TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (25-6, 16-2 MAC) opens play in the 2023 Mid-American Conference Tournament as the No. 1 seed on Thursday, March 9 against No. 8 seed Miami (12-19, 6-12 MAC). The contest will be televised on ESPN+ and tip off in Cleveland's Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse at 11:00 a.m.

The Rockets bring a school-record 15-game winning streak into postseason play during which they are scoring 87.0 ppg to go along with a 50.7 FG% and 43.3 three-point FG%. UT has shot 50% or better from the field in six straight games and 50% or better from three-point range in five consecutive games.

Toledo became the first current MAC school to win three straight outright league titles with last Friday's 87-81 win at Ball State. The Rockets finished one game in front of second-place Kent State for the second consecutive season. RayJ Dennis carried Toledo to its win over the Cardinals with a career-high 32 points. He also dished out seven assists and was 12-of-20 from the field. The Rockets posted a 55.0 FG%, a 66.7 3PTFG% (10-of-15) and a 91.7 FT% (11-of-12) at the free-throw line. UT's streak of 42 straight free throws ended when Dennis missed the Rockets' last attempt of the game.

Toledo ranks second nationally with 85.7 ppg, trailing only Gonzaga (87.8). UT also is second with a 40.5 3PTFG%, fifth with a 49.6 FG%, and ranks in the nation's Top 10 in six more categories. Dennis ranks second in the MAC with a team-high 19.4 ppg, while JT Shumate is tied for seventh with 16.5 ppg and Setric Millner Jr. is in 10th at 15.9 ppg.

Miami had its four-game winning streak snapped by Buffalo last Friday. Three RedHawks are ranked in the MAC's Top 20 scorers - Mekhi Lairy (17.4/4th), Morgan Safford (15.2/13th) and Anderson Mirambeaux (14.2/18th). Toledo posted a 71-69 win over Miami in the 2018 MAC Quarterfinals in the last postseason meeting between the schools.
 
TOLEDO VS. MIAMI
Date: Thursday, March 9, 2023.
Tip-Off: 11:00 a.m.
Location: Cleveland, Ohio.
Arena: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (19,432).
Television: ESPN+. Michael Reghi 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
   Series tied 68-68. Toledo won both meetings vs. Miami this season and is 4-4 vs. the RedHawks in the MAC Tournament. The Rockets won 81-78 at Miami (Jan. 31) and 89-71 in Toledo (Feb. 14).
 
15-GAME WINNING STREAK DATA
•  Toledo has a PLUS-14.6 scoring margin during its current 15-GAME win streak.
•  The Rockets are averaging 87.0 ppg with a 50.7 FG%, 43.3 3PTFG% and 79.9 FT%.
•  Toledo also has a plus-4.3 turnover margin and is averaging 8.7 turnovers per game.
•  RayJ Dennis leads UT with 20.8 ppg and is followed by Setric Millner Jr. (17.1 ppg), JT Shumate (14.5 ppg), and Dante Maddox Jr. (13.0 ppg).
• Five Rockets - Dennis (54.5%), Millner Jr. (54.1%), Maddox Jr. (52.3%), EJ Farmer (50.6%) and Shumate (50.0%) - are shooting over 50% from the field during this unbeaten stretch.
•  Millner Jr. (28-of-56) and Maddox Jr. (33-of-66) both have a team-best 50.0 3PTFG%. Dennis is at 42.9% (24-of-56) and Andre Lorentsson at 41.4% (12-of-29).
 
ROCKETS IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
•  The Rockets' 15-game winning streak is ranks SECOND in the nation (as of March 6) behind Oral Roberts (16). UT's NINE-game road winning streak is tied for SECOND-longest nationally with Merrimack and VCU. Houston is first with an 11-game road streak.
•  UT ranks SECOND in the nation with 85.7 ppg, trailing only Gonzaga (87.8).
•  Toledo is also in the Top 10 in SIX more categories: 3PTFG% (2nd/40.5), FG% (5th/49.6), Effective FG% (7th/56.7), Fewest TO's/game (8th/9.7), A/TO ratio (8th/1.57) and Winning % (10th/80.6). UT also ranks in the Top 25 in FT% (15th/77.6) and FTs made per game (21st/16.4).
•  RayJ Dennis ranks SEVENTH with a 3.10 A/TO ratio and 13th with a career-high 5.9 apg.
•  JT Shumate ranks 21st with an 88.4 FT%.
 
