TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (14-4, 6-1 MAC) heads to Athens, Ohio on Friday, Jan. 21 for a first-place showdown against Ohio (14-2, 5-0 MAC). The Rockets and Bobcats are at the top of the Mid-American Conference and their matchup will be nationally televised at 6:00 p.m. on the CBS Sports Network. Ohio and Toledo will also face other in Savage Arena on Tuesday, Feb. 8.

Toledo has opened league play with a 6-1 record for the second straight season and for the third time under Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk. The Rockets also started the 2013-14 conference season with six wins in seven contests.

Toledo notched an 83-70 win over Ball State on Tuesday with sophomore Ryan Rollins (24 pts., 10 reb., 7 asst.) and junior RayJ Dennis (12 pts., 10 reb.) each registering double-doubles. Juniors JT Shumate (16 pts.) and Setric Millner Jr. (15 pts.) joined the duo in double figures.

The Rockets held Ball State to a 36.6 FG%, marking the sixth time in last eight games an opponent has shot under 38 percent. Toledo also connected for a season-high 11 three-point field goals and dished out 21 assists, its most against a Division I opponent this season.

Rollins ranks second in the MAC with a team-high 19.1 ppg and 1.9 spg. Shumate ranks second on the team with 15.4 ppg and is grabbing a team-best 6.8 rpg. Also scoring in double digits are Millner Jr. (14.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg) and Dennis (11.6 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.6 apg).

Ohio brings a nine-game winning streak into Friday's contest following an 86-63 win at Miami. Sophomore Mark Sears leads the Bobcats with a MAC-best 19.5 ppg, with senior forwards Jason Carter (14.4) and Ben Vanderplas (12.8) also scoring in double digits.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Friday, Jan. 21, 2022.
Tip-Off: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Athens, Ohio.
Arena: The Convo (13,080).
Television: CBS Sports Network. Dave Ryan will provide play-by-play for broadcast with Mike O'Donnell 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 72-62. Toledo has won eight of its last 11 games vs. Ohio, including its last four visits to Athens. UT posted a 95-78 home win over Bobcats last year before falling by an 87-80 margin in the MAC semifinals.

ROCKETS IN MAC TEAM RANKINGS
•  Toledo leads the MAC in FG% (46.2), FG% defense (39.5), 3PTFG% defense (29.0) and scoring margin (+12.1). UT ranks 25th nationally in 3PTFG% defense.
•  Toledo ranks second in the league in FT% (78.3), 3PTFG% (36.5), assists per game (14.6), assist/turnover ratio (1.30). UT ranks 13th nationally in FT%.
•  The Rockets lead the MAC in league play in FG% defense (37.7), scoring margin (+16.0), three-point FG% (39.0), assist/turnover ratio (1.41), turnover margin (plus-1.41) and defensive rpg (29.0).
•  Toledo is second in league play in FG% (46.3), FT% (81.5), assists (14.1 apg), and three-point FG% defense (26.9).
 
REBOUNDING BY COMMITTEE
•  Toledo is one of the nation's top defensive rebounding teams, ranking ninth with 29.7 rpg.
•  JT Shumate (6.8), Setric Millner Jr. (6.0), RayJ Dennis (5.9) and Ryan Rollins are each grabbing 5.0 rpg or more with Ra'Heim Moss close with 4.8 rpg.
•  Rollins is tied for 5th in the MAC with a team-high 5.0 defensive rpg, while Dennis ranks seventh with 4.9 rpg.

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 are 11-0 this season when scoring 70 or more points and 8-1 when allowing less than 70 points.
•  Toledo is 7-0 when its opponent commits more turnovers and 10-0 when committing 11 or less miscues.
•  Ryan Rollins has shot 50 percent or better in four straight games and has a 52.6 FG% (30-of-57) during this stretch. He has scored in double digits in 42 of 48 career games.
•  Rollins was held under 14 points for the only time against a Division I opponent this season 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 17.0 ppg in his last four games after scoring 16 points vs. NIU, 17 points at Miami, 20 at Bowling Green and 15 vs. Ball State.
•  Millner has improved his three-point and free-throw shooting from a year ago. He has a 38.3 3FG% (23/60) and 78.1 FT% (50/64) compared to 27.3 (21/77) and 66.7 (70/105) marks last year.
•  JT Shumate's eight-game streak of shooting 50 percent or better from three-point range came to an end in Tuesday's game vs. Ball State when he was 1-of-5 from behind the arc. 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 53.5 percent (23-of-43) from the field & is 7-of-11 from three-point range in his last five contests. Dennis leads all MAC guards and ranks ninth in the MAC with a 49.4 shooting mark.
•  Ra'Heim Moss scored in double digits in a season-high three straight games (Jan. 8-18) and is tied for ninth in league play with 1.3 spg.
•  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 15th in the latest CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major Top 25 poll (Jan. 17). UT is also the MAC's top-ranked team in the KenPom rankings (No. 87) and second in the NCAA's NET rankings (No. 79).
•   The Rockets have produced a strong run of success in recent years and possess a 100-47 (.680) win-loss mark since the start of the 2017-18 season.
 
TOLEDO RANKING AMONG TOP 40 NATIONALLY IN WINS IN LAST FOUR-PLUS YEARS
     Toledo's 100 wins since the start of the 2017-18 season ranks 35th in the country (thru games played Jan. 19). The Rockets were 23-11 in 2017-18, 25-8 in 2018-19, 17-15 in 2019-20 and 21-9 in 2020-21. Toledo ranks second in the MAC during this stretch, trailing only Buffalo's total of 104 victories. Kent State is third with 83 wins.
 
STREAKING AT THE LINE
•  Toledo set a school record for conference play by making all 14 of its free throws at Miami (Jan. 11). The Rockets then made all 11 of their free throws at Bowling Green (Jan. 15) to tie the previous record of 11 which was also 11 at Bowling Green on Jan. 15, 2000.
•  In total, the Rockets made 29 straight free throws in a four-game stretch (Jan. 8-18).
•  JT Shumate has made his last 25 free throws over his last 11 contests.
•  Kooper Jacobi has made his last 10 free throws and is shooting 85.7 percent (12-of-14) from the free-throw line.
 
ON THE HORIZON
     The Rockets return home next week to host Buffalo (9-6, 3-2 MAC) on Tuesday, Jan. 25 and Akron (10-5, 3-2 MAC) on Friday, Jan. 28. Both contests will tip off at 7:00 p.m. with the contest vs. the Zips televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network.