Rocket Docket

GAMEDAY: Norfolk State

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Norfolk State at Toledo

Time: 7 p.m.

Records: NSU is 7-5; UT is 7-3.

Radio: 1370 AM in Toledo.

Series: First meeting

Notes:

• Toledo concludes a four-game homestand with a matchup against Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference foe Norfolk State, which is winless in three road contests.
• The Rockets snapped a two-game losing streak Saturday with an 86-77 win over Youngstown State. Junior G Dominique Buckley tied a career-high with 21 points to lead four Rockets in double figures.
• The Spartans are coming off a 68-36 loss at Illinois State on Sunday. Senior C Kyle O'Quinn is averaging a double-double with a team-high 14.0 points and 10.1 rebounds per game but was limited to just two points and two boards because of foul trouble against the Redbirds.
• UT has already surpassed its win totals from the 2009-10 and '10-11 seasons when it posted matching 4-28 records and can top its 7-25 ledger during the 2008-09 campaign with a victory tonight.

GAMEDAY: Youngstown State

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Youngstown State at Toledo

Time: 7 p.m.

Records: YSU is 6-3; UT is 6-3.

Radio: 1370 AM in Toledo.

Series: UT leads 6-2.

Favorite: YSU by 1.

Notes:

• Toledo has lost two straight following a six-game winning streak. The Rockets are coming off a 57-55 loss to Loyola Chicago on Saturday at Savage Arena after the Ramblers hit a game-winning jumper at the buzzer.
• UT will add a new player to its lineup, as junior G Curtis Dennis becomes eligible to play with the recent conclusion of the fall semester. Dennis has sat out the past year after transferring from New Mexico last January.
• Sophomore G Rian Pearson leads four Rockets scoring in double figures with 17.6 points per game. He also averages a team-high 8.1 rebounds per game.
• Youngstown State is 3-3 on the road this season and is looking to rebound from an 80-72 loss at Buffalo on Saturday.
• In the two teams' last meeting, the Penguins handed UT a 73-67 defeat last year in Youngstown.

GAMEDAY: No. 21 Wisconsin-Green Bay

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

No. 21 Wisconsin-Green Bay at Toledo

Time: 7 p.m.

Records: UWGB is 7-0; UT is 5-2.

Radio: 1230 AM in Toledo.

Series: UWGB leads 2-1.

Notes:

• This is the second game in a home-and-home series between the two teams this season, with the Phoenix claiming an 84-68 win over UT in Green Bay on Nov. 16.
• The Rockets are riding a 22-game home winning streak and are 4-0 at home this season. In three-plus seasons under coach Tricia Cullop, UT is 47-4 at Savage Arena.
• The Phoenix have won 27 consecutive regular season games dating back to last season when they advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament.
• UW-Green Bay is coming off a 75-67 victory over Northern Iowa on Sunday. Senior F Julie Wojita led the team with her fourth double-double of the season, recording a career-best 26 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

GAMEDAY: Temple

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Temple at Toledo

Time: 7 p.m.

Records: Temple is 4-2; UT is 6-1.

Radio: 1370 AM in Toledo.

Series: Temple leads 3-0.

Notes:

• Toledo begins a four-game home stand having won six straight, its longest winning streak since the 2006-07 season. The Rockets are also off to their best start since posting a 7-1 record at the outset of the 2003-04 season.
• Temple is 2-1 against MAC opponents this season, with its lone defeat coming in a 67-64 loss at Bowling Green on Nov. 27. The Owls beat Western Michigan 69-55 on Nov. 17 and Central Michigan 86-74 on Sunday.
• UT has four players averaging in double figures, led by sophomore G Rian Pearson with 17.4 points per game. As a team, the Rockets lead the conference with 78.6 points per contest.
• Senior G Ramone Moore paces the Owls with 17.8 points per game. Temple is currently without its top rebounder, senior F Micheal Eric, who is injured his right knee in practice late last month.
• Temple handed UT a 82-49 loss last season in Philadelphia.

