TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (15-4, 7-1 MAC) hosts Buffalo (10-6, 4-2 MAC) on Tuesday, Jan. 25 in the first of two Mid-American Conference home games this week. Tip-off time for the matchup is 7:00 p.m. with streaming on ESPN+. The Rockets moved into first place in the MAC with Friday's 87-69 at Ohio (14-3, 5-1) and lead the Bulls by two games in the league standings.

Sophomore Ryan Rollins propelled Toledo to its victory over the Bobcats by scoring 26 points,  six rebounds and five assists. Joining Rollins in double digits were juniors RayJ Dennis (18 pts.), Setric Millner Jr. (17 pts.) and JT Shumate (12 pts.). The Rockets were extremely efficient throughout against Ohio, posting a 59.0 FG%, a 41.2 three-point FG% (7-of-17) and hitting all eight of its free throws.

Toledo's shooting mark was its best this season against a Division I opponent, and the Rockets made all of their free throws for the third time in four contests. Toledo ranks 10th nationally this season with a 78.8 free-throw percentage and is shooting 93.8 percent (45-of-48) from the line in its last four games.

Rollins leads the MAC with 19.7 ppg. Shumate ranks second on the team with 15.3 ppg and is grabbing a team-best 6.5 rpg. Also scoring in double digits are Millner Jr. (14.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg) and Dennis (11.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.6 apg).

Buffalo enters Tuesday's contest on a season-high four-game winning streak following a 64-51 home win over Kent State. Senior Jeenathan Williams paces the Bulls with 18.7 ppg and a 42.9 three-point FG%. He tallied 25 points, 11 boards and six assists and hit 4-of-4 from three-point range in the win over KSU.

Seniors Ronaldo Segu (16.1 ppg) and Josh Mballa (13.4 ppg) are also scoring in double digits. Segu leads the Bulls with 5.2 apg, Mballa is tops with 8.0 rpg.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022.
Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Toledo, Ohio.
Arena: Savage Arena (7,014).
Television: ESPN+. 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 16-14. The Rockets snapped Buffalo's five-game win streak in the series with an 80-70 road win last year. Toledo's last home win over the Bulls was an 86-54 home win in 2017.

ROCKETS IN MAC TEAM RANKINGS
•  Toledo leads the MAC in FG% (46.9), FG% defense (39.8), FT percentage (78.8), def. rebounds/game (29.6) and scoring margin (+12.4).
•  Toledo ranks second in the league in 3PTFG% (36.7), 3PTFG% defense (28.9), assists per game (14.6), assist/turnover ratio (1.31) and rebounding margin (+5.2).
•  The Rockets lead the MAC in league play in seven categories: scoring offense (82.3), FG% (47.9), FG% defense (38.6), scoring margin (+16.3), assist/turnover ratio (1.43), turnover margin (plus-2.63) and defensive rpg (29.0).
•  Toledo is second in league play in FT% (82.5), three-point FG% (39.3), rebounding margin (+2.4), assists (14.3 apg), scoring defense (66.0) and three-point FG% defense (27.0).
  
REBOUNDING BY COMMITTEE
•  JT Shumate (6.5), Setric Millner Jr. (5.9), RayJ Dennis (5.9) and Ryan Rollins (5.6) are each grabbing 5.0 rpg or more with Ra'Heim Moss close with 4.8 rpg.
•  Rollins ranks fifth in the MAC with a team-high 5.1 defensive rpg, while Dennis ranks seventh with 4.9 rpg.

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 NCAA's NET rankings (No. 66) and KenPom rankings (No. 72).
•     The Rockets have produced a strong run of success in recent years and possess a 101-47 (.682) win-loss mark since the start of the 2017-18 season.

TOLEDO RANKING AMONG TOP 40 IN WINS IN LAST FOUR-PLUS YEARS
     Toledo's 101 wins since the start of the 2017-18 season ranks among the top 40 schools in the nation. 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 105 victories. BGSU and Kent St. are third with 83 wins.

POST TOUCHES
•  Toledo has opened league play with a 7-1 record for the second straight season. The Rockets also opened the 2013-14 season with a 6-1 conference mark.
•  Toledo is 4-1 in conference road games this season after posting a 5-3 mark in league contests away from home last year.
•  The Rockets are 12-0 this season when scoring 70 or more points and 9-1 when allowing less than 70 points.
•  Toledo is 8-0 when its opponent commits more turnovers and 11-0 when committing 11 or less miscues.
•  Ryan Rollins has shot 50 percent or better in five straight games and has a 53.4 FG% (39-of-73) during this stretch. He has scored in double digits in 43 of 49 career games.
•  Rollins was held under 14 points against a Division I opponent for the only time 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 five games after scoring 16 points vs. NIU, 17 points at Miami, 20 at Bowling Green, 15 vs. Ball State and 17 at Ohio.
•  Millner has improved his three-point and free-throw shooting from a year ago. He has a 38.1 3FG% (24/63) and 78.1 FT% (50/64) compared to 27.3 (21/77) and 66.7 (70/105) marks last year.
•  JT Shumate ranks in the MAC's Top 15 in seven categories.  He is second with a 50.6 three-point FG%, third with a 56.0 FG%, fifth with an 84.9 FT%, sixth with 2.4 offensive rpg, tied for seventh with 1.0 bpg and 11th with 15.3 ppg and 6.5 rpg.
•  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 3.6 apg and seventh with 4.9 defensive rpg.
•  Dennis is shooting 54.3 percent (31-of-57) from the field & is 9-of-14 from three-point range in his last six contests. Dennis leads all MAC guards and ranks eight in the MAC with a 50.0 shooting mark.
  
HOME SWEET HOME
     Toledo has won 23 of its last 24 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 43-9 (.827) at home since the start of the 2018-19 campaign.
  
ON THE HORIZON
     The Rockets will host Akron (12-5, 5-2 MAC) on Friday, Jan. 28. The contest will tip off at 7:00 p.m. and be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network.