TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (14-6, 5-2 MAC) hosts arch-rival Bowling Green (10-10, 4-3) on Saturday, Jan. 28 in the first Battle of I-75 presented by Cooper Tires this season. Tip-off time is set for 2:00 p.m. with streaming available on ESPN3. The always-popular Troy Pop Rocks jump rope group will perform at halftime of the contest.

The Rockets are in sole possession of third place in the Mid-American Conference standings, one game ahead of the Falcons and one game behind Kent State (16-4, 6-1) and Akron (14-6, 6-1).

UT won its season-high fourth straight game on Tuesday by rallying from an 11-point deficit with less than seven minutes left to post an 84-79 victory over Eastern Michigan. JT Shumate scored 20 points and grabbed a team-high nine boards to lead five Rockets in double digits. Also scoring in double figures were Dante Maddox Jr. (19 pts.), RayJ Dennis (17 pts.), Setric Millner Jr. (16 pts.) and Ra'Heim Moss (10 pts.).

Toledo ranks fourth nationally with a MAC-best 84.9 ppg as well as ranking 21st with a 48.5 FG% and a 1.44 A/TO ratio. Individually, Dennis ranks 12th in the nation with 5.9 apg and 11th with a 3.03 A/TO ratio. Shumate ranks ninth nationally with a 91.5 FT% after hitting all nine of his free throws on Tuesday vs. the Eagles. Dennis ranks fourth in league scoring at 18.4 ppg, while Shumate is fifth at 18.2 ppg.

Bowling Green is in a four-way tie for fourth place in the MAC standings after snapping a three-game losing streak by posting victories over Miami and CMU. The Falcons rank third in the MAC in scoring with 78.2 ppg, while Leon Ayers III is third in the MAC with 18.7 ppg.

Toledo swept the season series vs. BGSU last year, posting a 91-78 win in the Stroh Center and a 96-56 triumph in Savage Arena. Shumate led the way for UT in the two wins by averaging 25.5 ppg with an amazing 87.0 FG% (20-of-23). He poured in 29 points on 12-of-14 shooting at BGSU and scored 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting at UT.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023
Tip-Off: 2:00 p.m.
Location: Toledo, Ohio
Arena: Savage Arena (7,014)
Television: ESPN3. Mason Lowry will provide play-by-play for broadcast with Rhett Boyd serving as analyst.
Radio: Rocket Radio Network. WSPD (1370 AM) in Toledo. Mark Beier will provide play-by-play for broadcast with Jay Lehman serving as analyst.
 
SERIES
Toledo leads 95-83. Toledo has won 12 of its last 16 games vs. Bowling Green after sweeping the season series last year. The Falcons have won two of their last three games in Savage Arena after UT had won six straight.

PROTECTING THE BALL
Toledo ranks 18th in the nation with a MAC-low 10.6 turnovers per game. The Rockets tied their season low with four miscues in Tuesday's win over Eastern Michigan.
 
ROCKETS IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
•  Toledo ranks FOURTH in the nation with 84.8 ppg, trailing Gonzaga (86.5), Southern Utah (86.0) and Cornell (85.1).
•  The Rockets are also in the Top 30 in 3PTFG% (16th/38.7), fewest TO's/game (18th/10.6), FG% (21st/48.5), A/TO ratio (21st/1.44), effective FG% (23rd/55.3), and FTs made/game (27th/15.9).
•  RayJ Dennis ranks 12th with a career-high 5.9 apg and 11th with a 3.03 A/TO ratio.
•  JT Shumate ranks ninth with a 91.5 FT% and 50th with a 55.8 FG%.
 
ROCKETS IN THE MAC RANKINGS
•  UT tops the MAC with 84.9 ppg, over four points better than Buffalo (80.3), and is also first in FG% (48.5), three-point FG% (38.7), A/TO ratio (1.44) and fewest TO/game (10.6).
•  UT is the only school to have three players among the MAC's Top 20 scoring leaders — RayJ Dennis (18.4/4th), JT Shumate (18.2/5th), and Setric Millner Jr. (14.7 ppg/16th).
•  Dennis leads the MAC with 5.9 apg and a 3.0 assist/turnover ratio.
•  Shumate is the only player in the MAC to rank in the Top 10 in FG% (55.8/5th), 3PTFG% (43.2%/7th) and FT% (91.5/2nd).
•  Shumate leads the MAC with 11 20-point outings, while Dennis is tied for second place with Bowling Green's Leon Ayers III with 10 20-point outings.
•  Shumate is third with 1.3 bpg.
•  Dante Maddox Jr. is fourth with a team-high 44.3 3PTFG%.
•  Ra'Heim Moss is fourth with 1.7 spg and and Dennis is tied for 10th with 1.5 spg.
 
