TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (6-4) continues its challenging non-conference slate when it hosts America East power Vermont (8-4) on Wednesday, Dec. 20 in Savage Arena. Tip-off time is set for 7:00 p.m. with streaming on ESPN+.

The Rockets have had a week off since tying their season-high winning streak with their third consecutive victory in an exciting 88-87 triumph over Marshall last Wednesday. The win gave Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk the 400th victory of his coaching career.

Tyler Cochran exploded for a career-high 33 points and contributed eight rebounds, five assists and four steals against the Thundering Herd en route to being named Mid-American Conference Player of the Week for the first time. Ra'Heim Moss also registered a standout performance with 16 points and a season-high 12 rebounds for his second career double-double. Dante Maddox Jr. tallied 18 points, while Javan Simmons matched his season high with 15 points.

Moss is leading the Rockets offensively with a career-high 16.2 ppg and is followed closely by Maddox's career-high 15.5 ppg. Simmons is averaging 12.6 ppg with a team-best 58.2 FG%, while Cochran is averaging 12.4 ppg and a team-high 6.0 rpg and 2.5 spg.

Vermont has lost its last two games to Colgate (77-71) and at Virginia Tech (73-51). The Catamounts will face another MAC foe, Miami, on Friday, Dec. 22. Junior guard T.J. Long leads Vermont with 13.1 ppg and a 44.2 3PTFG%. He is joined in double digits by junior guard Shamir Bogues (11.5 ppg) and graduate forward Matt Veretto (10.9 ppg).

Toledo posted an 84-72 win at Vermont last year behind JT Shumate's 19 points. UT built a 14-point halftime lead and its lead didn't fall below eight in the second half.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023.
Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Toledo, Ohio.
Arena: Savage Arena (7,014).
Streaming: ESPN+. Mason Lowry will provide play-by-play for the 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 2-1. Toledo posted an 82-55 win over Vermont at home in 1982. UT lost 82-49 to UVM in the 2010 Legends Classic at Drexel. The Rockets defeated the Catamounts 84-72 on the road last year.

POST TOUCHES
•  Junior Ra'Heim Moss has scored in double digits in every game this season after scoring in double digits on 13 occasions last year.  He has now scored in double digits 37 times in his Rocket career and leads UT with 47 FTs made and 63 FTs attempted.
•  Junior Dante Maddox Jr. ranks second in team scoring with a career-high 15.5 ppg and leads the team with 24 three-point field goals made. He also ranks second on the team with 18 steals.
•  Junior Tyler Cochran leads the MAC with a team-high 2.5 spg and leads the team with 6.0 rpg. In his last three games, Cochran is averaging 22.0 ppg and 9.0 rpg.
•  Cochran has SEVEN career double-doubles following his 19-point, 12-rebound outing vs. Northern Iowa. He registered four double-doubles at NIU and two at Ball State.
•  Redshirt freshman Javan Simmons is third on the team with 12.6 ppg after tying his season high with 15 points vs. Marshall (Dec. 13). He has scored in double digits in nine of his first 10 collegiate contests and has a team-best 58.2 FG%.
•  Simmons has shot over 50 percent from the field in nine of 10 games. In his last four contests, he is shooting 61.0% (25-of-41) from the field.
•  Moss, Maddox and freshman Sonny Wilson are tied for the team lead and 12th in the MAC with 2.6 apg. Wilson leads the Rockets with a 2.2 assist/turnover ratio.
•  Junior Andre Lorentsson leads the MAC with a 54.5 3PTFG% (12-of-22). Lorentsson scored a career-high 17 points (6-8 FG, 4-5 3FG) vs. New Mexico (Nov. 21).
 
HOME SWEET HOME
     Toledo is 42-5 (.894) over the last three-plus seasons in Savage Arena. UT had a 10-game home winning streak dating back to last year snapped with an 86-77 loss to George Mason on Dec. 2. In addition to the loss to the Patriots, the Rockets' defeats have come at the hands of Ball State last year, Dayton and Kent State in the 2021-22 season and Bowling Green in the 2020-21 campaign.
     The Rockets' home records over the last three years are 13-1 (2022-23), 13-2 (2021-22) and 12-1 (2020-21).
     The Rockets' unbeaten home mark (15-0) under Coach Kowalczyk in 2013-14 was their first since 1966-67 and just the fourth time in school history UT accomplished the feat.
 
FREE-THROW FOCUS
     Toledo has ranked in the Top 2 of the MAC in free-throw shooting and posted a 72.5 FT% or higher in 11 of the last 12 seasons. The Rockets have done even better dating back to the 2018-19 season, shooting 74.0 or better each year including a MAC-best 76.8% this season.
     Toledo was SECOND in the MAC last season with a 77.3 free-throw mark. UT set a school record with a perfect 28-of-28 effort at Central Michigan (Feb. 28), six away from the NCAA record. Over a three-game span, the Rockets made a school-record 42 consecutive free throws which was 12 shy of the NCAA record.
     The lone exception that the Rockets didn't shoot 72.5% or higher and rank in the Top Three was Toledo's 69.5 mark in 2016-17 that placed it sixth in the conference.
 
ON THE HORIZON
     Toledo will will play at West Virginia on Saturday, Dec. 23 before opening Mid-American Conference play at Ohio on Tuesday, Jan. 2 on ESPNU.