GAMEDAY: Iona

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Iona at Toledo

Time: 11 a.m.

Records: Iona is 4-2; UT is 3-2.

Radio: 1230 AM in Toledo

Series: UT leads 2-0.

Notes:

• Toledo will host Basketball Educational Day in conjunction with this morning's matchup at Savage Arena, with area school children invited to attend the game.
• The Rockets learned Monday evening that senior G Naama Shafir will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL in her right knee. Shafir, a three-time All-MAC honoree, was averaging 12.3 points and a team-best 4.3 assists per game before her injury Friday in a 69-58 win at Indiana.
• UT is coming off a 64-56 loss at Arkansas State on Sunday. Senior G Courtney Ingersoll led the Rockets with 15 points and five rebounds in the defeat.
• UT won 68-60 at Iona last year in the championship game of the Iona Thanksgiving tournament.
• Senior F Kristina Ford leads the Gaels with 19.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game this season.

GAMEDAY: UNC Wilmington

MEN'S BASKETBALL

North Carolina Wilmington at Toledo

Time: 7 p.m.

Records: UNCW is 0-4; UT is 4-1.

Radio: 1370 AM in Toledo.

Series: UNCW leads 2-1.

Notes:

• The Rockets have won four straight to match their win total in each of the last two seasons when they went 4-28 in 2009-10 and again last year.
• UT is coming off an 82-67 win over Illinois-Chicago on Saturday and is off to its best start since winning its first five games during the 2003-04 season.
• UNC Wilmington is still winless, although it has played a rigorous early schedule. The Seahawks opened their season with road losses at Maryland (71-62) and Dayton (74-49), then suffered home losses to Marshall (69-64) and Davidson (70-67).
• UNC Wilmington is led by second-year coach Buzz Peterson, who was a finalist for the opening at Toledo before the 2008-09 season. One of his assistants is Jamie Kachmarik, a Rossford and Bowling Green State University graduate.

GAMEDAY: at Ball State

Toledo at Ball State

Time: 2 p.m.

Records: UT is 7-4, 6-1 MAC; Ball State is 6-5, 4-3.

TV: ESPN3.com

Radio: 1370 AM in Toledo, 1300 AM in Cleveland, 1310 AM in Detroit, 99.1 FM in Fremont, 96.7 FM in Fostoria, 96.1 FM in Archbold.

Series: UT leads 18-17-1.

Favorite: UT by 14

Notes:

• The scenario is pretty simple for Toledo in its regular season finale -- beat Ball State and hope Northern Illinois loses to Eastern Michigan. If both occur, then UT would be the outright MAC West champion and earn a spot in the conference championship game Dec. 2 at Ford Field in Detroit. If not, then Northern Illinois would represent the West against East champion Ohio in the MAC title game.
• The Rockets have won two straight since losing to Northern Illinois 63-60 at the Glass Bowl on Nov. 1. They knocked off Western Michigan in a 66-63 shootout on Nov. 8 and rolled past Central Michigan 44-17 on Nov. 18.
• Ball State is coming off a last-second 41-38 loss at Northern Illinois and has lost two of its last three games.
• UT is averaging 54.8 points in its last four contests, with the 44 points it scored against the Chippewas last week ranking as the lowest output during that stretch.
• Junior WR Eric Page needs two TD receptions to pass Lance Moore (25 TD catches, 2001-04) and become UT's all-time leader in that category. Page is already the Rockets' all-time leading receiver with 277 catches and 3,242 receiving yards.
• Toledo has won two straight over the Cardinals, with both victories coming by narrow margins. UT defeated Ball State 31-24 last year at the Glass Bowl and scored a last-minute touchdown for a 37-30 victory in 2009 at Scheumann Stadium.

GAMEDAY: Albany

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Albany at Toledo

Time: 7 p.m.

Records: Albany is 2-2; UT is 1-1.

