TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (15-8, 9-2 MAC) will take a break from Mid-American Conference play and look to win its second game of this year's MAC-SBC Challenge when it travels to Boone, N.C. on Saturday, Feb. 10 to face Sun Belt Conference co-leader App State (19-5, 10-2 SBC). Tipoff for the contest is set for 1:00 p.m. in the Holmes Center with streaming on ESPN+.

In their first game of the MAC-SBC Challenge in November, the Rockets rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit with 12:41 remaining to defeat Louisiana and help the MAC register a 7-5 advantage in the challenge. Tyler Cochran led UT to the win with 18 points off the bench..

The Rockets also came from behind to win their last outing with Tuesday's 91-87 triumph at Eastern Michigan. UT trailed by seven with 3:40 remaining before ending the game with a 17-6 run against the Eagles. Cochran and Ra'Heim Moss each scored 20 points to pace the Rockets offensively. Javan Simmons added 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Andre Lorentsson came off the bench to score 13 points and grab five boards. Dante Maddox Jr. also scored 11 points for the Rockets.                                                                                                      

App State entered this week's play ranked No. 4 in the collegeinsiders.com Mid-Major Poll but saw its eight-game winning streak end with Wednesday's 63-56 loss at Texas State. The Mountaineers are 10-0 at home, including a 69-64 win over Auburn, and rank among in the nation's Top 10 with 7.1 bpg (1st), 30.8 defensive rpg (3rd), 38.3 opponent FG% (3rd), 42.3 rpg (6th), and 13.5 fouls/game (7th).

Junior Tre'Von Spillers leads App State with 13.6 ppg and 8.5 rpg. Donavan Gregory (12.2 ppg) and Terence Harcum (11.6 ppg) are scoring in double figures. Justin Abson ranks second in the nation with 3.1 bpg, while Spillers is ninth with a 63.6 FG%.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024.
Tip-Off: 1:00 p.m.
Location: Boone, N.C.
Arena: Holmes Center (8,325).
Streaming: ESPN+. Kendall Lewis will provide play-by-play for broadcast with John Reisterer 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
App State leads 2-0. Toledo has lost both of its previous meetings vs. the Mountaineers. App State posted a 75-63 win in Toledo in 1988 and a 68-65 victory in Milwaukee, Wis. in 1999.
 
POST TOUCHES
•  Junior Ra'Heim Moss has scored in double digits in 22 of 23 games this season after scoring in double digits on 13 occasions last year.  He has now scored in double digits 49 times in his Rocket career and is seventh in the MAC with 16.5 ppg.
•  Moss dished out a career-high 10 assists with just one turnover vs. Bowling Green (Jan. 27). He leads the Rockets and ranks ninth in the MAC with a career-best 3.0 apg.
•  Junior Dante Maddox Jr. ranks second in team scoring with a career-high 15.3 ppg. Maddox scored a career-high 26 pts. vs. BG (Jan. 27), one more than vs. GMU (Dec. 2).
•  Maddox is third in MAC games only with a 49.0 3FG% and tied for fourth with 2.30 3FG/game.
•  Junior Tyler Cochran leads the MAC with a team-high 2.1 spg. He also leads the team with 6.7 rpg and has grabbed 7.4 rpg in league play.
•  Cochran has TEN career double-doubles and is averaging 14.1 ppg and 8.3 rpg in his last seven games. He has four double-doubles at UT & NIU and two at Ball State
•  Simmons is averaging 12.9 ppg this season with a team-best 58.4 FG% (3rd in MAC). He is the only freshman in the MAC averaging more than 9.0 ppg.
•  Freshman Sonny Wilson registered his eighth double-digit outing with 11 points at Akron (Feb. 2). He is averaging 8.6 ppg with a 66.7 FG% (18-of-27) in his last five games.
 
TEAM TIDBITS
•  Toledo has a 9-2 record in MAC play for the second straight season. UT lost two of its first three MAC games last year before winning its final 15 league contests.
•  The Rockets have won 24 of their last 26 MAC games with their only losses a three-point setback at Central Michigan (Jan. 19) and a seven-point defeat at Akron (Feb. 2).
•  UT is 57-11 (.838) in league play since the start of the 2020-21 season. The Rockets are 30-3 (.909) in MAC home games and 27-8 (.771) in MAC road games.
•  Seven of UT's eight losses have come vs. teams with a winning record - Indiana St. (21-3), New Mexico (19-4), Akron (18-5), Vermont (18-6), UC Irvine (18-6), George Mason (15-8), and CMU (13-10). West Virginia (8-14) is the only team that UT has lost to with a losing record.
•  Toledo leads the MAC with 79.7 ppg, a 48.0 FG% and is tied for first with a 76.0 FT% and 7.2 spg. The Rockets rank second with a plus-2.61 turnover margin.
•  In league play, the Rockets are first with a 49.6 FG% and +3.0 turnover margin, and second with 80.5 ppg, 75.5 FT%, a +8.6 scoring margin, and 6.5 spg.
•  The Rockets rank 33rd 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).
•  UT also ranks 29th nationally in FG% (48.0) and 35th in FTs made per game (16.5).
•  UT has made 45 more FTs (380) than their opponents have attempted (335).
•  Toledo is 3-0 in one-point games with road wins over Wright State and Oakland and a home victory over Marshall.
•  The Rockets are 7-2 in games decided by five points or less.
 
ROAD WARRIORS
The Rockets are 6-3 in road games this season and have posted a 32-17 (.653) win-loss mark in road games since the start of the 2020-21 campaign. Toledo possesses a 56-37 (.602) win-loss mark on enemy courts since the start of the 2017-18 season.
 
ON THE HORIZON
Toledo will return to action next week when it hosts Ohio on Friday, Feb. 16 at 9:00 p.m. on ESPNU. The  Rockets will then host Akron on Tuesday, Feb. 20 before visiting Bowling Green on Friday, Feb. 23. The contest against the Falcons will tip off on ESPNU at 7:00 p.m.