TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (22-6, 13-2 MAC) will close out its 2022-23 home campaign on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 2:00 p.m. with a Senior Day match-up vs. Buffalo (13-15, 7-8 MAC) on ESPN3. Seniors Setric Millner Jr. and JT Shumate will be honored in a post-game ceremony for a Rocket career that has seen them win a school-record 69 games over a three-year period.

Toledo is alone in first place in the Mid-American Conference after extending its winning streak to 12 games on Tuesday night with a convincing 84-63 victory over Akron (19-9, 11-4). UT leads second-place Kent State (22-6, 12-3) by a game after the Golden Flashes dropped an 82-70 decision at Ball State (20-8, 11-4).

Toledo's 12-game winning streak ranks third nationally and matches UT's longest streak since opening the 2013-14 season with 12 straight wins. The Rockets' streak is tied for their second-longest in a single season, trailing only a 14-game unbeaten stretch from Dec. 3, 1966-Feb. 1, 1967.

Toledo ranks second nationally with a MAC-best 84.7 ppg and also ranks in the nation's Top 25 in eight more categories. Individually, RayJ Dennis ranks 14th with a 2.94 A/TO ratio and 18th with 5.7 apg. Shumate ranks 20th nationally with an 88.7 FT%. Dennis ranks third in MAC scoring at 19.0 ppg, while Shumate is fifth at 17.2 ppg.

In the Rockets' 86-77 win at Buffalo on Jan. 20, Dennis tallied 21 points and seven assists and Millner Jr. contributed 20 points and six boards. Shumate and Dante Maddox Jr. also scored in double digits for UT with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Millner Jr. and Shumate topped the Rockets offensively with 20 points apiece in UT's 21-point win over Akron, while Dennis tallied 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting. The Rockets shot 52.5% from the field, marking the sixth time in last eight games UT has shot 50.0% or higher from the floor.
 
TOLEDO VS. BUFFALO
Date: Saturday, Feb. 25, 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 19-14. The Rockets have won four straight in the series following Buffalo's five-game win streak from 2018-20. Three of UT's last four wins over UB have been on the road with an 86-75 home win last year being the only victory in Savage Arena.
 
12-GAME WINNING STREAK DATA
•  Toledo has a plus-12.4 scoring margin during its current 12-game win streak.
•  The Rockets are averaging 84.8 ppg with a 49.0 FG% and 40.1 3PTFG%.
•  Toledo also has a plus-4.1 turnover margin and is averaging 9.0 turnovers per game.
•  RayJ Dennis leads UT with 20.3 ppg and is followed by Setric Millner Jr. (16.3 ppg), JT Shumate (15.6 ppg), and Dante Maddox Jr. (12.9 ppg).
•  Five Rockets - Millner Jr. (51.9%), Dennis (51.9%), EJ Farmer (51.8%), Maddox Jr. (51.1%) and Shumate (50.0%) - are shooting over 50% from the field during this stretch.
•  Maddox Jr. has a team-best 47.3 3PTFG% (26-of-55) with Millner Jr. at 46.5% (17-of-37).
 
ROCKETS IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
•  The Rockets' 12-game winning streak is THIRD-longest in the nation, trailing Eastern Washington (18) and Oral Roberts (13). UT's SIX-game road winning streak is tied for FIFTH-longest nationally. Houston is first with a nine-game road streak.
•  Toledo ranks SECOND in the nation with 84.7 ppg, trailing only Gonzaga (87.8).
•  Toledo is also in the Top 25 in EIGHT more categories: Fewest TO's/game (10th/9.9), FG% (12th/48.7), 3PTFG% (13th/38.8), A/TO ratio (14th/1.51), Effective FG% (16th/55.7), Winning % (19th/78.6), FTs made per game (21st/16.4), and FT% (23rd/76.5).
•  RayJ Dennis ranks 13th with a 2.94 A/TO ratio and 18th with a career-high 5.7 apg.
•  JT Shumate ranks 20th with an 86.7 FT%.
 
ROCKETS IN THE MAC RANKINGS
•  UT tops the MAC with 84.7 ppg, over six points better than Ohio (78.6), and is also first in FG% (48.7), 3PTFG% (38.8), A/TO ratio (1.51), and fewest TO/game (10.0).
•  UT is the only school to have three players among the MAC's Top 15 scoring leaders — RayJ Dennis (19.0/3rd), JT Shumate (17.2/T-5th), and Setric Millner Jr. (15.5 ppg/12th).
•  Dennis leads the MAC with 5.7 apg and is second with a 2.94 assist/turnover ratio.
•  Dennis is tied for the MAC lead with 13 20-point outings with Akron's Xavier Castaneda. Shumate is tied for third in the MAC with 12 20-point contests.
•  Shumate is tied for first with 1.3 bpg.
•  Dante Maddox Jr. is fourth with a team-high 44.6 3PTFG%. Millner Jr. ranks second in league play with a 47.4 3PTFG%, just ahead of Maddox Jr. at 47.0%.
•  Ra'Heim Moss is sixth with 1.54 spg, and Dennis is seventh with 1.46 spg.
 
TEAM TIDBITS
•  Toledo has registered FIVE 20-win seasons in the last SIX years. In addition, the Rockets are one of NINE programs nationally to win 21 or more each of the last THREE seasons.
•  Toledo's 69 victories over the last three seasons are tied for 13th nationally (as of 2/23).
•  Since the start of the 2020-21 season, Toledo is 45-9 (.833) in league play. The Rockets are 25-3 (.893) in MAC home games and 20-6 (.769) in MAC road games.
•  Toledo is the only MAC school to win 13 or more league games five of the last six years.
•  Toledo has an eight-game win streak or longer in three straight years. UT registered a nine-game win streak last year and an eight-game unbeaten stretch in 2020-21.
•  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.
•  Toledo has an 83.4 FT% (121-of-145) in its last six games

ON THE HORIZON
     The Rockets' final two games of the regular season are at Central Michigan (10-18, 5-10 MAC) on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 7:00 p.m. and Ball State (20-8, 11-4 MAC) on Friday, March 3 at 6:00 p.m. Toledo posted an 84-59 home win over the Chippewas on Feb. 4 and dropped a 90-83 decision to the Cardinals in Savage Arena on Jan. 3.