TOLEDO, Ohio – The Toledo men’s basketball team continues its four-game road stretch when it travels to The Lone Star State to face No. 12/15 Houston (6-3) on Wednesday, Dec. 18. Tip-off time is set for 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. CT at the Fertitta Center with streaming on ESPN+.
The Rockets and Cougars rank first and second nationally in most conference victories over the last four seasons with 62 and 61 wins, respectively.
Sophomore Sonny Wilson is leading Toledo (6-4) with 16.4 ppg, with sophomore Sam Lewis (13.9), sophomore Javan Simmons (11.8), and fifth-year senior Isaiah Adams (11.0) joining Wilson in double figures.
Wilson also possesses the team’s best field-goal percentage at 55.7% and is dishing out a team-high 3.5 apg. He also is second on the team with 1.0 spg.
Lewis scored a career-high 21 points and tied his career high with eight rebounds in Saturday’s 93-87 setback at Youngstown State. Wilson tallied 17 points, six boards and a team-best four assists. Junior Seth Hubbard was UT’s top scorer off the bench with 14 points, while Adams notched 12 points and Simmons added 10.
Toledo trailed 44-39 at halftime and fell behind by as many as 12 points early in the second half. The Rockets rallied to take a 62-60 lead with 10 minutes remaining thanks to a 13-0 run. UT had a chance to tie the score at 85-85 with 51 seconds left but Andre Lorentsson’s three-pointer rimmed out.
Houston possesses the nation’s longest men’s home-court winning streak at 27 games and ranks No. 1 nationally in FG% defense (34.9) and No. 3 in scoring defense (56.4 ppg). The Cougars’ three defeats have come to No. 2 Auburn (74-69), No. 6 Alabama (85-80) and No. 23 San Diego State (73-70). L.J. Cryer leads Houston with 16.0 ppg, while Emanuel Sharp is averaging 14.6 ppg with a team-high 52.0 three-point FG%.
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024.
Tip-Off: 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. CT
Location: Houston, Texas.
Arena: Fertitta Center (7,035).
Streaming: ESPN+. Matt Thomas will provide play-by-play for broadcast with Ryan Hollins 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
Houston leads 3-2. Toledo has lost its last two meetings vs. Houston with a 67-56 road loss in 2007 and a 71-63 home defeat in 2008.
POST TOUCHES
• Sophomore Sonny Wilson earned a spot on the MAC All-Freshman Team last year and leads UT with 16.4 ppg, 3.5 apg, and a 55.7 FG%. He ranks fourth in the MAC with 16.4 ppg, third with a 2.19 assist/turnover ratio and sixth with a 55.7 FG%.
• Wilson is the only Rocket to score in double figures in every game this season.
• Sophomore Javan Simmons was a unanimous selection for 2023-24 MAC Freshman of the Year and is a member of the 2024-25 Preseason All-MAC First Team. He ranks third on the team with 11.8 ppg and second with 4.5 rpg.
• Sophomore Sam Lewis scored a career-high 21 points and tied his career high with eight rebounds at Youngstown State. He is second in team scoring (13.9 ppg) and is tied for second in the MAC with a team-best 50.0 3-PT FG%
• Senior transfer Isaiah Adams started 25-of-26 games last year for Buffalo and was the Bulls’ second-leading scorer with 12.8 ppg. He leads UT with 1.2 spg this season and is averaging 11.0 ppg, including a season-high 18 points vs. Wright St. (Nov. 13). He also is tied for second with 2.8 apg, including a career-high 10 vs. Defiance (Dec. 7).
• Senior Andre Lorentsson led the MAC with a career-best 47.2 three-point FG% (34-of-72) last year and is averaging 5.3 ppg this season. Last year, he averaged 5.8 ppg and 2.4 rpg and ranked second on team with a career-high 34 three-point field goals made.
• Junior transfer Seth Hubbard led Western Michigan last year with 14.1 ppg, 1.1 spg, and 79.8 FT%. He is the Rockets’ top scorer off the bench with 9.3 ppg and is tied for second on the team with 10 three-point field goals made.
ROCKETS RANKING AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS IN WINS
• Toledo’s 62 conference wins since the start of the 2020-21 season are FIRST in the nation. Houston ranks second with 61 victories with Colgate (60) in third place.
• At the beginning of the 2024-25 season, Toledo’s 94 wins since the start of the 2020-21 season are tied for 17th in the nation with Creighton, Grand Canyon and Morehead State.
• The Rockets were 23-11 in 2017-18, 25-8 in 2018-19, 17-15 in 2019-20 and 21-9 in 2020-21, 26-8 in 2021-22, 27-8 in 2022-23, and 20-12 last year.
ROAD WARRIORS
The Rockets were 8-5 in road games last season and have posted a 36-21 (.632) win-loss mark in road games since the start of the 2020-21 campaign. Toledo possesses a 59-41 (.590) win-loss mark on enemy courts since the start of the 2017-18 season.
ON THE HORIZON
Toledo will return to action on Sunday, Dec. 29 for a matchup at No. 16 Purdue (8-3). UT will open Mid-American Conference play on Saturday, Jan. 4 vs. Western Michigan (3-7) before hosting Eastern Michigan (5-5) in its league home opener on Tuesday, Jan. 7.
This article was published by UT Rockets on 2024-12-17 16:12:00
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