2020–21 Toledo Rockets men's basketball team

2020–21 Toledo Rockets men's basketball
2020–21 Toledo Rockets men's basketball
MAC Regular Season champions
NIT, First Round
Conference	Mid-American Conference
	West Division
Record	21–9 (15–4 MAC)
Head coach	Tod Kowalczyk (11th season);
Assistant coaches	Jeff Massey; Walter Offutt; Justin Ingram;
Home arena	Savage Arena
	Seasons ← 2019–20 2021–22 →

2020–21 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Toledo	15	–	4	.789	21	–	9	.700
Buffalo	12	–	5	.706	16	–	9	.640
Akron	12	–	6	.667	15	–	8	.652
Kent State	12	–	6	.667	15	–	8	.652
Ohio †	9	–	5	.643	17	–	8	.680
Bowling Green	10	–	8	.556	14	–	12	.538
Miami (OH)	9	–	8	.529	12	–	11	.522
Ball State	8	–	9	.471	10	–	13	.435
Western Michigan	4	–	12	.250	5	–	16	.238
Eastern Michigan	3	–	11	.214	6	–	12	.333
Central Michigan	3	–	13	.188	7	–	16	.304
Northern Illinois	2	–	12	.143	3	–	16	.158

† 2021 MAC tournament winner

The 2020–21 Toledo Rockets men's basketball team represented the University of Toledo during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Rockets, led by 11th-year head coach Tod Kowalczyk, played their home games at Savage Arena, as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Rockets finished the season 21–9, 15–4 in MAC play to win MAC regular season championship. They defeated Ball State in the first round of the MAC tournament before losing to eventual tournament champions Ohio in the second round. They received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost to Richmond in the first round.^[1]

Previous season

The Rockets finished the 2019–20 season 17–15, 8–10 in MAC play to finish third place in the West division. They defeated Western Michigan in the first round of the MAC tournament before the tournament and all subsequent postseason tournaments were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[2]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Gavin Bizeau	0	F	6'11"	210	Sophomore	Plainfield, IN	Transferred to Marian University^[3]
T. J. Smith	1	F	6'8"	195	Freshman	Matteson, IL	Transferred to Barry^[4]
Aaron Etherington	2	F	6'6"	215	Freshman	Fishers, IN	Transferred to Indianapolis^[5]
Donavan Moore	5	G	6'3"	175	Freshman	Hillsboro, IL	Transferred to Green Bay^[6]
Dylan Alderson	21	G	6'5"	205	Junior	Clarkston, MI	Transferred to Indiana Wesleyan^[7]
Willie Jackson	23	F	6'6"	215	Senior	Cleveland, OH	Graduated
Luke Knapke	30	C	6'11"	245	Senior	Maria Stein, OH	Graduated

2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Ryan Rollins #85 SG	Macomb, MI	Dakota	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Nov 13, 2019
Ryan Rollins #85 SG	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports:
Jamere Hill SG	Joliet, IL	Joliet West	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jan 11, 2020
Jamere Hill SG	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A
Ra'Heim Moss SG	Springfield, OH	SPIRE Academy	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Nov 30, 2019
Ra'Heim Moss SG	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A
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: "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 2, 2020.

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Setric Millner Jr.	2	F	6'6"	205	Junior	Little Rock, AR	Transferred from Northwest Florida State College. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.^[8]
JT Shumate	32	F	6'7"	210	Junior	Newark, OH	Transferred from Walsh University. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.^[8]
Jonathan Komagum	35	F/C	6'9"	215	Junior	London, England	Transferred from Williston State College. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.^[8]

Roster

2020–21 Toledo Rockets men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Ra'Heim Moss	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	SPIRE Academy	Springfield, OH
G	1	Jamere Hill	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Fr	Joliet West	Joliet, IL
F	2	Setric Millner Jr.	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Jr	Northwest Florida State College	Little Rock, AR
G	3	Marreon Jackson	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	Garfield Heights	Cleveland, OH
F	4	Mattia Acunzo	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	RS Fr	Kennedy Catholic	Sardinia, Italy
G	5	Ryan Rollins	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Dakota	Macomb, MI
G	11	Spencer Littleson	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	Rochester Adams Duquesne	Rochester Hills, MI
F	12	Luke Maranka	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	So	Grand Rapids Angels Homeschool	Ada, MI
F/C	15	A. J. Edu	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	RS So	South Gloucestershire and Stroud College	Colchester, England
G	22	Blake Williams (W)	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	St. John's Jesuit	Holland, OH
G	24	Keshaun Saunders	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	RS So	Orangeville Prep	Brampton, ON
F	32	JT Shumate	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jr	Newark Walsh University	Newark, OH
F/C	35	Jonathan Komagum	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jr	Williston State College	London, England

