Saturday, March 14
Cleveland, Ohio
8:00 p.m.
University of Toledo
vs
Akron
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
Toledo will face Akron tonight in the MAC Championship Game at 8:00 p.m. on ESPN2.
Toledo to Meet No. 2 Seed Akron in MAC Championship Game Tonight
3/14/2026 9:36:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Rockets and Zips to tip off at 8:00 p.m. on ESPN2
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Toledo men's basketball team (19-14, 11-7 MAC) will make its eighth championship game appearance when it faces No. 2 seed Akron (28-5, 17-1 MAC) tonight in the 2026 Mid-American Conference Tournament. The contest will be televised nationally on ESPN2 and tip off in Cleveland's Rocket Arena at 8:00 p.m.
No. 4 seed Toledo advanced to the title game with victories over No. 5 seed Bowling Green (77-76) and No. 8 seed UMass (77-67). Akron defeated No. 7 seed Buffalo (73-70) and No. 3 seed Kent State (75-68).
The Rockets suffered a 91-81 setback to the Zips in Rhodes Arena on Jan. 27 in the lone meeting between the two teams. Toledo shot 53.6% from the field and used a red-hot first half to take a 49–41 lead into the break. The back-and-forth contest featured 20 lead changes and was tied at 75-all with four minutes left before the Zips pulled away.
Sonny Wilson scored a team-high 22 points with eight assists and Leroy Blyden Jr. added 20 to lead UT offensively. Jaylan Ouwinga joined Blyden and Wilson in double figures, finishing with 13 points. Sean Craig topped the Rockets with nine rebounds.
Wilson's 18 points topped four Rockets in double figures in last night's semifinal win over UMass. Also in double digits for UT were Mynor Strong (17), Craig (15) and Blyden (12). Toledo shot 57.4% from the field, including a sizzling 60.7% in the first half, while holding UMass to a 41.3 FG% and just 4-of-21 (19.0%) from long range.                   Â
UT is led by the backcourt duo of Wilson (17.3 ppg) and Blyden (16.3 ppg) along with the frontcourt tandem of Sean Craig (11.7 ppg) and Austin Parks (10.6 ppg). Blyden leads all MAC freshmen in scoring, while Wilson and Blyden are dishing out a team-high 4.5 apg.
Akron will be looking to win the MAC Championship for a third year in a row. Tavari Johnson and Shammah Scott each scored a game-high 18 points in its win over Kent State in the semifnals. Johnson leads the MAC in scoring with 20.3 ppg and is fifth with 5.0 apg. Amani Lyles is averaging 14.5 ppg and is tied for third with 7.8 rpg.
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, March 14, 2026.
Tip-Off: 8:00 p.m.
Location: Cleveland, Ohio.
Arena: Rocket Arena (19,432).
Streaming: ESPN2. Eric Rothman will provide play-by-play for broadcast with Mark Adams 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.
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ROCKETS RED-HOT DOWN THE STRETCH
• Toledo has won six of seven with its only defeat a 74-72 loss at No. 19 Miami (March 3). UT had a chance to tie or win at the buzzer but Leroy Blyden Jr. was unable to get a shot off.
• Blyden is leading UT with 17.9 ppg in this stretch, with Sonny Wilson adding 17.1 ppg.
• Also scoring in double digits are Mynor Strong (11.4 ppg) and Sean Craig (10.7 ppg).
• Toledo has a 53.5 FG% and a 39.5 3FG% with a plus-10.1 scoring margin in its last seven.
POST TOUCHES
• Sonny Wilson has scored in double digits in 49 of 50 games. The only game he didn't score in double figures was vs. Bowling Green (Jan. 24). Since that game, Wilson has averaged 17.9 ppg and 4.3 apg with a 51.7 FG% and a 40.9 3PTFG% (18-of-44).
• Wilson and Leroy Blyden Jr. led the Rockets offensively in conference play and were SEVENTH and EIGHTH in the MAC with 17.4 ppg and 17.1 ppg, respectively.
• Blyden is averaging 19.6 ppg and 5.4 apg with a 55.1 FG% (38-of-69) in his last five games.
• Blyden's 36 points vs. Western Michigan (Dec. 30) are the most by a UT freshman in 25 years.
• Sean Craig has a team-high seven double-doubles, including last night's 15 pts.-11 reb.-3 block effort vs. UMass. He is ONE point away from 1,000 points in his collegiate career.
