2017–18 Toledo Rockets men's basketball team

2017–18 Toledo Rockets men's basketball
MAC West division champions
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionWest Division
Record23–11 (13–5 MAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Jason Kaslow
  • Jeff Massey
  • Kyle Barlow
Home arenaSavage Arena
Seasons
2017–18 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
Buffalo † 15 – 3   .833 27 – 9   .750
Kent State 9 – 9   .500 17 – 17   .500
Miami (OH) 8 – 10   .444 16 – 18   .471
Bowling Green 7 – 11   .389 16 – 16   .500
Ohio 7 – 11   .389 14 – 17   .452
Akron 6 – 12   .333 14 – 18   .438
West
Toledo 13 – 5   .722 23 – 11   .676
Eastern Michigan 11 – 7   .611 22 – 13   .629
Ball State 10 – 8   .556 19 – 13   .594
Western Michigan 9 – 9   .500 17 – 15   .531
Central Michigan 7 – 11   .389 21 – 15   .583
Northern Illinois 6 – 12   .333 13 – 19   .406
† 2018 MAC tournament winner

The 2017–18 Toledo Rockets men's basketball team represented the University of Toledo during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Rockets, led by eighth-year head coach Tod Kowalczyk, played their home games at Savage Arena, as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. With win over Northern Illinois on February 27, 2018, the Rockets clinched the MAC West division championship.[1] They finished the season 23–11, 13–5 in MAC play to win the MAC West division championship. As the No. 2 seed in the MAC tournament, they defeated Miami and Eastern Michigan before losing to Buffalo in the tournament championship. Despite winning 23 games, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.

Previous season

The Rockets finished the 2016–17 season 17–17, 9–9 in MAC play to finish in third place in the West Division. As the No. 7 seed in the MAC tournament. they defeated Bowling Green in the first round to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to Ohio. They received an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational where they lost in the first round to George Washington.

Offseason

Recruiting class of 2017

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Logan Hill
PF 		Massillon, OH Jackson High School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jun 25, 2016 
Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Marreon Jackson
PG 		Cleveland, OH Garfield Heights High School 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Feb 15, 2016 
Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 5, 2016.

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 24, 2017*
8:00 pm 		at Findlay L 86–89 
Croy Gymnasium (1,215)
Findlay, OH
November 4, 2017*
2:30 pm 		Trine W 116–59 
Savage Arena 
Toledo, OH
Non-conference regular season
November 11, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Saint Joseph's W 98–87  1–0
 Savage Arena (3,609)
Toledo, OH
November 14, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Ohio Northern W 72–62  2–0
 Savage Arena (3,584)
Toledo, OH
November 18, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Oakland
Hoophall Miami Invitational 		W 87–74  3–0
 Savage Arena (4,436)
Toledo, OH
November 22, 2017*
7:00 pm, ACCN Extra 		at Syracuse
Hoophall Miami Invitational 		L 64–72  3–1
 Carrier Dome (16,237)
Syracuse, NY
November 24, 2017*
4:00 pm 		at Cornell L 70–77  3–2
 Newman Arena (704)
Ithaca, NY
November 28, 2017*
8:00 pm, Jayhawk TV 		at No. 2 Kansas
Hoophall Miami Invitational 		L 58–96  3–3
 Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
Lawrence, KS
December 2, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Texas Southern
Hoophall Miami Invitational 		W 71–69  4–3
 Savage Arena (3,199)
Toledo, OH
December 6, 2017*
7:00 pm, WADL/ESPN3 		at Detroit W 89–86  5–3
 Calihan Hall (1,218)
Detroit, MI
December 9, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Marshall L 87–93  5–4
 Savage Arena (4,369)
Toledo, OH
December 16, 2017*
2:00 pm, ESPN3 		Wright State L 69–77  5–5
 Savage Arena (3,932)
Toledo, OH
December 20, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Jackson State W 83–57  6–5
 Savage Arena (3,410)
Toledo, OH
December 23, 2017*
2:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Cleveland State W 77–62  7–5
 Wolstein Center (1,597)
Cleveland, OH
December 29, 2017*
4:00 pm 		at Penn W 85–72  8–5
 Palestra (2,316)
Philadelphia, PA
MAC regular season
January 2, 2018
7:00 pm, CBSSN 		at Buffalo L 94–104  8–6
(0–1) 		Alumni Arena (1,100)
Amherst, NY
January 5, 2018
6:30 pm, CBSSN 		Akron W 67–65  9–6
(1–1) 		Savage Arena (4,155)
Toledo, OH
January 9, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Western Michigan W 84–61  10–6
(2–1) 		Savage Arena (3,594)
Toledo, OH
January 13, 2018
4:30 pm, ESPN3 		at Central Michigan W 93–82  11–6
(3–1) 		McGuirk Arena (2,819)
Mount Pleasant, MI
January 16, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Ohio W 91–57  12–6
(4–1) 		Convocation Center (6,040)
Athens, OH
January 20, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Kent State W 72–65  13–6
(5–1) 		Savage Arena (4,970)
Toledo, OH
January 23, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Western Michigan W 85–81  14–6
(6–1) 		University Arena (2,014)
Kalamazoo, MI
January 27, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Bowling Green W 101–75  15–6
(7–1) 		Savage Arena (6,812)
Toledo, OH
January 30, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Ball State L 63–75  15–7
(7–2) 		Savage Arena (4,227)
Toledo, OH
February 3, 2018
12:00 pm, CBSSN 		at Akron W 77–56  16–7
(8–2) 		James A. Rhodes Arena (2,584)
Akron, OH
February 6, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Northern Illinois W 82–77  17–7
(9–2) 		Savage Arena (3,861)
Toledo, OH
February 9, 2018
6:00 pm, CBSSN 		at Miami (OH) W 73–67  18–7
(10–2) 		Millett Hall (3,525)
Oxford, OH
February 13, 2018
7:30 pm, ESPN3 		Ohio W 82–74  19–7
(11–2) 		Savage Arena (4,502)
Toledo, OH
February 17, 2018
2:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Ball State L 71–99  19–8
(11–3) 		Worthen Arena (4,824)
Muncie, IN
February 20, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Eastern Michigan L 79–85  19–9
(11–4) 		Convocation Center (984)
Ypsilanti, MI
February 23, 2018
6:30 pm, CBSSN 		Central Michigan W 89–76  20–9
(12–4) 		Savage Arena (4,883)
Toledo, OH
February 27, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Northern Illinois W 97–67  21–9
(13–4) 		Convocation Center (869)
DeKalb, IL
March 2, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		Eastern Michigan L 69–71  21–10
(13–5) 		Savage Arena (4,291)
Toledo, OH
MAC tournament
March 8, 2018
6:30 pm, ESPN3 		(2) vs. (7) Miami (OH)
Quarterfinals 		W 71–69  22–10
 Quicken Loans Arena 
Cleveland, OH
March 9, 2018
9:00 pm, CBSSN 		(2) vs. (3) Eastern Michigan
Semifinals 		W 64–63  23–10
 Quicken Loans Arena (4,625)
Cleveland, OH
March 10, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN2 		(2) vs. (1) Buffalo
Championship game 		L 66–76  23–11
 Quicken Loans Arena (5,633)
Cleveland, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Toledo vs. Northern Illinois – Game Recap – February 27, 2018 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 1, 2018.