TOLEDO, Ohio - Toledo (1-0) will face Conference USA favorite UAB (1-0) in the Barstool Sports Invitational in Philadelphia, Pa. on Friday, Nov. 11. The game will tip off at 5:10 p.m. and be played at the Wells Fargo Center, the home of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and NHL's Philadelphia Flyers.

       Toledo is ranked No. 4 in the CollegeInsiders.com Mid-Major Preseason Poll and also appears in several other national mid-major rankings. UT has put together a run of success that has seen the Rockets post a 113-51 (.689) record since the start of the 2017-18 season. In addition, the Rockets' 48 wins over the last two-plus years rank 18th nationally.

       Toledo returns four starters from last year's squad which repeated as outright Mid-American Conference champions. The lone departure was sophomore guard Ryan Rollins who was drafted by the Golden State Warriors in the second round of the NBA Draft after leading the Rockets with 18.9 ppg.

       Toledo dominated Valparaiso in its season opener and led wire-to-wire in an 85-70 win in Savage Arena. RayJ Dennis scored a career-high 23 points and senior Setric Millner Jr. tallied a double-double (15 pts.-10 reb.). Also scoring in double digits were sophomores Ra'Heim Moss (15 pts.) and Dante Maddox (10 pts.).

       Millner and senior JT Shumate were each named to the Preseason All-MAC squad and are UT's top two returning scorers after averaging 15.0 ppg last season.

       UAB registered a record-breaking 27-8 season and dropped an 82-68 decision to Houston in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. The Blazers were picked by the league's coaches to win the Conference USA title for a second-straight year. Senior Jordan "Jelly" Walker earned C-USA Player of Year honors after leading the league with 20.3 ppg and ranking third nationally with 116 three-point field goals.
 

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Friday, Nov. 11, 2022.
Tip-Off: 5:10 p.m.
Location: Philadelphia, Pa.
Arena: Wells Fargo Center (19,500)
Television: Barstool.TV. Jake Marsh will provide play-by-play for broadcast with David Portnoy and Big Cat serving as analysts.
Radio: Rocket Radio Network. WSPD (1370 AM) in Toledo. Brent Balbinot will provide play-by-play for broadcast with Jay Lehman serving as analyst.

A LOOK AT THE ROCKETS
     Toledo captured its 10th Mid-American Conference title in program history last season and has registered four 20-win seasons in the last five years as well as six 20-win campaigns in the last nine seasons. The Rockets broke their school record last year with 17 MAC victories and their 26 overall wins were second in school history, one behind the 2013-14's squad.

     Toledo won 15 of its 17 league games last season by eight points or more. In the 2020-21 season, 13 of Toledo's 15 MAC victories were by nine points or more.

     Toledo is ranked No. 4 in the CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major Top 25 Preseason Poll and also received one vote in the Associated Press Top 25 Preseason Poll.
 
ROCKETS PICKED TO FINISH SECOND IN MAC
     Toledo is picked to finish second in the 2022-23 season,according to voting from the league's 12 head coaches. In addition, JT Shumate was named to the Preseason All-MAC First Team squad with Setric Millner Jr. being named to the Second Team.

     The top three teams in the poll were separated by just eight points in the voting. The Rockets received 131 points, four points behind Kent State and four ahead of defending MAC Tournament champion Akron. Toledo and the Golden Flashes each received a league-best four votes to capture the MAC Tournament title at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on March 9-11.
 
ROCKETS IN NCAA RANKINGS IN 2021-22
•  Toledo ranked in the Top 20 nationally in SEVEN categories last year: 29.3 def. rpg (5th), 79.9 ppg (10th), 1.50 A/TO ratio (13th), +11.3 scoring margin (14th), 39.9 rpg (17th), 47.9 FG% (17th), 10.2 turnovers/game (19th).
•  JT Shumate was ranked 35th with a 55.4 FG%.
•  Toledo was one of five programs in the nation to lead its conference in both FG% and FG% defense.
 
