TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team will travel to Huntington, W. Va. this weekend to face Marshall on Saturday, Nov. 9 in a non-conference matchup. The contest will tip off at 2:00 p.m. inside the Cam Henderson Center with streaming on ESPN+.

        The Rockets (0-1) opened their 2024-25 campaign on Monday with an 84-74 defeat at Troy to begin the second-annual MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. Sophomores Javan Simmons and Sonny Wilson led UT with 19 and 17 points, respectively. Simmons grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, while Wilson dished out five assists with no turnovers in 33 minutes.

        Toledo held a 19-14 lead midway through the first half, but a 11-0 Troy run helped the Trojans take a 43-29 halftime advantage. UT was unable to get within single digits for the remainder of the contest.

        Joining Simmons and Wilson in double digits were freshman Jaylan Ouwinga (14 pts.) and sophomore Sam Lewis (12 pts.). Ouwinga also registered two blocked shots and two steals in 21 minutes.

        The Rockets are looking to win an unprecedented fifth consecutive league crown. UT is the only current Mid-American Conference program ever to win four straight outright league titles. Toledo was picked to finish fourth in the MAC in this year's preseason poll by the league's head coaches, finishing behind Ohio, Akron and Kent State and marking the fourth consecutive year UT has not been selected as the preseason favorite.

        First-year head coach Cornelius Jackson won his debut with the Thundering Herd with a 90-57 home win over Davis & Elkins. Marshall returns six players from last year's roster including Nate Martin and Obinna Anochili-Killen, who were first- and second-team preseason All-SBC selections. Anochili-Killen led the Herd with 18 points vs. the Senators.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024.
Tip-Off: 2:00 p.m.
Location: Huntington, W. Va.
Arena: Henderson Center (9,048).
Streaming: ESPN+. Bobby Iddings will provide play-by-play with Ot Elmore 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 39-24. Toledo has won six of its last seven meetings vs. Marshall, including an 88-87 home victory last year. UT is facing the Thundering Herd in a non-conference contest for a ninth straight season.

NOTES FROM THE ROCKETS' CONTEST AT TROY
•   Javan Simmons' 19-point outing was one shy of his career high of 20 vs. Buffalo (1/16/24).
•   Sonny Wilson's five assists were one shy of his career best of six vs. New Mexico (11/21/23).
•   Sam Lewis tallied a career-high 12 points and matched his career best with four rebounds in a career-high 32 minutes.
•   Simmons and Jaylan Ouwinga were each perfect from the free-throw line by knocking down seven and five free throws, respectively.
•   Toledo lost its season opener for the first time in four seasons. The last time the Rockets dropped their first game of the was a 61-59 defeat to Bradley at the Xavier Invitational on Nov. 25, 2020.

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE TITLE TALK
•  Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk is just one of FIVE ACTIVE head coaches who have won FOUR straight outright conference titles. He joins Mark Few (Gonzaga), Bill Self (Kansas), John Calipari (Memphis, UMass) and John Becker (Vermont).
•  Kowalczyk's five MAC titles match former UT coach Bob Nichols for most in program history. His 278 career victories rank second in program history (and sixth in MAC history) behind Nichols' conference-best 376 wins.
•  Toledo became just the SECOND program in MAC history to capture FOUR straight MAC titles, matching Cincinnati with four from the 1947-48 - 1950-51 seasons. The only other schools to win at least a share of  three straight MAC titles were the 1979-81 Toledo squads and Kent State (2002-04).
•  Toledo has won 12 MAC regular-season titles, which ranks second in conference history behind Miami's 21 crowns.
• The Rockets are 62-13 (.827) in conference play over the last four years. Toledo's 62 conference victories rank FIRST in the nation over that time span.
•  Toledo set a school record during its 2022-23 title season with 17 straight victories and tied its program record with 27 victories, matching the 2013-14 unit's record total. The Rockets also won 26 games in the 2021-22 season.
•  Toledo has had a different leading scorer on each title team - Marreon Jackson (18.1 ppg), Ryan Rollins (18.9 ppg), RayJ Dennis (19.5 ppg) and Dante Maddox Jr. (15.6 ppg).

ROAD WARRIORS
The Rockets were 8-5 in road games last season and have posted a 34-20 (.630) win-loss mark in road games since the start of the 2020-21 campaign. Toledo possesses a 57-40 (.588) win-loss mark on enemy courts since the start of the 2017-18 season. 

ON THE HORIZON
Toledo will return to the Glass City to host Wright State in its home opener on Wednesday, Nov. 13. Tip-off time is set for 7:00 p.m. in Savage Arena.