2017–18 Toledo Rockets men's basketball team

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.

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

Previous season

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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

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Recruiting class of 2017

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
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 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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

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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

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References

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