• Austin Parks blocked a career-high five shots vs. BGSU (Jan. 24) and Ball State (Jan. 31) in addition to scoring a MAC-season high 17 points vs. Kent State (Feb. 3) and at WMU (Feb. 11). He registered his third double-double with 11 pts. & 11 reb. at Ohio (Feb. 28.).
• Mynor Strong has started the last 12 games, his first starting nods since UT's first two games of the season. He is averaging 9.8 ppg with a 46.2 3FG% (18-of-39) since re-joining the starting lineup, including a career-high 18 points and four triples vs. Buffalo last Friday.
• Strong has scored in double digits in a season-high FOUR straight games, averaging 13.8 ppg with a 52.6 3FG% (10-of-19) during this stretch.
• Jaylan Ouwinga scored a MAC career-high 13 points at Akron (Jan. 27) and is averaging 7.8 ppg with a 55.0 FG% (44-of-80) in his last 13 contests.
TEAM TIDBITS
• Toledo ranked FIRST in the MAC in league play with a 1.60 assist/turnover ratio and 9.6 turnovers per game, tied for FIRST with a plus-2.1 turnover margin, SECOND with a 75.9 FT% and 7.6 spg, and THIRD with a 49.1 FG%, a 37.8 three-point FG%, 15.4 apg, and +4.8 scoring margin.
• Toledo has held its opponents to 72.3 ppg, a 44.4 FG% and a 32.2 3PTFG% since Mynor Strong was inserted into the starting lineup on Jan. 31. UT was allowing 78.3 ppg, a 48.1 FG% and a 35.1 3PTFG% prior to that lineup change. On the offensive end, Toledo has a 51.0 FG% and is scoring 79.4 ppg with a plus-7.1 scoring margin since making the switch.
• Toledo is averaging 8.2 turnovers per game in its last TEN contests.
• The Rockets have out-rebounded six of their last eight opponents with a plus-2.0 margin.
• Toledo is 4-8 in games decided by five points or less this season after being 8-1 in games decided by five points or less last season.
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TOLEDO IN NCAA & MAC RANKINGS (thru games played March 12)
• Toledo ranks second in the MAC with its 75.9 FT%, 7.7 spg, and 1.58 A/TO ratio as well as third with a 48.9 FG%, and a plus-2.45 turnover margin.
• Toledo ranks in the Top 40 nationally with a MAC-low 14.8 personal fouls per game (22nd), 48.9 FG% (28th), 1.58 assist/turnover ratio (36th).
• Sonny Wilson ranks second with a 2.9 A/TO ratio and seventh with 17.3 ppg and 4.5 apg.
• Leroy Blyden Jr. is third in the MAC with an 85.1 FT%, tied for third with 1.7 spg, seventh with 4.5 apg and 2.4 A/TO ratio, T-7th with 2.3 3FG/game, ninth with 16.2 ppg, and 10th with a 40.7 3PTFG%.
• Sean Craig ranks second in the MAC with 2.7 offensive rpg and seventh with 7.3 rpg.
• Austin Parks ranks fifth with a 61.1 FG% and sixth with 1.3 bpg.
PROTECTING THE BASKETBALL
• Toledo tops the MAC for a second-straight year with 10.2 turnovers per game after averaging 9.5 miscues per game last season.
• The Rockets have committed 10 or fewer turnovers in 15 of 33 contests, including a season-low four at Michigan State (Dec. 16). Toledo's most giveaways in a game was on three occasions, at Wright State (Nov. 11), at UMass (Jan. 20) and at Akron (Jan. 27).
• Sonny Wilson leads the Rockets and ranks second in the MAC with a 2.9 A/TO ratio, with Leroy Blyden Jr. ranking seventh with a 2.4 mark.
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MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE TITLE TALK
• Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk is just one of five head coaches who have won FOUR straight outright conference titles. He joins Mark Few (Gonzaga), Bill Self (Kansas), John Calipari (Memphis, UMass) and John Becker (Vermont).
• Kowalczyk's five MAC titles match former UT coach Bob Nichols for most in program history.
• Toledo became just the second program in MAC history to capture 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 has won 12 MAC regular-season titles, which ranks second in conference history behind Miami's 22 crowns.
