TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (14-7, 8-1 MAC) will visit Akron (16-5, 8-1) on Friday, Feb. 2 in a first-place showdown with the Zips in James A. Rhodes Arena. The contest will be televised nationally on ESPN2 and tip off at 9:00 p.m.

The three-time defending MAC champion Rockets have won 23 of their last 24 conference games and enter Friday's matchup on a three-game winning streak with an average margin of victory of 19.0 ppg. Prior to Tuesday's decisive 88-63 victory over WMU, UT posted 16-point wins over NIU and Bowling Green. The Rockets are averaging 88.3 ppg and shooting 55.5% with a 41.8 three-point FG% during this hot stretch.

Javan Simmons led Toledo against the Broncos with 19 points, one shy of his season high. Joining Simmons in double figures was Ra'Heim Moss (15 pts.), Tyler Cochran (12 pts.) and Sonny Wilson (11 pts.). The foursome combined to shoot 80.0% (24-of-30) from the field to help UT post a season-high 63.5 shooting mark.

In addition to its red-hot shooting, Toledo held a 31-24 rebounding advantage and outscored the Broncos in the paint by a whopping 52-34 margin. The Rockets soared to a 20-6 lead the grew to a 48-27 margin at halftime.

Akron was the pre-season favorite to win the MAC and its lone MAC defeat was a 70-68 loss at Miami on Jan. 27.

The Zips' starting lineup includes five seniors with forward Enrique Freeman leading the way with 18.5 ppg and a national-best 12.8 rpg. Joining Freeman in double digits is forward Ali Ali with 15.5 ppg, with forward Sammy Hunter (9.7) and guard Greg Tribble (9.6) each averaging 9.0 ppg or more.

Toledo has won 12 of its last 15 meetings vs. Akron, including five of its last seven matchups in Rhodes Arena.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.
Tip-Off: 9:00 p.m.
Location: Akron, Ohio.
Arena: Rhodes Arena (5,500).
Televison: ESPN2. Robert Lee will provide play-by-play for broadcast with Mark Adams 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 41-29. Toledo has won 12 of its last 15 games vs. Akron after losing seven in a row to the Zips. Toledo is 5-2 in its last seven games in Rhodes Arena with one of the losses a 95-94 (OT) defeat in 2021.
 
POST TOUCHES
•  Junior Ra'Heim Moss has scored in double digits in 20 of 21 games this season after scoring in double digits on 13 occasions last year.  He has now scored in double digits 47 times in his Rocket career and is seventh in the MAC with 16.3 ppg.
•  Moss dished out a career-high 10 assists with just one turnover vs. Bowling Green (Jan. 27). He leads the Rockets with a career-best 3.0 apg.
•  Junior Dante Maddox Jr. ranks second in team scoring with a career-high 15.5 ppg. Maddox scored a career-high 26 pts. vs. BG, one more than he had vs. GMU (Dec. 2).
•  Maddox is third in MAC games only with a 51.1 3FG% and 2.56 3FG/game.
•  Junior Tyler Cochran leads the MAC with a team-high 2.1 spg. He also leads the team with 6.6 rpg and has grabbed 7.3 rpg in league play.
•  Cochran has 10 career double-doubles after registering double-doubles in three of his last five games. He has four double-doubles at UT & NIU and two at Ball State
•  Cochran (6th/5.8 rpg), Maddox (T-10th/4.7 rpg) and Moss (T-12th/4.4 rpg) each rank among the MAC's Top 15 defensive rebounders in league play.
•    Simmons is averaging 12.7 ppg this season with a team-best 58.5 FG% (3rd in MAC). He is the only freshman in the MAC averaging more than 9.0 ppg and leads the conference in league play with a 59.3 FG%.
•  Freshman Sonny Wilson registered his seven double-digit outing with 11 points vs. WMU (Jan. 30). He also scored 15 points at NIU and 13 points at Ohio and Kent State.
 
TEAM TIDBITS
•  Toledo has an 8-1 record in MAC play for the third time in the last four seasons. The Rockets started 11-1 in the 2020-21 campaign and were 10-1 in 2021-22. UT lost two of its first three MAC games last year before winning its final 15 league contests.
•  UT has won 23 of its last 24 MAC games with its only loss to Central Michigan (Jan. 19).
•  UT is 56-10 (.848) in league play since the start of the 2020-21 season. The Rockets are 30-3 (.909) in MAC home games and 26-7 (.788) in MAC road games.
•  Toledo leads the MAC with 79.6 ppg, a 48.0 FG% and 7.4 spg and ranks second with a 76.0 FT% and a plus-2.38 turnover margin.
•  In league play, the Rockets are first with a 49.8 FG%, tied for first with 80.4 ppg, third in scoring defense (69.7), and fourth in 3PTFG% defense (30.8).
•  The Rockets rank 34th nationally with a 76.0 free-throw percentage. During Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk's 14-year tenure, UT has ranked in the Top 20 nationally in Toledo 2012-13 (8th), 2018-19 (12th), and 2020-21 (18th).
•  Toledo also ranks 35th nationally in FG% (48.0), 43rd in three-point FG% (37.1), 46th in FTs made per game (16.3/game), and 48th in fewest fouls per game (15.1).
•  UT has made 42 more FTs (342) than their opponents have attempted (300).
•  UT is the only MAC school to win 13 or more league games five of last six years.
•  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.
 
ROAD WARRIORS
     The Rockets are 5-2 in road games this season and have posted a 31-16 (.660) win-loss mark in road games since the start of the 2020-21 campaign. Toledo possesses a 55-36 (.604) win-loss mark on enemy courts since the start of the 2017-18 season.
  
ON THE HORIZON
     Toledo will visit Eastern Michigan (Feb. 6) and App State (Feb. 10) before returning home to host Ohio (Feb. 16). The contest vs. the Bobcats will be televised nationally on ESPNU and tip off at 9:00 p.m.