TOLEDO, Ohio - The Toledo men's basketball team (14-8, 8-2 MAC) looks to match its longest winning streak of the season when it hosts James Madison (15-9, 8-4 SBC) on Saturday, Feb. 8 in the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. The contest will tip off at 2:00 p.m. in Savage Arena and be streamed on ESPN+.

The Rockets won their fourth straight game in Tuesday's 87-74 home victory over Buffalo. UT is currently in third place in the Mid-American Conference standings, trailing first-place Akron (17-5, 10-0) by two games and second-place Miami (17-5, 9-1) by a single game.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025.
Tip-Off: 2:00 p.m.
Location: Toledo, Ohio
Arena: Savage Arena (7,014).
Television: 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
First meeting.

PARKING
Free parking for the game is available in Lots 1 and 2. Lots 3, 4, 5, and 6 require parking passes. For all other lots, vehicles must be registered at parkutoledo.com.

LAST TIME OUT
Javan Simmons tallied 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to lead the four-time defending MAC champion Rockets. Toledo out-rebounded the Bulls by a 41-32 margin, grabbing 15 of its boards on the offensive glass. Simmons collected five of those en route to his second-straight double-double.

ROCKETS' LEADERS
Sonny Wilson and Sam Lewis are leading Toledo with 15.6 and 15.0 ppg, respectively. Simmons is averaging 12.5 ppg and a team-high 6.5 rpg, while Isaiah Adams checks in with 10.5 ppg. Bryce Ford and Lewis rank among the MAC's top perimeter shooters. Lewis ranks second with a 45.8 3PTFG%, while Ford is third at 44.6%.

ABOUT JAMES MADISON
Defending Sun Belt Conference champion James Madison is tied for second place after winning its fifth-straight game with Wednesday's 64-61 home victory over Troy. The Dukes trailed 61-59 with 1:18 remaining but scored the game's final five points to pull out the win.

Mark Freeman leads JMU with 13.7 ppg and 3.7 apg and plays a team-high 29.0 mpg coming off the bench. Bryce Lindsay ranks second on the team at 12.4 ppg with a team-high 42.2 3PTFG% and 84.8 FT%.
 
POST TOUCHES
•  Sophomore Sonny Wilson ranks second among guards in the MAC and seventh overall with a 52.6 FG%.
•  Sophomore Javan Simmons ranks second in MAC play with 9.2 rpg and tied for first with 3.9 offensive rpg.
•  Sophomore Sam Lewis ranks 10th in the MAC with 15.0 ppg and has four 20-point outings this season, including a career-high 23 points vs. Northern Illinois (Feb. 1). He also registered back-to-back double-doubles with 13 points and a career-best 11 boards at Purdue (Dec. 29) and 14 points and 10 rebounds at WMU (Jan. 4).
•  Sophomore Bryce Ford leads the MAC with a 48.4 3PTFG% in league play and is third overall with a 44.6 mark. Ford has SEVEN double-digit outings since joining UT's starting lineup at the start of the conference season
•  Toledo has the top three free-throw shooters in MAC play with Ford ranking first at 92.0% (23-of-25) followed by Isaiah Adams and Seth Hubbard tied for second at 91.7%.
•  The Rockets dropped an 84-74 decision at Troy in the MAC-SBC Challenge in November, while the Dukes posted an 88-78 home victory over Ohio.

FACTS & FIGURES DURING TOLEDO'S FOUR-GAME WIN STREAK
• The Rockets have scored 84 or more points in each game with a plus-8.3 scoring margin.
• UT is averaging 86.5 ppg with a 46.5 FG%, 43.1 3PTFG% & 77.5 FT% in its last four games.
• Toledo has a plus-10.0 rebound margin with Javan Simmons leading with 10.0 rpg.
• Sam Lewis (17.8) & Sonny Wilson (17.5) are the Rockets' leading scorers.
• Wilson has a 56.3 FG% and 66.7 3FG% (4-of-6) with a 2.8 assist/turnover ratio.
• Lewis is shooting 54.5% (12-of-22) from three-point range.
• Bryce Ford is averaging 13.3 ppg with a 94.1 FT% (16-of-17).
 
NOTES FROM THE ROCKETS' 87-74 WIN OVER BUFFALO
• Toledo has won its last eight meetings vs. Buffalo.
• Javan Simmons now has three double-doubles this season and five in his career. He has eight or more rebounds in nine of 10 MAC contests.
• Simmons also tied his career high with six assists.
• Sam Lewis has scored 13 or more points in 13 of his last 14 games.
• Bryce Ford has scored in double figures in a career-high four straight contests.

TEAM TIDBITS
• Toledo's 70 conference wins since the start of the 2020-21 season are tied for second in the nation (as of Feb. 5) with Drake and trail only Houston (71). Purdue is third with 69 victories.
•  The Rockets are 70-15 (.824) in league play since the start of the 2020-21 season. The Rockets are 38-5 (.884) in MAC home games and 32-10 (.762) in MAC road games.
•  Toledo was 3-0 in one-point games last year with road wins over Wright State and Oakland and a home victory over Marshall. The Rockets have yet to play a one-point game this season and are 5-0 in games decided by four points or less.
•  Toledo ranks first in the MAC in league play with a 79.3 FT% after shooting 69.0% at the charity stripe in its non-conference schedule.
•  The Rockets are 6-5 on the road and one of four MAC teams with a winning road record, joining Kent State (6-3), Akron (5-3) and Miami (5-4).

ON THE HORIZON
     Toledo will be on the road next week for matchups at Miami (17-5, 9-1 MAC) on Tuesday, Feb. 11 and Eastern Michigan (10-12, 4-6 MAC) on Saturday, Feb. 15.