2023–24 Toledo Rockets men's basketball team

2023–24 Toledo Rockets men's basketball
2023–24 Toledo Rockets men's basketball
MAC regular-season champions
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	20–12 (14–4 MAC)
Head coach	Tod Kowalczyk (14th season);
Associate head coach	Jeff Massey (10th season)
Assistant coaches	Justin Ingram (6th season); Jordan Lauf (2nd season);
Home arena	Savage Arena
	Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

The 2023–24 Toledo Rockets men's basketball team represented the University of Toledo during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Rockets, led by 14th-year head coach Tod Kowalczyk, played their home games at Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio, as members of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).^[1]^[2] They finished the season 20–12, 14–4 in MAC play, to win their fourth straight regular-season MAC championship. They were upset by Kent State in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament.^[3]^[4] Toledo was not selected for the National Invitation Tournament and declined to participate in the College Basketball Invitational and the CollegeInsider.com tournament.^[5]

2023–24 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Toledo	14	–	4	.778	20	–	12	.625
Akron †	13	–	5	.722	24	–	11	.686
Ohio	13	–	5	.722	20	–	13	.606
Central Michigan	12	–	6	.667	18	–	14	.563
Bowling Green	10	–	8	.556	20	–	14	.588
Western Michigan	9	–	9	.500	12	–	20	.375
Miami (OH)	9	–	9	.500	15	–	17	.469
Kent State	8	–	10	.444	17	–	17	.500
Ball State	7	–	11	.389	15	–	16	.484
Eastern Michigan	6	–	12	.333	13	–	18	.419
Northern Illinois	5	–	13	.278	11	–	20	.355
Buffalo	2	–	16	.111	4	–	27	.129

† 2024 MAC tournament winner

Previous season

The Rockets finished 27–8 and won their third straight regular-season championship with a 16–2 record in MAC play.^[6]^[7] They defeated Miami and Ohio in the first two rounds of the MAC tournament before losing to Kent State in the final.^[8]^[9]^[10] As a regular-season champion who did not win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament, where they lost to Michigan in the first round.^[11]

Offseason

Departures

Departures
Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
EJ Farmer	G	6'5"	170	Sophomore	Cleveland, OH	Transferred to Youngstown State
Elijah Wilson	G	6'5"	180	Sophomore	Lithonia, GA	Transferred to Maryland Eastern Shore
Setric Millner Jr.	F	6'7"	205	Senior	Little Rock, AR	Exhausted Eligibility
RayJ Dennis	G	6'2"	180	Junior	Plainfield, IL	Transferred to Baylor
Kooper Jacobi	F	6'6"	200	Sophomore	Sellersburg, IN	Transferred to Eastern Illinois
A. J. Edu	F/C	6'10"	225	Junior	Colchester, England	Turned professional with Toyama Grouses
J Wallace	G	6'5"	185	Freshman	Bath, MI	Entered transfer portal
Cooper Davis	G	6'5"	190	Freshman	Powell, OH	Transferred to Ashland
JT Shumate	F	6'7"	210	Senior	Newark, OH	Exhausted eligibility

Source:^[12]

Incoming transfers

Transfers
Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Ben Wight	C	6'9"	220	RS Junior	Columbus, OH	Transferred from William & Mary
Marko Maletic	G	6'6"	208	Sophomore	London, ON	Transferred from Long Island

Source:^[12]

Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight
Bryce Ford G	Scottsdale, AZ	Pinnacle	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)
Bryce Ford G	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A
Sonny Wilson G	Pontiac, MI	Detroit Jesuit	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)
Sonny Wilson G	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: 79
Xavier Thomas F	Detroit, MI	Brother Rice	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	225 lb (102 kg)
Xavier Thomas F	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Sam Lewis G	Chicago, IL	Simeon Academy	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	190 lb (86 kg)
Sam Lewis G	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Grgur Brcic F	Zagreb, Croatia	Northampton School	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)
Grgur Brcic F	Recruiting star ratings: 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: "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2023–24 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)	Jr	SPIRE Academy	Springfield, OH
F	1	Javan Simmons	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	RS Fr	Gahanna Lincoln	Gahanna, OH
G	2	Bryce Ford	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Fr	Pinnacle	Scottsdale, AZ
G	3	Sonny Wilson	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Fr	Detroit Jesuit	Pontiac, MI
F	4	Xavier Thomas	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Fr	Brother Rice	Detroit, MI
G	11	Sam Lewis	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	Simeon Academy	Chicago, IL
F	13	Andre Lorentsson	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jr	Saint Louis	Gothenburg, Sweden
G	21	Dante Jr. Maddox	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jr	Cal State Fullerton	Chicago Heights, IL
G	23	Tyler Cochran	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jr	Ball State	Bolingbrook, IL
F	24	Grgur Brcic	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Fr	Northampton School	Zagreb, Croatia
G	27	Marko Maletic	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	208 lb (94 kg)	So	Long Island	London, ON
F	35	Ben Wight	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Jr	William & Mary	Columbus, OH

