TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (6-5) plays its final game prior to opening Mid-American Conference play in January when it travels to Morgantown, W. Va. on Saturday, Dec. 23 to face Big 12 foe West Virginia (4-7). Tip-off time in the WVU Coliseum is set for 1:00 p.m. with streaming on ESPN+.

The Rockets will be looking to rebound from Wednesday's home setback to America East power Vermont. The defeat snapped UT's three-game winning streak and was just the sixth loss for the Rockets in their last 48 home outings.

Tyler Cochran led the Rockets in double figures with 12 points. Dante Maddox Jr. and Sonny Wilson each tallied 11 points.  Ra'Heim Moss topped UT with eight rebounds and a season-high six assists.

Maddox and Moss are leading the Rockets offensively with career-high scoring marks of 15.1 ppg. Cochran is averaging 12.4 ppg, a team-high 6.1 rpg and a team-best 2.5 spg. Javan Simmons is also scoring in double figures with 12.3 ppg and is leading the team with a 57.6 FG% and 1.3 bpg.

West Virginia has lost four of its last five games, including a 66-65 home defeat to Radford on Wednesday to drop its home record to 4-4 this season. The Mountaineers have three starters who were two-time transfers that just became eligible. RaeQuan Battle scored 29 points vs. Radford in his Mountaineer debut, while Noah Farrakhan contributed 16 points against the Highlanders in his second game at WVU.

Toledo and West Virginia are meeting for the first time in 81 years and have split their two previous meetings. UT registered a 43-35 home win in 1941, and WVU answered with a 51-39 victory in the 1942 NIT semifinals.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Dec. 23, 2023.
Tip-Off: 1:00 p.m.
Location: Morgantown, W. Va.
Arena: WVU Coliseum (14,000).
Streaming: ESPN+. Andrew Caridi will provide play-by-play for the broadcast with Warren Baker 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
Series tied 1-1. Toledo posted a 43-35 home win over WVU on Jan. 20, 1941. The Mountaineers then registered a 51-39 victory over the Rockets in the 1942 NIT Tournament in New York City.

POST TOUCHES
•  Junior Ra'Heim Moss has scored in double digits in 10 of 11 games 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 49 FTs made and 65 FTs attempted.
•  Junior Dante Maddox Jr. is tied for first in team scoring with Moss with a career-high 15.1 ppg. He also is tied for second in the MAC with 1.8 spg and his NINE three-point field-goal attempts vs. Marshall were a career high.
•  Junior Tyler Cochran leads the MAC and ranks 19th nationally with a team-high 2.5 spg. He also leads the team with 6.1 rpg. In his last four games, Cochran is averaging 19.5 ppg and 8.5 rpg.
•  Redshirt freshman Javan Simmons is fourth on the team with 12.4 ppg and tied his season high with 15 points vs. Marshall (Dec. 13). He has scored in double digits in nine of his first 11 collegiate contests and has a team-best 57.6 FG%.
•  Simmons has shot 50 percent or better from the field in 10 of 11 games.
 
TEAM TIDBITS
•  Toledo is tied for first in the MAC with 8.0 spg. The Rockets are also second with a 76.9 FT% and third with a 37.0 three-point FG%, 1.16 A/TO ratio, and +2.6 turnover margin.
•  Toledo is 3-0 in one-point games with road wins over Wright State and Oakland and a home victory over Marshall.
•  UT has won its only two road games - 78-77 at Wright State and 69-68 at Oakland.
•  Toledo has registered FIVE 20-win seasons in the last SIX years. In addition, the Rockets are one of 11 programs nationally to win 21 or more games each of the last THREE seasons. Other schools to do so are Baylor, Belmont, Drake, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Morehead State, UAB, UCLA, and USC.
•  Toledo is the only MAC school to win 13 or more league games five of last six years.
•  Toledo has had an eight-game win streak or longer in each of the last three years. UT registered a school-record 17-game winning streak last year, a nine-game unbeaten stretch in 2021-22 and an eight-game unblemished streak in 2020-21.
•  The Rockets were the fourth program ever to capture at least a share of three straight MAC titles, matching Cincinnati (1947-51), the 1979-81 Toledo squads and Kent State (2002-04).
•  Since the start of the 2020-21 season, Toledo is 48-9 (.842) in league play. The Rockets are 26-3 (.897) in MAC home games and 22-6 (.786) in MAC road games.
•  Toledo finished 8-1 in league road games last season. UT was 8-2 in MAC road games in 2021-22 after posting a 6-3 mark in MAC contests away from home in 2020-21.
 
COUNTING ON COCHRAN
        Junior guard Tyler Cochran provides the Rockets with an all-around performer who can impact the game in multiple ways. He tallied his first double-double as a Rocket with a season-high 19 points and 12 rebounds in UT's 84-80 win over Northern Iowa (Dec. 9) and followed that up with a 33-point, eight-rebound, five-assist and four-steal effort vs. Marshall (Dec. 13).
        Following his performance against the Thundering Herd, Cochran was named USBWA Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week as well as MAC Player of the Week
        Cochran ranks 19th nationally with a MAC-best 2.5 spg and leads the Rockets with 6.1 rpg and an 86.2 FT%.
  
ROAD WARRIORS
     The Rockets are undefeated in two road games this season and have posted a 28-14 (.667) win-loss mark in road games since the start of the 2020-21 campaign. Toledo possesses a 52-34 (.605) win-loss mark on enemy courts since the start of the 2017-18 season.

ON THE HORIZON
     Toledo will open league play with three straight games on national television. The Rockets' MAC opener at Ohio on Tuesday, Jan. 2 at 7:00 p.m. is on ESPNU. UT will then play two games on the CBS Sports Network, hosting Miami on Friday, Jan. 5 at 7:00 p.m. before visiting Kent State on Tuesday, Jan. 9 at 7:00 p.m.