TEAM TIDBITS
•  Toledo's 84-79 win over EMU was just its second game this season decided by five points or less. The Rockets also defeated Canisius, 69-68, on Dec. 10.
•  The Rockets' rally from an 11-point deficit matched its largest comeback win of the season. UT also rallied from 11 points down to post a 93-85 win over UAB on Nov. 11.
•  Toledo has four MAC Player of Week honorees this season - RayJ Dennis (Nov. 14, Dec. 12, Jan. 23) and JT Shumate (Nov. 21). Shumate has also earned MAC Male Scholar-Athlete of Week honors on two occasions (Dec. 14, Jan. 11).
•  Toledo is the only MAC school to win 13 or more league games four of last five years.
•  Toledo is looking to become the first school to win three straight outright league titles since Cincinnati won four in a row from the 1947-48 through 1950-51 seasons.
•  The Rockets have won four straight games for the first time this season. Toledo's previous best was three in a row to open the season. UT registered a nine-game win streak last year and an eight-game unbeaten stretch in the 2020-21 campaign.
•  The Rockets have scored 90 or more points on six occasions and have topped the 100-point mark three times. Toledo scored 112 points vs. Oakland (Nov. 16) to match its most points ever scored under Coach Kowalczyk.
•  UT is averaging 90.9 ppg in its eight home games and 79.7 ppg in seven road contests.
•  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 has scored in double digits in every game this season (15 or more in 16 games) after ending the 2021-22 season by scoring in double digits in a career-high 14 straight games.
•  Dennis tallied a career-high 29 points, a season-best nine rebounds and six assists vs. Canisius.  He also dished out a career-high 12 assists and scored 17 points vs. Oakland (Nov. 16).
•  JT Shumate has a 51.2 three-point FG% (22-of-43) in his last 10 games. He tied his career high with 33 points on 15-of-21 shooting vs. Oakland (Nov. 16) & leads the MAC with 11 20-point outings.
•  Last year, Shumate ranked in the MAC's Top 15 in seven categories. He was first with a 48.2 three-point FG%, second with 1.3 bpg, fourth with a 55.4 FG%, and fifth with an 82.0 FT%.
•  Setric Millner Jr. has four 20-point outings as well as three double-doubles this season. He leads UT with a career-high 6.2 rpg and ranks third in team scoring with 14.7 ppg. Last year, Millner scored a career-high 28 points at WMU (Feb. 22) and tied his career best with five triples.
•  Millner Jr. has a 56.9 FG% and 57.1 3PTFG% in his last six contests.
•  Dante Maddox Jr. ranks fourth on the team with 11.1 ppg and fifth in the MAC with a 44.3 3PTFG% (35-of-79). He led UT in scoring for the first time with his 18-point outing at NIU (Jan. 14) and has scored in double digits in a season-high four straight games (15.5 ppg, 50.0 3FG%)
•  Ra'Heim Moss scored a season-high 18 points vs. Lourdes and ranks fourth in the MAC with a team-high 1.7 spg. Moss tallied 10 points, eight boards and four assists in Tuesday's win over EMU.
•  EJ Farmer tallied 11 points vs. Ohio (Jan. 17) for his fourth double-digit outing of the season. He grabbed a season-high five rebounds and scored four points at Buffalo (Jan. 20).
•  Farmer is shooting 55.6% from the field and 41.2% (7-of-17) from three-point range.
•  AJ Edu grabbed a season-high nine rebounds and scored seven points at NIU (Jan. 14). He also blocked a season-high three shots at Buffalo (Jan. 20).
 
ON THE HORIZON
     Toledo will travel to Oxford, Ohio to face Miami (7-13, 1-6 MAC) on Tuesday, Jan. 31. Tip-off time for the contest is set for 7:00 p.m. with streaming on ESPN+. The Rockets will return home next weekend to meet Central Michigan (7-13, 2-5 MAC) on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 2:00 p.m.