• Toledo set a school record during its 2022-23 title season with 17 straight victories and tied its program record with 27 victories, matching the 2013-14 unit's record total. The Rockets also won 26 games in the 2021-22 season.
• Toledo had a different leading scorer on each title team - Marreon Jackson (18.1 ppg), Ryan Rollins (18.9 ppg), RayJ Dennis (19.5 ppg) and Dante Maddox Jr. (15.6 ppg).
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No. 4 seed Toledo advanced to the title game with victories over No. 5 seed Bowling Green (77-76) and No. 8 seed UMass (77-67). Akron defeated No. 7 seed Buffalo (73-70) and No. 3 seed Kent State (75-68).
The Rockets suffered a 91-81 setback to the Zips in Rhodes Arena on Jan. 27 in the lone meeting between the two teams. Toledo shot 53.6% from the field and used a red-hot first half to take a 49–41 lead into the break. The back-and-forth contest featured 20 lead changes and was tied at 75-all with four minutes left before the Zips pulled away.
Sonny Wilson scored a team-high 22 points with eight assists and Leroy Blyden Jr. added 20 to lead UT offensively. Jaylan Ouwinga joined Blyden and Wilson in double figures, finishing with 13 points. Sean Craig topped the Rockets with nine rebounds.
Wilson's 18 points topped four Rockets in double figures in last night's semifinal win over UMass. Also in double digits for UT were Mynor Strong (17), Craig (15) and Blyden (12). Toledo shot 57.4% from the field, including a sizzling 60.7% in the first half, while holding UMass to a 41.3 FG% and just 4-of-21 (19.0%) from long range.                   Â
UT is led by the backcourt duo of Wilson (17.3 ppg) and Blyden (16.3 ppg) along with the frontcourt tandem of Sean Craig (11.7 ppg) and Austin Parks (10.6 ppg). Blyden leads all MAC freshmen in scoring, while Wilson and Blyden are dishing out a team-high 4.5 apg.
Akron will be looking to win the MAC Championship for a third year in a row. Tavari Johnson and Shammah Scott each scored a game-high 18 points in its win over Kent State in the semifnals. Johnson leads the MAC in scoring with 20.3 ppg and is fifth with 5.0 apg. Amani Lyles is averaging 14.5 ppg and is tied for third with 7.8 rpg.
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, March 14, 2026.
Tip-Off: 8:00 p.m.
Location: Cleveland, Ohio.
Arena: Rocket Arena (19,432).
Streaming: ESPN2. Eric Rothman will provide play-by-play for broadcast with Mark Adams 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.
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ROCKETS RED-HOT DOWN THE STRETCH
• Toledo has won six of seven with its only defeat a 74-72 loss at No. 19 Miami (March 3). UT had a chance to tie or win at the buzzer but Leroy Blyden Jr. was unable to get a shot off.
• Blyden is leading UT with 17.9 ppg in this stretch, with Sonny Wilson adding 17.1 ppg.
• Also scoring in double digits are Mynor Strong (11.4 ppg) and Sean Craig (10.7 ppg).
• Toledo has a 53.5 FG% and a 39.5 3FG% with a plus-10.1 scoring margin in its last seven.
POST TOUCHES
• Sonny Wilson has scored in double digits in 49 of 50 games. The only game he didn't score in double figures was vs. Bowling Green (Jan. 24). Since that game, Wilson has averaged 17.9 ppg and 4.3 apg with a 51.7 FG% and a 40.9 3PTFG% (18-of-44).
• Wilson and Leroy Blyden Jr. led the Rockets offensively in conference play and were SEVENTH and EIGHTH in the MAC with 17.4 ppg and 17.1 ppg, respectively.
• Blyden is averaging 19.6 ppg and 5.4 apg with a 55.1 FG% (38-of-69) in his last five games.
• Blyden's 36 points vs. Western Michigan (Dec. 30) are the most by a UT freshman in 25 years.
• Sean Craig has a team-high seven double-doubles, including last night's 15 pts.-11 reb.-3 block effort vs. UMass. He is ONE point away from 1,000 points in his collegiate career.
• Austin Parks blocked a career-high five shots vs. BGSU (Jan. 24) and Ball State (Jan. 31) in addition to scoring a MAC-season high 17 points vs. Kent State (Feb. 3) and at WMU (Feb. 11). He registered his third double-double with 11 pts. & 11 reb. at Ohio (Feb. 28.).