Head coach

Tod Kowalczyk (Minnesota Duluth)

Assistant coach(es)

Jeff Massey (Xavier)
Walter Offutt (Ohio)
Justin Ingram (Toledo)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 25, 2020* 3:15 p.m.		vs. Bradley Xavier Invitational	L 59–61	0–1	17 – Millner Jr.	7 – Komagum	4 – Jackson	Cintas Center (111) Cincinnati, OH
November 26, 2020* 3:15 p.m.		vs. Oakland Xavier Invitational	W 80–53	1–1	24 – Littleson	9 – Millner Jr.	8 – Jackson	Cintas Center (36) Cincinnati, OH
November 27, 2020* 12:00 p.m., FS1		at Xavier Xavier Invitational	L 73–76	1–2	20 – Rollins	15 – Millner Jr.	6 – Jackson	Cintas Center (300) Cincinnati, OH
December 1, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3		Cleveland State	W 70–61	2–2	17 – Millner Jr.	11 – Komagum	5 – Jackson	Savage Arena (0) Toledo, OH
December 4, 2020 7:00 p.m., ESPN3		at Eastern Michigan	W 91–74	3–2 (1–0)	20 – Jackson	7 – Saunders	5 – Jackson	Convocation Center (0) Ypsilanti, MI
December 9, 2020 7:00 p.m., FS1		at No. 19 Michigan	L 71–91	3–3	14 – Millner Jr.	6 – Millner Jr.	4 – Rollins	Crisler Center (0) Ann Arbor, MI
December 12, 2020* ESPN3		Kansas City	W 64–57	4–3	17 – Millner Jr.	10 – Millner Jr.	3 – Millner Jr.	Savage Arena (0) Toledo, OH
December 16, 2020* 6:00 p.m., C-USA TV		at Marshall	W 96–87 ^OT	5–3	23 – Jackson	13 – Rollins	8 – Jackson	Cam Henderson Center (1,222) Huntington, WV
December 19, 2020* 2:00 p.m.		Valparaiso	W 71–55	6–3	18 – Jackson	8 – Littleson	5 – Jackson	Savage Arena (0) Toledo, OH
MAC regular season
December 22, 2020 2:00 p.m., ESPN3		Northern Illinois	W 78–55	7–3 (2–0)	18 – Littleson	11 – Rollins	6 – Millner Jr.	Savage Arena (0) Toledo, OH
January 2, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN3		at Western Michigan	W 70–59	8–3 (3–0)	20 – Rollins	9 – Shumate	4 – Jackson	University Arena (0) Kalamazoo, MI
January 5, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN3		at Kent State	W 84–82	9–3 (4–0)	26 – Littleson	6 – Rollins	5 – Jackson	Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (0) Kent, OH
January 8, 2021 6:30 p.m., CBSSN		Ohio	W 95–78	10–3 (5–0)	18 – Jackson	7 – Millner Jr.	6 – Jackson	Savage Arena (0) Toledo, OH
January 12, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN3		Eastern Michigan	W 96–63	11–3 (6–0)	20 – Saunders	7 – Millner Jr.	5 – Jackson	Savage Arena (0) Toledo, OH
January 16, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN3		at Akron	L 94–95 ^OT	11–4 (6–1)	24 – Jackson	9 – Jackson	10 – Jackson	Rhodes Arena (0) Akron, OH
January 19, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Central Michigan	W 89-72	12–4 (7–1)	25 – Rollins	7 – Rollins	9 – Jackson	Savage Arena (0) Toledo, OH
January 23, 2021 12:00 p.m., ESPN3		Kent State	W 76-74	13–4 (8–1)	31 – Jackson	6 – Millner Jr.	5 – Jackson	Savage Arena (0) Toledo, OH
January 26, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Miami (OH)	W 90-81	14–4 (9–1)	33 – Shumate	5 – Rollins	6 – Rollins	Millett Hall (0) Oxford, OH
January 30, 2021 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Bowling Green	W 84-66	15–4 (10–1)	19 – Littleson	12 – Jackson	7 – Jackson	Stroh Center (0) Bowling Green, OH
February 2, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Akron	W 91-76	16–4 (11–1)	25 – Shumate	11 – Jackson	8 – Jackson	Savage Arena (0) Toledo, OH
February 6, 2021 12:00 p.m., CBSSN		at Ball State	L 67–81	16–5 (11–2)	13 – Shumate	8 – Millner Jr.	4 – Jackson	Worthen Arena (0) Muncie, IN
February 9, 2021 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Northern Illinois	Postponed due to COVID-19					Convocation Center (-) DeKalb, IL
February 13, 2021 2:00 p.m., ESPN3		Bowling Green	L 81–88	16–6 (11–3)	27 – Jackson	14 – Jackson	8 – Jackson	Savage Arena (0) Toledo, OH
February 16, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN3		Miami (OH)	W 87–75	17–6 (12–3)	25 – Littleson	10 – Jackson	11 – Jackson	Savage Arena (0) Toledo, OH
February 19, 2021 9:00 p.m., ESPN2		at Buffalo	W 80–70	18–6 (13–3)	20 – Jackson	7 – Millner Jr.	6 – Jackson	Alumni Arena (0) Amherst, NY
February 27, 2021 5:00 p.m., ESPN3		Western Michigan	W 91–44	19–6 (14–3)	22 – Jackson	10 – Millner Jr	8 – Jackson	Savage Arena (0) Toledo, OH
March 2, 2021 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Central Michigan	L 79–81	19–7 (14–4)	17 – Rollins	14 – Jackson	4 – Jackson	McGuirk Arena (0) Mount Pleasant, MI
March 5, 2021 7:00 p.m., CBSSN		Ball State	W 89–70	20–7 (15–4)	22 – Jackson	13 – Jackson	10 – Jackson	Savage Arena (0) Toledo, OH
MAC tournament
Mar 11, 2021 11:00 a.m., ESPN+	(1)	vs. (8) Ball State Quarterfinals	W 91–89 ^OT	21–7	29 – Jackson	12 – Millner Jr.	4 – Jackson	Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (0) Cleveland, OH
Mar 12, 2021 5:00 p.m., CBSSN	(1)	vs. (5) Ohio Semifinals	L 80–87	21–8	29 – Jackson	10 – Littleson	2 – Jackson	Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (0) Cleveland, OH
NIT
Mar 17, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN2	(3)	vs. (2) Richmond First Round – Saint Louis bracket	L 66–76	21–9	18 – Rollins	6 – Millner Jr.	4 – Millner Jr.	UNT Coliseum (731) Denton, TX
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

