TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (13-4, 5-1 MAC) returns home after registering a pair of road wins to host Ball State (7-9, 2-3 MAC) on Tuesday, Jan. 18. The Rockets and Cardinals will tip off their contest in Savage Arena at 7:00 p.m. with streaming on ESPN3.

Toledo posted a 91-78 victory at Bowling Green on Saturday to give the Rockets their second four-game winning streak of the season. Junior JT Shumate erupted for a season-high 29 points by hitting 12-of-14 shots and making 4-of-4 from three-point range. Sophomore Ryan Rollins tallied 16 points, a career-best 10 assists and eight rebounds, while junior Setric Millner Jr. contributed 20 points and five boards.

Rollins leads Toledo and ranks third in the MAC with 19.1 ppg. He also tops the MAC with 1.9 spg and has scored 20 or more points in nine contests. Shumate ranks second on the team with 15.4 ppg and is grabbing a team-best 7.1 rpg. Also scoring in double digits are Millner Jr. (14.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg) and junior RayJ Dennis (11.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.5 apg).

Ball State dropped a pair of decisions at Akron (84-74) and to Buffalo (74-68) at home. The Cardinals are tied for second in the MAC with a 35.8 three-point FG% and are fourth with 8.6 triples per game. Junior Luke Bumbalough (12.6 ppg) and sophomore Tyler Cochran (12.3 ppg) leads BSU in scoring, while freshman center Payton Sparks is scoring 11.8 ppg and grabbing a team-high 7.1 rpg.
 
Toledo split its two regular-season contests vs. Ball State last year, with each team winning on its home court. The Rockets posted a 91-89 (OT) victory over the Cardinals in the MAC Quarterfinals.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022.
Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Toledo, Ohio.
Arena: Savage Arena (7,014).
Television: ESPN3. Mason Lowry will provide play-by-play for broadcast with Rhett Boyd 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 52-48. Toledo has won its last two meetings vs. the Cardinals in Savage Arena. The Rockets also posted a 91-89 (OT) victory over Ball State in last year's MAC Quarterfinals.

ROCKETS VS. CARDINALS
•  Junior Setric Millner Jr. averaged 14.3 ppg and 9.0 rpg vs. Ball State last year.
•  Sophomore Ryan Rollins averaged 12.0 ppg and 5.3 rpg vs. Ball State last year.
•  Junior JT Shumate averaged 11.7 ppg with a 42.9 3FG% (3-of-7) vs. Ball State last year.
 
POST TOUCHES
•  Toledo is 3-1 in conference road games this season after posting a 5-3 mark in league contests away from home last year.
•  The Rockets lead the MAC in league play in scoring defense (64.8 ppg), FG% defense (37.9), three-point FG% defense (26.6), scoring margin (+16.5), three-point FG% (37.7), assist/turnover ratio (1.22) and defensive rpg (28.8).
•  Toledo is 10-0 this season when scoring 70 or more points and 8-1 when allowing less than 70 points
•  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 41 of 47 career games.
•  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. He is averaging 17.7 ppg in his last three games after scoring 16 points vs. NIU, 17 points at Miami and 20 at Bowling Green.
•  JT Shumate has shot 50 percent or better from three-point range in eight straight games and is shooting 63.6 percent (21-of-33) behind the arc during this stretch. He has scored in double digits in all but one game this season.
•  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 fifth in the MAC with a team-high 3.5 apg and ninth with 4.8 defensive rpg.
•  Dennis is shooting 52.5 percent (22-of-42) from the field in his last five contests. Dennis leads all MAC guards and ranks ninth in the MAC with a 49.0 shooting mark.
•  Ra'Heim Moss tied seasons highs for rebounds (7), assists (4) and steals (3) in last Tuesday's win at Miami. He is averaging 10.0 ppg and 4.4 rpg in his last five 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.
 
A LOOK AT THE ROCKETS
     Toledo captured its ninth Mid-American Conference title in program history and registered its fifth 20-win season in the last eight years in the 2020-21 campaign.
     Toledo is ranked 17th in the latest CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major Top 25 poll (Jan. 10). UT is also the MAC's top-ranked team in the NET (No. 73) and KenPom (No. 88) rankings.
     The Rockets have produced a strong run of success in recent years and possess a 99-47 (.678) win-loss mark since the start of the 2017-18 season.
  
HOME SWEET HOME
     Toledo has won 22 of its last 23 home contests with its only defeat in Savage Arena last year coming with an 88-81 loss to Bowling Green (Feb. 13). The Rockets were 12-1 at home last season and their .923 winning percentage was their best since going 15-0 in the 2013-14 season.
     Toledo is 42-9 (.824) at home since the start of the 2018-19 campaign.

ON THE HORIZON
     Toledo will head to Athens, Ohio to face Ohio (13-2, 4-0 MAC) on Friday, Jan. 21. The contest vs. the Bobcats will be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network and tip off at 6:00 p.m.