Radio: 1230 AM

Series: First meeting

Notes:

• Toledo is riding a 19-game home winning streak, the third-longest unbeaten stretch in school history.
• Albany was picked to finish fifth in the America East Conference and returns four starters from a squad that went 16-14.
• The Rockets are coming off an 84-68 loss at Wisconsin-Green Bay after opening the year with a 61-51 home win over Dayton.
• The Great Danes, who are coming off a 65-53 loss at Brown, are led by junior F Julie Forster, who averages 16.8 points and 12.3 rebounds.

GAMEDAY: at Central Michigan

Toledo at Central Michigan

Time: 8 p.m.

Records: UT is 6-4, 5-1 MAC; CMU is 3-8, 2-5.

TV: ESPNU

Radio: 1370 AM in Toledo, 1300 AM in Cleveland, 1310 AM in Detroit, 99.1 FM in Fremont, 96.7 FM in Fostoria, 96.1 FM in Archbold.

Series: Tied 18-18-3

Favorite: UT by 14.5

Notes:

• Toledo has been part of two of the three highest-scoring games in conference history in the last two weeks. On Nov. 1, the Rockets lost 63-60 to Northern Illinois. Then on Nov. 8, the Rockets won 66-63 over Western Michigan.
• Central Michigan has lost two straight and five of its last six, including a 43-28 home loss to Ohio on Nov. 10.
• UT won 42-31 at the Glass Bowl last season to snap a five-game losing streak to the Chippewas. Junior WR Eric Page returned two kickoffs for touchdowns in that contest and went on to be named a Walter Camp All-American kick returner at the end of the year.
• CMU junior QB Ryan Radcliff has thrown for 23 touchdown passes and more than 3,000 passing yards this season. The Fairview product's favorite target is junior WR Cody Wilson, who has 47 receptions for 522 yards but has missed time recently with a lower body injury. Freshman WR Titus Davis leads the Chippewas with 687 receiving yards and six touchdown catches.
• UT senior S/LB Charles "Bobo" Rancifer has been reinstated following a two-game suspension for an unspecified violation of a "team policy," but how much he plays against CMU remains to be seen. Junior backup DT Danny Farr (shoulder) is listed as "questionable," while junior QB Austin Dantin (concussion) is expected to play.

GAMEDAY: Western Michigan

Western Michigan at Toledo

Time: 8 p.m.

Records: WMU is 5-4, 3-2; UT is 5-4, 4-1.

TV: ESPNU

Radio: 1370 AM in Toledo, 1300 AM in Cleveland, 1310 AM in Detroit, 99.1 FM in Fremont, 96.7 FM in Fostoria, 96.1 FM in Archbold.

Series: UT leads 37-28.

Favorite: UT by 11.

Notes:

• Toledo must win out and hope Northern Illinois loses one of its remaining three regular season games to have any hope of winning the MAC West Division. Western Michigan is still technically alive in the race for the West title, although the Broncos' hopes are even slimmer with two conference losses, including a defeat to NIU.
• The Rockets' 20 seniors will be honored before the game as part of the annual senior night festivities at the final home game of the year.
• Junior WR Eric Page needs 25 receiving yards to pass Stephen Williams (3,102 yards, 2006-09) and become UT's all-time leader in career receiving yardage.
• WMU junior QB Alex Carder leads the MAC with 273 passing yards per game and is completing 68 percent (225-of-329) of his passes.
• The Rockets are 23-28 all-time on national TV, including 0-6 on ESPNU.
• UT senior LB Charles Rancifer will be sidelined for the second straight game after breaking an unspecified "team policy," according to coach Tim Beckman, who has repeatedly declined to provide any further details on the matter. Senior Diauntae Morrow is again slated to start in Rancifer's place at the "star" position, with senior Desmond Marrow taking over at free safety in place of Morrow and freshman Keith Suggs getting the start alongside senior Taikwon Paige at cornerback.