Head coach

Tod Kowalczyk (Minnesota Duluth)

Assistant coach(es)

Jeff Massey (Xavier)
Justin Ingram (Toledo)
Jordan Lauf (Toledo)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: September 29, 2023

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 21, 2023* 2:00 p.m.		Ferris State	W 93–62	–	19 – Maddox Jr.	9 – Cochran	–	Savage Arena Toledo, OH
October 29, 2023* 4:00 p.m.		Findlay	W 95–70	–	19 – Moss	–	–	Savage Arena Toledo, OH
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Detroit Mercy	W 94–60	1–0	15 – Moss	8 – Moss	5 – Moss	Savage Arena (4,223) Toledo, OH
November 11, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Louisiana MAC–SBC Challenge	W 87–78	2–0	18 – Cochran	5 – Moss	4 – Cochran	Savage Arena (4,290) Toledo, OH
November 14, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Wright State	W 78–77	3–0	20 – Maddox Jr.	7 – Moss	4 – Maddox Jr.	Nutter Center (4,239) Dayton, OH
November 21, 2023* 11:15 p.m., FloHoops		vs. New Mexico Ball Dawgs Classic	L 84–92	3–1	23 – Maddox Jr.	5 – Maddox Jr.	6 – Wilson	Dollar Loan Center Henderson, NV
November 22, 2023* 11:45 p.m., FloHoops		vs. UC Irvine Ball Dawgs Classic	L 71–77	3–2	19 – Moss	6 – Wilson	4 – Moss	Dollar Loan Center Henderson, NV
November 24, 2023* 2:00 p.m., FloHoops		vs. Indiana State Ball Dawgs Classic	L 74–76	3–3	14 – Simmons	7 – Cochran	4 – Cochran	Dollar Loan Center Henderson, NV
December 2, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		George Mason	L 77–86	3–4	24 – Maddox Jr.	8 – Cochran	2 – tied	Savage Arena (3,907) Toledo, OH
December 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Oakland	W 69–68	4–4	20 – Maddox Jr.	8 – Simmons	4 – Moss	Athletics Center O'rena (2,893) Rochester, MI
December 9, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Northern Iowa	W 84–80	5–4	21 – Moss	12 – Cochran	2 – tied	Savage Arena (4,041) Toledo, OH
December 13, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Marshall	W 88–87	6–4	33 – Cochran	12 – Moss	5 – Cochran	Savage Arena (3,878) Toledo, OH
December 20, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Vermont	L 60–86	6–5	12 – Cochran	8 – Moss	6 – Moss	Savage Arena (4,031) Toledo, OH
December 23, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at West Virginia	L 81–91	6–6	21 – Moss	6 – tied	4 – Maddox Jr.	WVU Coliseum (10,693) Morgantown, WV
MAC regular season
January 2, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Ohio	W 86–77	7–6 (1–0)	18 – tied	7 – Cochran	3 – tied	Convocation Center (4,016) Athens, OH
January 5, 2024 2:00 p.m., CBSSN		Miami (OH)	W 68–64	8–6 (2–0)	18 – Moss	6 – Moss	2 – tied	Savage Arena (4,428) Toledo, OH
January 9, 2024 7:00 p.m., CBSSN		at Kent State	W 89–75	9–6 (3–0)	21 – Cochran	6 – tied	4 – Moss	MAC Center (1,786) Kent, OH
January 13, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Ball State	W 77–72	10–6 (4–0)	24 – Moss	7 – Maddox Jr.	5 – Maddox Jr.	Savage Arena (4,413) Toledo, OH
January 16, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Buffalo	W 77–66	11–6 (5–0)	21 – Maddox Jr.	10 – Cochran	7 – Moss	Savage Arena (3,689) Toledo, OH
January 19, 2024 7:00 p.m., CBSSN		at Central Michigan	L 62–65	11–7 (5–1)	21 – Maddox Jr.	10 – Cochran	3 – Cochran	McGuirk Arena (2,254) Mount Pleasant, MI
January 23, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Northern Illinois	W 89–73	12–7 (6–1)	20 – Moss	7 – Maddox Jr.	3 – tied	Convocation Center (1,534) DeKalb, IL
January 27, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Bowling Green	W 88–72	13–7 (7–1)	26 – Maddox Jr.	10 – Cochran	10 – Moss	Savage Arena (7,318) Toledo, OH
January 30, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Western Michigan	W 88–63	14–7 (8–1)	19 – Simmons	6 – tied	4 – Maddox Jr.	Savage Arena (3,915) Toledo, OH
February 3, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Akron	L 70–77	14–8 (8–2)	16 – Moss	9 – Cochran	4 – Moss	James A. Rhodes Arena (3,151) Akron, OH
February 6, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Eastern Michigan	W 91–87	15–8 (9–2)	20 – tied	8 – Simmons	4 – Cochran	George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,542) Ypsilanti, MI
February 10, 2024* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Appalachian State MAC-SBC Challenge	L 104–109 ^2OT	15–9	25 – Maddox Jr.	10 – Simmons	5 – Maddox Jr.	Holmes Center (5,437) Boone, NC
February 16, 2024 9:00 p.m., ESPNU		Ohio	W 85–83	16–9 (10–2)	21 – Maddox Jr.	16 – Simmons	6 – Maddox Jr.	Savage Arena (5,079) Toledo, OH
February 20, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Akron	W 72–64	17–9 (11–2)	18 – Wilson	9 – Maddox Jr.	6 – Simmons	Savage Arena (5,547) Toledo, OH
February 23, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Bowling Green	L 68–76	17–10 (11–3)	19 – Moss	7 – Cochran	3 – tied	Stroh Center (4,032) Bowling Green, OH
February 27, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Northern Illinois	L 72–75	17–11 (11–4)	27 – Cochran	9 – Maddox Jr.	5 – Wilson	Savage Arena (4,692) Toledo, OH
March 2, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Buffalo	W 85–79	18–11 (12–4)	20 – Wilson	9 – Wilson	5 – Cochran	Alumni Arena (2,476) Buffalo, NY
March 5, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Miami (OH)	W 97–63	19–11 (13–4)	22 – Cochran	9 – Maddox Jr.	5 – Maddox Jr.	Millett Hall (1,847) Oxford, OH
March 8, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Kent State	W 86–71	20–11 (14–4)	21 – Moss	8 – Simmons	7 – Moss	Savage Arena Toledo, OH
MAC tournament
March 14, 2024 11:00 a.m., ESPN+	(1)	vs. (8) Kent State Quarterfinals	L 59–67	20–12	19 – Maddox Jr.	9 – Maddox Jr.	6 – Moss	Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Cleveland, OH
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources:^[13]^[14]