• Mynor Strong has started the last 12 games, his first starting nods since UT's first two games of the season. He is averaging 9.8 ppg with a 46.2 3FG% (18-of-39) since re-joining the starting lineup, including a career-high 18 points and four triples vs. Buffalo last Friday.
• Strong has scored in double digits in a season-high FOUR straight games, averaging 13.8 ppg with a 52.6 3FG% (10-of-19) during this stretch.
• Jaylan Ouwinga scored a MAC career-high 13 points at Akron (Jan. 27) and is averaging 7.8 ppg with a 55.0 FG% (44-of-80) in his last 13 contests.
TEAM TIDBITS
• Toledo ranked FIRST in the MAC in league play with a 1.60 assist/turnover ratio and 9.6 turnovers per game, tied for FIRST with a plus-2.1 turnover margin, SECOND with a 75.9 FT% and 7.6 spg, and THIRD with a 49.1 FG%, a 37.8 three-point FG%, 15.4 apg, and +4.8 scoring margin.
• Toledo has held its opponents to 72.3 ppg, a 44.4 FG% and a 32.2 3PTFG% since Mynor Strong was inserted into the starting lineup on Jan. 31. UT was allowing 78.3 ppg, a 48.1 FG% and a 35.1 3PTFG% prior to that lineup change. On the offensive end, Toledo has a 51.0 FG% and is scoring 79.4 ppg with a plus-7.1 scoring margin since making the switch.
• Toledo is averaging 8.2 turnovers per game in its last TEN contests.
• The Rockets have out-rebounded six of their last eight opponents with a plus-2.0 margin.
• Toledo is 4-8 in games decided by five points or less this season after being 8-1 in games decided by five points or less last season.
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TOLEDO IN NCAA & MAC RANKINGS (thru games played March 12)
• Toledo ranks second in the MAC with its 75.9 FT%, 7.7 spg, and 1.58 A/TO ratio as well as third with a 48.9 FG%, and a plus-2.45 turnover margin.
• Toledo ranks in the Top 40 nationally with a MAC-low 14.8 personal fouls per game (22nd), 48.9 FG% (28th), 1.58 assist/turnover ratio (36th).
• Sonny Wilson ranks second with a 2.9 A/TO ratio and seventh with 17.3 ppg and 4.5 apg.
• Leroy Blyden Jr. is third in the MAC with an 85.1 FT%, tied for third with 1.7 spg, seventh with 4.5 apg and 2.4 A/TO ratio, T-7th with 2.3 3FG/game, ninth with 16.2 ppg, and 10th with a 40.7 3PTFG%.
• Sean Craig ranks second in the MAC with 2.7 offensive rpg and seventh with 7.3 rpg.
• Austin Parks ranks fifth with a 61.1 FG% and sixth with 1.3 bpg.
PROTECTING THE BASKETBALL
• Toledo tops the MAC for a second-straight year with 10.2 turnovers per game after averaging 9.5 miscues per game last season.
• The Rockets have committed 10 or fewer turnovers in 15 of 33 contests, including a season-low four at Michigan State (Dec. 16). Toledo's most giveaways in a game was on three occasions, at Wright State (Nov. 11), at UMass (Jan. 20) and at Akron (Jan. 27).
• Sonny Wilson leads the Rockets and ranks second in the MAC with a 2.9 A/TO ratio, with Leroy Blyden Jr. ranking seventh with a 2.4 mark.
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MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE TITLE TALK
• Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk is just one of five head coaches who have won FOUR straight outright conference titles. He joins Mark Few (Gonzaga), Bill Self (Kansas), John Calipari (Memphis, UMass) and John Becker (Vermont).
• Kowalczyk's five MAC titles match former UT coach Bob Nichols for most in program history.
• Toledo became just the second program in MAC history to capture 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 has won 12 MAC regular-season titles, which ranks second in conference history behind Miami's 22 crowns.
• Toledo set a school record during its 2022-23 title season with 17 straight victories and tied its program record with 27 victories, matching the 2013-14 unit's record total. The Rockets also won 26 games in the 2021-22 season.
• Toledo had a different leading scorer on each title team - Marreon Jackson (18.1 ppg), Ryan Rollins (18.9 ppg), RayJ Dennis (19.5 ppg) and Dante Maddox Jr. (15.6 ppg).
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