TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo men's basketball team (17-14, 10-8 MAC) opens play in the 2025 Mid-American Conference Tournament as the No. 4 seed on Thursday, March 13 against No. 5 seed Ohio (16-15, 10-8 MAC). The contest will be televised on ESPN+ and tip off in Cleveland's Rocket Arena at approximately 1:30 p.m. (Thirty minutes after Akron's game vs. Bowling Green.)

The Rockets and Bobcats tied for fourth place in the league standings, ending UT's record-setting four-year run as outright league champions. Toledo defeated Ohio in both meetings this season, an 86-83 triumph in Athens on Jan. 28 and a 96-82 home victory last Friday.

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Thursday, March 10, 2025.
Tip-Off: 1:30 p.m.
Location: Toledo, Ohio.
Arena: Rocket Arena (19,432).
Streaming: ESPN+. Michael Reghi 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
Ohio leads 72-70. Toledo has won eight straight as well as 13 of its last 14 meetings vs.  Ohio. The Rockets have won seven straight games in Athens and seven in a row vs. the Bobcats in Savage Arena.

LAST TIME OUT
Javan Simmons led the Rockets to their win over the Bobcats with 22 points to tie his career high for a second-straight game. He also was a perfect 10-of-10 from the field to become the second Rocket ever to make at least 10 shots without a miss.  Sam Lewis also tallied 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while Seth Hubbard tied his season high with 17 pts. to go along with a career-best nine rebounds.

Toledo shot an impressive 59.7% from the field, its highest shooting mark vs. a Division I opponent this season. UT posted a 67.7 shooting mark in the first half and converted 18-of-20 (90.0%) free throws.

ROCKETS' LEADERS
Sam Lewis and Sonny Wilson are leading Toledo with 15.9 and 15.3 ppg, respectively. Simmons is averaging 12.4 ppg and a team-high 6.6 rpg and a career-best 55.8 FG%.

ABOUT OHIO
Ohio enters the MAC Tournament looking to bounce back from an 83-79 home loss to and Friday's setback to the Rockets. The Bobcats rank third in the MAC with 79.7 ppg, a 47.0 FG% and a 35.8 three-point FG%.

AJ Clayton is averaging a team-best 14.2 ppg and leads a balanced attack that has four Bobcats scoring in double figures. Jackson Paveletzke is also averaging 13.4 ppg and ranks third in the MAC with 4.8 apg.

ROCKETS' MAC TOURNAMENT MINUTAIE
• Toledo has been a No. 4 seed or higher in the MAC Tournament in seven of the last eight seasons. The Rockets have also been seeded No. 4 or higher on nine occasions since 2014.
•  Toledo has faced Ohio on nine occasions in the MAC Tournament. The most common opponent the Rockets have played in the MAC Tournament is Eastern Michigan (12), with Miami equaling Ohio with nine matchups.
•  UT has an all-time win-loss mark of 17-15 in the MAC quarterfinals. Last year's defeat to to Kent State snapped the Rockets' three-game winning streak in the quarterfinal round. Toledo posted a 91-89 (OT) victory over Ball State in the 2021 quarterfinals, a 72-71 win over Central Michigan in 2022 and a 91-75 triumph over Miami in 2023.
•  Toledo has advanced to the MAC Championship Game on seven occasions - 1980, 1991, 1996, 2006, 2014, 2018 and 2023.
 
POST TOUCHES
• Sophomore Sam Lewis ranked sixth in the MAC with a team-high 15.9 ppg and was fourth in league play with a team-best 16.9 ppg. Lewis registered a team-high nine 20-point outings (3rd in the MAC) this season, including a career-high 23 points vs. Akron (March 4) and vs. Northern Illinois (Feb. 1).
• Sophomore Sonny Wilson is leading the MAC with a 1.92 assist/turnover ratio and ranks eighth in the MAC with 15.3 ppg. He leads MAC guards and ranks ninth overall in the MAC with a 51.9 FG%.
• Sophomore Javan Simmons is averaging 21.7 ppg and 6.7 rpg with a 79.3 FG% (23-of-29) and a 100.0 FT% (18-of-18) in his last three games. He also has connected on 27 of his last 28 free-throw attempts to raise his season percentage to 75.0%.
• Sophomore Bryce Ford joined the Rockets' starting lineup at the start of league play and averaged 9.3 ppg and 3.6 rpg with a 38.7 3PTFG% and 89.2 FT% in 28.0 mpg in conference action.
• Fifth-year senior Isaiah Adams leads UT with 3.5 apg, 1.3 spg and 0.7 bpg and shot 34.5% from three-point range in league play after posting a 20.5 3PTFG% in the first two months of the season.
• Junior Seth Hubbard is Toledo's top scorer off the bench with 7.6 ppg. He tied his season high with 17 points vs. Ohio last Friday after scoring 15 points in UT's first meeting vs. the Bobcats. In two games vs. Ohio, Hubbard is averaging 16.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg, and 3.0 apg with a 52.2 FG%.
 
TEAM TIDBITS
• Three Rockets were named MAC Player of the Week this season: Sonny Wilson (Nov. 15), Sam Lewis (Feb. 10) and Javan Simmons (March 7).
• Toledo was 3-0 in one-point games last year with road wins over Wright State and Oakland and a home victory over Marshall. UT is 1-1 this season and 7-1 in games decided by four points or less.
• The Rockets are 72-21 (.774) in league play since the start of the 2020-21 season. The Rockets are 39-7 (.848) in MAC home games and 33-14 (.702) in MAC road games.
  
PROTECTING THE BASKETBALL
• Toledo ranks among the national leaders in fewest turnovers per game, averaging a MAC-best 9.5 miscues per game.
•  UT is tied for 11th nationally, with North Alabama ranking first at 8.7.
•  UT committed a season-low three miscues vs. James Madison (Feb. 8) as well as five or less turnovers in four other games.
 
ON THE HORIZON
The Rockets will face either No. 1 Akron or No. 8 Bowling Green in the MAC semifinals on Friday, March 14 at 5:00 p.m. with a win over Ohio.