TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (17-10, 11-3 MAC) looks to bounce back from last Friday's loss at arch-rival Bowling Green when it hosts Northern Illinois (9-18, 3-11 MAC) on Tuesday, Feb. 27. The contest will be streamed on ESPN+ and tip off at 7:00 p.m. in Savage Arena.

The three-time defending MAC champion Rockets trail first-place Akron (20-7, 12-2) by a game in the league standings and are one game in front of Central Michigan (16-11, 10-4). The Zips will visit Ohio (15-12, 9-5) on Tuesday evening.

Ra'Heim Moss paced the Rocket attack with 19 points in UT's 76-68 loss to the Falcons. He was joined in double figures by Tyler Cochran (17 pts.) and Dante Maddox Jr. (15 pts.). Toledo led by as many as six points in the first half, but a 16-2 Falcon spurt spanning the first and second halves as well as 11 Toledo turnovers in the second half were too much to overcome.

The Rockets and Huskies were tied at 38-38 after 20 minutes in their first meeting of the season on Jan. 23 in DeKalb, but UT exploded for 51 points in the second half en route to an 89-73 triumph. Moss topped UT in scoring in that contest as well with 20 points. He was joined in double digits by Javan Simmons (19 pts.), Cochran (18 pts.) and Sonny Wilson (15 pts.).

Moss is leading the Rockets offensively with a career-high 16.4 ppg. He is followed by Dante Maddox Jr. (15.6), Cochran (13.8) and Simmons (12.6).

Northern Illinois has lost three in a row following Saturday's 80-59 home defeat to Ohio. Junior guard David Coit is the MAC's third-leading scorer with 19.6 ppg and tops the MAC with a 90.1 FT% (18th nationally) and 3.0 treys per game.

Toledo has won its last five meetings vs. Northern Illinois with its last defeat to the Huskies coming in DeKalb on March 3, 2020.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024.
Tip-Off: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Toledo, Ohio.
Arena: Savage Arena (7,014).
Streaming: ESPN+. 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 53-31. The Rockets have won five straight overall vs. the Huskies and six of their last seven games in DeKalb. UT's average margin of victory during its current five-game win streak vs. NIU is 23.0 ppg.

POST TOUCHES
•  Junior Ra'Heim Moss has scored in double digits in 26 of 27 games this season after scoring in double digits on 13 occasions last year. He ranks seventh in the MAC with 16.4 ppg and has a 56.3 3PTFG% (9-of-16) in his last FIVE games.
•  Junior Dante Maddox Jr. ranks second in team scoring with a career-high 15.6 ppg. Maddox scored a career-high 26 pts. vs. BG (Jan. 27) and leads UT with TEN 20-point outings.
•  Junior Tyler Cochran leads the MAC with a team-high 2.0 spg. He also leads the team with 6.7 rpg and has scored in double digits in a season-high ELEVEN straight games.
•  Redshirt freshman Javan Simmons registered season highs in assists (6) and steals (3) vs. Akron (Feb. 20) and is averaging 12.6 ppg with a team-best 56.4 FG% (3rd in MAC). He registered his first two double-doubles of the season at App State (Feb. 10) and vs. Ohio (Feb. 16) and is averaging 12.2 ppg and 8.6 rpg in his last five contests.
 
TEAM TIDBITS
•  Toledo has a 15-game home MAC winning streak with its last league loss coming to Ball State on Jan. 3, 2023. The longest conference unbeaten stretch in program history was a 28-game streak from Feb. 2, 1959 - Jan. 1, 1964.
•  The Rockets are 26-3 in their last 29 MAC games with their only losses a three-point setback at Central Michigan (Jan. 19), a seven-point defeat at Akron (Feb. 2) and an eight-point loss at Bowling Green (Feb. 23).
•  UT is 59-12 (.831) in league play since the start of the 2020-21 season. The Rockets are 33-3 (.917) in MAC home games and 26-9 (.743) in MAC road games.
•  Eight of UT's nine losses have come vs. teams with a winning record - Indiana St. (25-5), New Mexico (21-7), Akron (20-7), Vermont (23-6), UC Irvine (20-8), George Mason (18-9), and CMU (16-11). WVU (9-18) is the only team that UT has lost to with a losing record.
•  Toledo leads the MAC with 80.0 ppg, a 47.6 FG%, a 37.7 3PTFG% and 7.4 spg.
•  In league play, the Rockets are first with 79.3 ppg, a 48.4 FG% and +2.7 turnover margin and second with a 74.9 FT%, a 37.6 3PTFG%, 6.6 spg, and a +6.9 scoring margin.
•  Toledo ranks in the Top 40 nationally in 3PTFG% (19th/37.7) and FG% (47.6%/36th).
•  UT is the only MAC school to win 13 or more league games five of last six years. The Rockets are two wins away from doing it for a sixth time in seven seasons.
 
ROCKETS RED-HOT FROM THREE-POINT RANGE
     Toledo is shooting 42.7% (41-of-96) from three-point range in a five-game stretch since its 77-70 loss at Akron (Feb. 2). The Rockets have shot over 40% from long distance in four of those contests - 41.7% (5-of-12) at EMU, 45.8% (11-of-24) at App State, 47.1% (8-of-17) vs. Ohio, and 45.0% (9-of-20) at Bowling Green.
     Akron leads the MAC in three-point FG% defense at 30.6% and limited Toledo to a season-low two three-point field goals and 16.7 three-point FG%.
 
ON THE HORIZON
     Toledo will hit the road for games at Buffalo on Saturday, March 2 and Miami on Tuesday, March 5. The Rockets will conclude their regular season with a home game vs. Kent State on Friday, March 8. The contest will tip off at 8:00 p.m. and be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network.