TOLEDO, Ohio - Toledo (7-4) travels to Burlington, Vt. on Tuesday, Dec. 20 to battle Vermont (6-7), one of the nation's top mid-major programs over the last decade. The Rockets' matchup against the Catamounts inside Patrick Gymnasium will tip off at 2:00 p.m. with streaming on ESPN+.

Vermont has won six straight America East regular season titles, which is the second longest active streak in the country. The Catamounts were one of only 15 teams in Division I with a perfect record at home (16-0) last year and lost by just four points to Arkansas (75-71) in the NCAA Tournament last season.

Toledo is looking to bounce back from Saturday's 100-85 setback at Marshall. Senior JT Shumate and junior RayJ Dennis each scored 21 points for the Rockets, but a 13-0 second-half run allowed the Thundering Herd to pull away for the win. The loss snapped the Rockets' five-game winning streak in their series vs. Marshall.

Shumate leads the MAC with 19.6 ppg and has scored 20 or more points in five straight games. Dennis ranks third in MAC scoring at 19.3 ppg and has tallied 17 or more points in nine of 11 contests this season. He also ranks 11th in the nation with 6.1 apg and 25th with a 3.0 assist/turnover ratio. Shumate scored his 2,000th collegiate point, and Dennis tallied his 1,000th collegiate point on Saturday at Marshall.

As a team, Toledo is ranked 19th nationally with a MAC-best 83.5 ppg.

Vermont has been idle since winning its fourth straight game with a 73-72 victory at Colgate on Dec. 10. The Catamounts are playing just their third home game this season.

Vermont returns five members from last year's rotation, including reigning America East Sixth Man of the Year Aaron Deloney. Deloney and Dylan Penn lead Vermont offensively with 12.2 and 11.4 ppg, respectively.
 
TOLEDO VS. VERMONT
Date: Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022.
Tip-Off: 2:00 p.m.
Location: Burlington, Vt.
Arena: Patrick Gymnasium (3,200).
Streaming: ESPN+. Rob Ryan will provide play-by-play for broadcast with Bernie Cieplicki serving as analyst.
Radio: Rocket Radio Network. WSPD (1370 AM) in Toledo. Jim Heller will provide play-by-play for broadcast with Jay Lehman serving as analyst.
 
SERIES
   Series tied 1-1. Toledo posted an 82-55 home win over Vermont on Dec. 20, 1982. The Catamounts returned the favor with an 82-49 victory in the 2010 Legends Classic played at Drexel  University.

ROCKETS IN THE MAC RANKINGS
•  Toledo leads the MAC with 83.5 ppg, just under five points better than Ball State (78.7), and is also first with 15.1 apg and a 1.32 assist/turnover ratio.
•  The Rockets are also second with a 47.4 FG%, a 36.9 3PTFG%, and a plus-2.91 turnover margin.
•  The Rockets are third with 7.8 spg.
•  Toledo is the only school to have three representatives among the MAC's Top 20 scoring leaders — JT Shumate (19.6/1st), RayJ Dennis (19.3/3rd), and Setric Millner Jr. (13.8 ppg/15th).
•  Dennis leads the MAC with 6.1 apg and a 3.0 assist/turnover ratio.
•  Shumate ranks first in the MAC with 19.6 ppg and is tied for first with 1.5 bpg.
•  Shumate and Dennis rank first and second in the MAC in 20-point outings with eight and six, respectively.
•  Millner Jr is sixth with 7.0 rpg.
•  Dante Maddox Jr. is eighth in the MAC with a team-best 40.0 three-point FG%.
 
TEAM TIDBITS
•  Toledo was ranked No. 10 in last week's CollegeInsiders.com poll. Kent State is the only other MAC team in the rankings at No. 4.
•  The Rockets have scored 90 or more points on three occasions, including 112 points vs. Oakland (Nov. 16) to match their most points ever scored under Coach Tod Kowalczyk.
•  Toledo lost for the first time this season when scoring 80 or more points in Saturday's loss at Marshall. The Rockets also lost for the first time when shooting over 45.0 percent.
•  Marshall's 100 points was the first time the Rockets have allowed 100 since Jan. 8, 2019 at Buffalo.
•  Toledo has shot over 80 percent from the free-throw line in six games, including all 13 of its attempts from the charity stripe at Northern Iowa (Dec. 6).
•  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.
 
POST TOUCHES
•  RayJ Dennis tallied a career-high 29 points, a season-best nine rebounds and six assists vs. Canisius (Dec. 10) to help him be named MAC Player of the Week for a second time this season. He also scored 23 points vs. both Valparaiso (Nov. 7) and UAB (Nov. 11) to earn MAC Player of the Week honors. Dennis also dished out a career-high 12 assists in addition to scoring 17 points vs. Oakland (Nov. 16.
•  Dennis has scored in double digits in every game this season (17 or more in nine games) after ending 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.
•  JT Shumate tied his career high with 33 points on 15-of-21 shooting vs. Oakland (Nov. 16) to earn MAC Player of Week honors. He has a team-high seven 20-point outings this year.
•  Setric Millner Jr. has three 20-point outings as well as two double-doubles this season. He leads UT with a career-high 7.0 rpg and ranks third in team scoring with 13.8 ppg.
•  Ra'Heim Moss scored 13 points and tied his career high with three three-point field goals at Marshall (Dec. 17).
•  AJ Edu scored a season-high seven points and grabbed seven rebounds at Marshall (Dec. 17).
 
ON THE HORIZON
     Toledo will play its final non-conference game when it hosts NAIA foe Lourdes Univ. on Thursday, Dec. 29 at 6:00 p.m. The Rockets will open league play with two home games vs. Ball State on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 7:00 p.m. and Western Michigan on Friday, Jan. 6 at 6:30 p.m. Both contests will be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network.