle arch-rival Bowling Green (8-6, 1-2 MAC) on Saturday, Jan. 15 at 5:00 p.m. The Rockets will then return home to host Ball State (7-7, 2-1 MAC) on Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 7:00 p.m.