ROCKETS IN THE MAC RANKINGS
•  Toledo tops the MAC with 85.7 ppg, a 49.6 FG%, a 40.5 3PTFG%, 15.3 apg, a 1.57 A/TO ratio, and 9.7 TO/game. UT is second in scoring margin (+9.8), FT% (77.6), and turnover margin (+3.13).
•  UT is the only school to have three players among the MAC's Top 15 scoring leaders — RayJ Dennis (19.4/2nd), JT Shumate (16.5/T-7th), and Setric Millner Jr. (15.9 ppg/10th).
•  Dennis leads the MAC with 5.9 apg and a 3.10 assist/turnover ratio.
•  Dennis is tied for first in the MAC with 15 20-point outings. Shumate is tied for third with 12.
•  Shumate leads the MAC with 1.2 bpg.
•  Dante Maddox Jr. tops the MAC with a 46.3 3PTFG% (57-of-123).
•  Millner Jr. ranked second in MAC play with a 50.0 3PTFG%, just ahead of Maddox Jr. at 49.4%.
•  Ra'Heim Moss and Dennis are tied for sixth with 1.5 pg.
 
TEAM TIDBITS
•  Toledo is the first current MAC member to win three straight outright league titles. Cincinnati won four in a row from the 1947-48 through 1950-51 seasons.
•  The Rockets are 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).
•  Toledo's 72 victories over the last three seasons are tied for 10th nationally (as of March 6) and are the most ever by the Rockets in a three-year period.
•  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 each of the last THREE seasons. Other schools to do so are Baylor, Belmont, Drake, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Morehead State, UAB, UCLA, USC.
•  UT's 15-game MAC win streak is its LONGEST in a single season and surpassed the overall school MAC record set from Jan. 26, 2000-Jan. 13, 2001 and Feb. 4, 2006-Jan. 27, 2007.
•  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 remained at No. 5 in this week's CollegeInsiders.com poll (March 6).
•  Toledo has six MAC Player of Week honorees this season - RayJ Dennis (Nov. 14, Dec. 12, Jan. 23, Feb. 20, March 6) and JT Shumate (Nov. 21).
•  Toledo finished 8-1 in league road games this season. UT was 8-2 in MAC road games last season after posting a 6-3 mark in MAC contests away from home in the 2020-21 campaign.
 
ROCKETS SCORCHING SHOOTING THE ROCK
•  UT has a 50.0 FG% or higher in SIX straight games, posting a 54.5 mark in this stretch.
•  UT has a 50.0 3PTFG% or higher in FIVE straight games and is shooting 55.8 3PFG% (53-of-95) during this period.
•  Toledo has an 85.6 FT% in its last NINE games.
•   Toledo set a school record at CMU (Feb. 28) with its perfect 28-for-28 performance at the free-throw line. EJ Farmer, a 60.0 FT% shooter entering the game, sank a career-high eight free throws. He was followed by Ra'Heim Moss (6), Setric Millner Jr. (4), Dante Maddox Jr. (4), AJ Edu (3), Andre Lorentsson (2) and RayJ Dennis (1).
•   Ironically, the Rockets' best free-throw shooter JT Shumate didn't attempt a free throw vs CMU.
•   The Rockets shattered the previous mark by eight, previously accomplished in home games vs. Northern Kentucky (Dec. 30) and Chicago State (Dec. 31, 2012). UT doubled its MAC record for most free throws without a miss of 14 set at Miami (Jan. 11, 2022).
 
A LOOK AT THE ROCKETS
     Toledo has captured its 11th Mid-American Conference title in program history this season and became the first current MAC program to capture three straight outright MAC titles. The Rockets have registered five 20-win seasons in the last six years as well as seven 20-win campaigns in the last 10 seasons. The Rockets broke their school record last year with 17 MAC victories and their 26 overall wins were second in school history, one behind the 2013-14's squad.
     Twelve of Toledo's 16 MAC victories this season are by seven points or more. Last year, UT won 15 of its 17 league triumphs by eight points or more. In the 2020-21 season, 13 of Toledo's 15 MAC victories were by nine points or more.
     Toledo returned four starters from last year's squad which repeated as outright Mid-American Conference champions. The lone departure was sophomore guard Ryan Rollins who was drafted by the Golden State Warriors in the second round of the NBA draft after leading the Rockets with 18.9 ppg.

ON THE HORIZON
     If Toledo defeats Miami in Thursday's quarterfinal, the Rockets will face either No. 4 seed Ball State or No. 5 seed Ohio in the semifinals on Friday, March 10 at 5:00 p.m. on the CBS Sports Network. The MAC Championship game will be on Saturday, March 11 at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2.