ROCKETS IN MAC RANKINGS IN 2021-22
•  Toledo paced the MAC in SEVEN categories: FG% (47.9), FG% defense (40.4), three-point FG% defense (30.6), scoring margin (+11.3), def. rebounds/game (29.3), assists per game (15.3) and A/TO ratio (1.50).
•  UT was second with 79.9 ppg, 35.4 3PTFG%, 75.4 FT% and plus-4.7 rebound margin.
•  Toledo led the MAC in league play in EIGHT categories: 83.5 ppg, 49.8 FG%, 39.2 FG% defense, 37.5 3PTFG%, plus-15.2 scoring margin, 16.3 apg, 1.69 A/TO ratio and 30.0 def. rpg.
•  All five Rocket starters ranked among the MAC FG% leaders. JT Shumate (55.4/4th), RayJ Dennis (50.3/8th), Ra'Heim Moss (50.2/9th), Setric Millner Jr. (48.7/12th) & Ryan Rollins (46.8/14th).
 
TEAM TIDBITS
•  Toledo has won its home opener in each of the last 12 years. The last time UT lost a home opener was a 57-51 loss to UIC on Nov. 19, 2010 in Coach Kowalczyk's first year at UT.
•  The Rockets opened their season at home on Monday for the first time since posting a 98-87 victory over Saint Joseph's in 2017.
•  Toledo is the only MAC school to win 13 or more league games four of last five years.
•  Toledo scored 82 or more points in 15 of 20 MAC games last year.
•  Toledo was 8-2 in conference road games last season after posting a 6-3 mark in league contests away from home in the 2020-21 campaign.
•  Toledo committed the fewest turnovers (9.65/game) and posted a MAC-best 1.69 A/TO ratio in league play last year.
•  The Rockets were 22-1 last season when scoring 70 or more points and 14-1 when allowing less than 70 points.
•  Toledo's 47 victories over the last two seasons entering this year was tied for 18th in the nation and was one win away from matching the most wins in back-to-back seasons by a Rocket squad - 23-11 in 2017-18 and 25-8 in 2018-19.
 
POST TOUCHES
•  JT Shumate ranked in the MAC's Top 15 in seven categories last year. He was first with a 48.2 three-point FG%, second with 1.3 bpg, fourth with a 55.4 FG%, fifth with an 82.0 FT%, ninth with 2.1 offensive rpg, tied for 10th with 15.0 ppg, and 12th with 6.1 rpg.
•  Shumate's 52.6 3PTFG% (41-of-78) in MAC play broke Nick Moore's school record of 52.2 percent (59-113) in 2001-02.
•  Setric Millner Jr. scored a career-high 28 points (11-of-14 FG, 5-of-6 3FG) at WMU (Feb. 22) and tied his career high with five triples. Millner also had two more outings with 25 or more points: 27 points vs. Charlotte (Nov. 22) and 25 at Richmond (Dec. 11).
•  Millner buried a career-high five three-pointers at Ball State (Feb. 4) and improved his three-point and free-throw shooting markedly last season. He had a 37.4 3FG% (49/131) and an 78.0 FT% (78/100) compared to 27.3 (21/77) and 66.7 (70/105) marks in 2020-21.
•  RayJ Dennis tallied a season-high 22 points as well as eight boards and eight assists at NIU (Feb. 12) followed by a 21-point outing vs. Kent State (Feb. 15). In the Rockets' win over Bowling Green (March 4), he tallied 12 points and a career-high nine assists with one turnover.
•  Dennis ended the 2021-22 season by scoring in double digits in a career-high 14 straight games during which he had a 51.9 FG% and scored 14.0 ppg.
•  RayJ Dennis, Ra'Heim Moss and former Rocket Ryan Rollins led all MAC guards and ranked eighth, ninth and 14th in the MAC with 50.3, 50.2 and 46.8 FG%'s, respectively. The trio also led Toledo in rebounding in MAC play with Rollins at 6.8 rpg, Moss at 6.1 and Dennis at 5.8.
•  Moss led the MAC in league play with a 2.78 assist/turnover ratio and scored a season-high 20 points and grabbed seven boards vs. Akron (Jan. 28).
•  Moss also has three double-doubles - 15 pts. and 10 reb. at EMU (Feb. 1); 10 pts. and season-high 13 reb. vs. Miami (Feb. 26); and 15 pts., 10 reb. & career-high 7 asst. vs. BGSU (March 4).
 
ON THE HORIZON
        The Rockets will return home to host Oakland (1-0) on Wednesday, Nov. 16 before heading to Estero, Fla. for the Gulf Coast Showcase on Monday-Wednesday, Nov. 21-23.