After crushing Ball State 90-70 in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament Thursday, Ohio is moving on to the semis, where it will meet No. 1 seed Toledo.
The Rockets finished 16-2 in conference to win their third straight regular season conference championship.
Here is everything to know about Friday’s matchup:
Game Information
Opponent: Toledo
Time: 5 p.m.
Location: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (Cleveland)
How to watch: CBS Sports Network
Follow live stats here
Meet the Opponent
Head Coach: Tod Kowalczyk (13th season)
Probable starters
00 Ra’Heim Moss
04 Setric Millner Jr.
10 RayJ Dennis
21 Dante Maddox Jr.
32 J.T. Shumate
Statistical leaders
Points: Dennis (19.3 per game)
Rebounds: Millner (5.8 per game)
Assists: Dennis (5.9 per game)
Blocks: Shumate (37)
Steals: Dennis (46)
Field goal percentage: Shumate (53.9%)
3-point percentage: Maddox (46.3%)
Free throw percentage: Shumate (88.4%)
Matchup History
Ohio has lost eight of its last nine games against Toledo, most recently a 90-75 loss in January. Of those eight losses, only two have come by fewer than 10 points.
The Rockets are one of the best programs in the MAC and are coming into Friday’s game on a 16-game win streak.
Toledo has won the regular season MAC title in five of the last six seasons but has not been able to turn that success into a MAC Tournament win and appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Player(s) to watch
Dennis — The 2022-23 MAC Player of the Year, Dennis averages an absurd 19.4 points and 5.9 assists per game, ranking second and first in the conference, respectively. Dennis is, without question, the best player in the MAC this year, and while Toledo certainly has a deep roster, Ohio will have to keep a handle on him in particular.
