TOLEDO, Ohio - Toledo (26-7) will host Dayton (23-10) in a first-round National Invitation Tournament matchup on Wednesday, March 16. Tip-off time for the contest is set for 7:00 p.m. in Savage Arena with streaming on ESPN+. The winner of the contest between the Rockets and Flyers will face either Vanderbilt or Belmont on Saturday/Sunday, March 19/20.

Tickets for Wednesday's game vs. Dayton can be ordered online by visiting this link, stopping by the Rocket Ticket Office located in the Sullivan Athletic Complex at Savage Arena, or by calling 419-530-GOLD (4653). Ticket prices for the game are $11.00-$23.00 with UToledo faculty/staff and youth tickets half-price. In addition, the first 500 UToledo students with a valid ID will receive free admission.

Toledo is making its 11th NIT appearance in school history with its last appearance coming last year. The last time the Rockets hosted an NIT contest in Savage Arena was when it defeated South Alabama by a 76-67 margin on March 15, 2001.

The Rockets won back-to-back outright MAC titles for the first time in program history and captured consecutive league crowns for the first time since winning three in a row from 1979-81. UT set a school record with 17 MAC victories this season and its 26 wins are second in program annals, one behind the 2013-14 squad.

Toledo is looking to rebound from a 70-62 loss to eventual MAC Tournament Champion Akron last Friday in the MAC Tournament Semifinals. The Rockets trailed by 15 points late in the first half before rallying within a point. Sophomore Ryan Rollins led the way with 18 points, but Toledo was hurt by a 10-of-22 performance at the free-throw line.

Sophomore Ryan Rollins leads the Rockets with 19.0 ppg and 6.1 rpg. He ranks fourth in the MAC in scoring and sixth among true sophomores nationally. Junior JT Shumate is second on the team with 15.5 ppg and grabbing 6.0 rpg and leads Toledo with a 57.3 FG%, 50.8 three-point FG% and 82.0 FT%. Juniors Setric Millner Jr. (14.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg) and RayJ Dennis (12.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 4.1 apg) are also scoring in double digits.

Dayton tied for second place with VCU in the Atlantic 10 by posting a 14-4 league mark, one game behind Davidson. Freshman Daron Holmes II leads the Flyers with 12.5 ppg, 2.3 bpg and his 64.7 FG% leads the conference.

Toledo will be meeting the Flyers for the first time since suffering a 77-63 setback before 6,921 fans in Savage Arena on Jan. 2, 2009. The Rockets have dropped their last three meetings in the series since posting a 56-55 win Dec. 12, 1998.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Wednesday, Mar. 16, 2022.
Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Toledo, Ohio.
Arena: Savage Arena (7,014).
Television: ESPN+. Jay Alter will provide play-by-play for broadcast with Richie Schueler 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
Dayton leads 28-19. UT and UD are meeting for the first time in postseason play. The last time the schools met was a 77-63 Flyer win in Savage Arena in 2009. Toledo's last win over the Flyers was a 56-55 triumph in 1998.
 
A LOOK AT THE ROCKETS
     Toledo 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 with 17 MAC victories and their 26 overall wins are second in school history, one behind the 2013-14's squad.
     Toledo won 15 of its 17 league games by eight points or more. Last year, 13 of Toledo's 15 MAC victories were by nine points or more.
     Toledo is ranked No. 6 in the latest CollegeInsider.com's Mid-Major Top 25 poll (March 7). UT is also the MAC's top-ranked team in the NCAA's NET rankings (No. 75) and KenPom rankings (No. 90) for a second-straight season.
 
SOMETHING IN COMMON
    Toledo and Dayton have faced two common opponents — Northern Illinois and Richmond — in the 2021-22 season. The Rockets were 2-1 against the Huskies (2-0) and Spiders (0-1), while the Flyers also posted a 2-1 mark vs. NIU (1-0) and Richmond (1-1).

