TOLEDO, Ohio - The Mid-American Conference title and a No. 1 seed in next week's MAC Tournament will be on the line on Friday, March 8 when the Toledo men's basketball team (19-11, 13-4 MAC) hosts Kent State (15-15, 8-9) in Savage Arena on national television. Tip-off time for the contest is set for 8:00 p.m. on the CBS Sports Network.
 
The three-time defending MAC champion Rockets are tied for first place with Akron (21-9, 13-4) following UT's 97-63 victory at Miami coupled with the Zips' 61-60 home setback to Eastern Michigan on Tuesday night. A victory for Toledo on Friday would secure its fourth consecutive MAC Championship as well as the No. 1 seed in the MAC Tournament no matter what happens in Akron's game at Western Michigan on Friday. The Rockets hold the tie-breaker over the Zips thanks to their two victories over third-place Ohio, which split its two games with Akron.
 
Toledo scored the game's first 11 points against the RedHawks and never looked back, cruising to a 54-24 halftime advantage. The Rockets' cushion didn't fall below 24 points in the final 20 minutes. All 10 Rockets found the scoring column against Miami with Tyler Cochran setting the pace with a game-high 22 points. Joining Cochran in double digits were Andre Lorentsson (16 pts.), Dante Maddox Jr. (13 pts.) and Ra'Heim Moss (10 pts.).
 
Toledo finished the night with a 60.4 FG%, including a red-hot 52.6 mark (10-of-19) from three-point range. The Rockets also limited the RedHawks to a 31.8 FG% and held a whopping 44-27 rebounding advantage.
 
Moss is leading the Rockets offensively with a career-high 15.9 ppg. He is followed by Maddox (15.4), Cochran (14.6) and Javan Simmons (12.5).
 
Junior guard Jalen Sullinger leads Kent State with 15.3 ppg and a 40.0 three-point FG%. The Golden Flashes have already secured a spot in next week's MAC Tournament. UT posted an 89-75 road win over KSU on Jan. 9 with Cochran scoring a team-high 21 points and grabbing eight rebounds.
 
TICKETS
Tickets are available for Friday's, including $8 bleacher tickets. To purchase tickets, go to UTRockets.com/MBBTix or call/text 419-530-GOLD (4653) or stop by the ticket office in Savage Arena during normal business hours.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Friday, March 8, 2024.
Tip-Off: 8:00 p.m.
Location: Toledo, Ohio.
Arena: Savage Arena (7,014).
Streaming: CBS Sports Network. John Sadak will provide play-by-play for broadcast with Tre Demps 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.
 
TEAM TIDBITS
•  Toledo needs one more victory to register its FOURTH straight 20-win season as well as its SIXTH 20-win season in the last SEVEN years.
•  Toledo is 61-13 (.824) in league play since the start of the 2020-21 season. The Rockets are 33-4 (.892) in MAC home games and 28-9 (.767) in MAC road games.
•  The Rockets are the only MAC school to win 13 or more league games in six of the last seven years.
•  Toledo could become just the SECOND program in MAC history to capture at least a share of 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 finished the year with a 6-3 record in MAC road games after registering an 8-1 mark in league road games last season. UT was 8-2 in MAC road games in 2021-22 after posting a 6-3 mark in MAC contests away from home in 2020-21.
 
ROCKETS IN THE MAC RANKINGS
• Toledo leads the MAC with 80.5 ppg, a 47.9 FG%, a 37.7 3PTFG% and 7.2 spg.
• The Rockets are first in league play with 80.2 ppg, a 48.7 FG% and 37.6 3PTFG%.
• Tyler Cochran leads the MAC with 2.0 spg and is seventh with 6.5 rpg.
• Ra'Heim Moss is second with 1.7 spg and seventh with 15.7 ppg.
• Andre Lorentsson is second with a 44.8 3PTFG%.
• Javan Simmons is third with a 54.8 FG% and 12th with 0.9 bpg.
• Dante Maddox Jr. is seventh with a 40.4 3PTFG% and ninth with 15.5 ppg.
 
ON THE HORIZON
Toledo will head to the MAC Tournament in Cleveland's Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Thursday-Saturday, March 16.