References

^ "Toledo vs. Richmond - Game Recap - March 17, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
^ Jimenez, James H. (March 12, 2020). "2020 MAC Basketball Tournament cancelled due to COVID-19". Hustle Belt. Retrieved December 2, 2021.
^ "NO. 12 KNIGHTS PULL AWAY FROM REDSTORM". University of Rio Grande. November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
^ Perez, Rainier (May 5, 2020). "BarryU Hoops Signs Second DI Transfer - T.J. Smith". Barry Buccaneers. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
^ Neddenriep, Kyle (April 28, 2020). "Basketball recruiting notebook: Plenty of transfer news involving Indy-area players". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
^ Venci, Scott (April 23, 2020). "UWGB men's basketball team adds former Toledo guard". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
^ "#32 Dylan Alderson". Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c Buckey, Brian (April 17, 2020). "Toledo basketball reloads with seven-man recruiting class". Toledo Blade. Retrieved December 2, 2020.

[1] "Toledo vs. Richmond - Game Recap - March 17, 2021 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 2, 2021.

[2] Jimenez, James H. (March 12, 2020). "2020 MAC Basketball Tournament cancelled due to COVID-19". Hustle Belt. Retrieved December 2, 2021.

[3] "NO. 12 KNIGHTS PULL AWAY FROM REDSTORM". University of Rio Grande. November 17, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2020.

[4] Perez, Rainier (May 5, 2020). "BarryU Hoops Signs Second DI Transfer - T.J. Smith". Barry Buccaneers. Retrieved November 28, 2020.

[5] Neddenriep, Kyle (April 28, 2020). "Basketball recruiting notebook: Plenty of transfer news involving Indy-area players". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved November 28, 2020.

[6] Venci, Scott (April 23, 2020). "UWGB men's basketball team adds former Toledo guard". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Retrieved November 28, 2020.

[7] "#32 Dylan Alderson". Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats. Retrieved November 28, 2020.

[buckey-8] Buckey, Brian (April 17, 2020). "Toledo basketball reloads with seven-man recruiting class". Toledo Blade. Retrieved December 2, 2020.

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v t e Toledo Rockets men's basketball
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