ROCKETS IN NCAA RANKINGS
•  Toledo ranks in the Top 30 nationally in EIGHT categories (as of March 12): 29.5 def. rpg (4th), 80.7 ppg (7th), +12.2 scoring margin (12th), 40.1 rpg (14th), 1.49 A/TO ratio (16th), 48.4 FG% (17th), 10.4 turnovers/game (22nd) and 40.0 opponent FG% (28th).
•  JT Shumate is 23rd with a 57.3 FG%.
 
ROCKETS IN MAC RANKINGS
•  Toledo leads the MAC in EIGHT categories: scoring offense (80.7 ppg), FG% (48.4), FG% defense (40.0), three-point FG% defense (30.7), scoring margin (+12.2), def. rebounds/game (29.5), assists per game (15.4) and A/TO ratio (1.49).
•  Toledo is second with a 75.4 FT% and a plus-5.1 rebound margin.
•  Toledo led the MAC in league play in EIGHT categories: 82.8 ppg, 49.4 FG%, 39.4 FG% defense, 36.7 3PTFG%, plus-13.9 scoring margin, 15.8 apg, 1.63 A/TO ratio and 29.7 def. rpg.
•  All five Rocket starters rank among the MAC leaders in FG%. JT Shumate (57.3/4th), Ra'Heim Moss (51.0/7th), RayJ Dennis (50.5/9th), Setric Millner Jr. (48.4/12th)& Ryan Rollins (47.6/13th).
 
TEAM TIDBITS
•  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.
•  Toledo was 8-2 in conference road games this season after posting a 6-3 mark in league contests away from home last year.
•  Toledo committed the fewest turnovers (9.65/game) and posted a MAC-best 1.69 A/TO ratio in league play.
•  The Rockets are 22-1 this 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 is tied for 14th in the nation. The Rockets are 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
•  Ryan Rollins leads the MAC with 18 20-point games, one more than Ohio's Mark Sears.
•  Rollins now has 1,037 career points and is the fourth Rocket ever to score 1,000 points in his first two seasons, joining Tom Kozelko (1970-72), Steve Mix (1966-68) and Rian Pearson (2011-13).
•  Rollins is the only player in the nation averaging at least 19.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 3.5 apg and 1.5 spg. He tallied 15 points, a career-high 16 rebounds and eight assists vs. Ohio (Feb. 8), the third time this season he has nearly registered a triple-double.
•  JT Shumate ranks in the MAC's Top 15 in seven categories. He is first with a 50.8 three-point FG%, second with 1.3 bpg, fourth with a 57.3 FG%, fifth with an 82.0 FT%, eighth with 2.1 offensive rpg, 10th with 15.5 ppg, and 13th with 6.0 rpg.
•  Shumate blocked a career-high seven shots vs. Ohio (Feb. 8) for the second most ever by a Rocket in a MAC game. He ranks second in the MAC in blocks in overall (1.3) games and finished first in league (1.6) play.
•  Shumate's 50.8 three-point FG% (67-of-132) ranks first in school history, just ahead of Fred King (50-of-100, 1987-88) in the second year of the three-point shot in college basketball.
•  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.
•  Shumate has shot 50 percent or higher in 12 of his last 13 games and is shooting 62.7 percent (42-of-67) in his last seven contests.
•  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 has 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 has improved his three-point and free-throw shooting from last season. He has a 38.4 3FG% (48/125) and an 80.4 FT% (74/92) compared to 27.3 (21/77) and 66.7 (70/105) marks last year.
•  RayJ Dennis tallied career-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 has scored in double digits in a career-high 13 straight games during which he has a 51.7 FG% and scoring 14.1 ppg.
•  Ra'Heim Moss, RayJ Dennis and Ryan Rollins lead all MAC guards and rank seventh, ninth and 13th in the MAC with 51.0, 50.2 and 47.6 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).
  
REBOUNDING BY COMMITTEE
•  Toledo is the only school in the nation with five players averaging 5.0 rpg or more.
•  The Rockets rank fourth nationally with 29.9 defensive rpg, 14th with 40.1 rpg and 39th with a plus-5.1 rebounding margin
•  Ryan Rollins (6.0), JT Shumate (6.0), RayJ Dennis (5.8), Setric Millner Jr. (5.8) and Ra'Heim Moss (5.7) are each ranked in the Top 20 in MAC rebounding.