References

^ "John F. Savage Arena". Toledo Athletics. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
^ "Tod Kowalczyk". Toledo Athletics. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
^ Clark, Dave (March 9, 2024). "MAC basketball tournament bracket set; Miami RedHawks face Akron in first round". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
^ "Kent State 67, Toledo 59". ESPN. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
^ Rowland, Kyle (March 18, 2024). "Toledo men's basketball not selected for NIT, passes on CBI and CIT". Toledo Blade. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
^ Rowland, Kyle (March 3, 2023). "History: Toledo men win third consecutive outright MAC Championship". Toledo Blade. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
^ "MAC Basketball Standings - 2022-23". ESPN. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
^ "Miami 75, Toledo 91". ESPN. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
^ "Ohio 75, Toledo 82". ESPN. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
^ "Toledo 78, Kent State 93". ESPN. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
^ "Bufkin, Baker lead Michigan past Toledo 90-80 in NIT". CBS Sports. March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "2023 D1 Basketball Transfers". Verbal Commits. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
^ "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Toledo Athletics. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
^ "Toledo Rockets Schedule 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved September 16, 2024.

[1] "John F. Savage Arena". Toledo Athletics. Retrieved March 18, 2023.

[2] "Tod Kowalczyk". Toledo Athletics. Retrieved March 18, 2023.

[3] Clark, Dave (March 9, 2024). "MAC basketball tournament bracket set; Miami RedHawks face Akron in first round". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved March 10, 2024.

[4] "Kent State 67, Toledo 59". ESPN. Retrieved March 15, 2024.

[5] Rowland, Kyle (March 18, 2024). "Toledo men's basketball not selected for NIT, passes on CBI and CIT". Toledo Blade. Retrieved September 16, 2024.

[6] Rowland, Kyle (March 3, 2023). "History: Toledo men win third consecutive outright MAC Championship". Toledo Blade. Retrieved March 9, 2023.

[7] "MAC Basketball Standings - 2022-23". ESPN. Retrieved August 8, 2023.

[8] "Miami 75, Toledo 91". ESPN. Retrieved March 9, 2023.

[9] "Ohio 75, Toledo 82". ESPN. Retrieved March 10, 2023.

[10] "Toledo 78, Kent State 93". ESPN. Retrieved March 11, 2023.

[11] "Bufkin, Baker lead Michigan past Toledo 90-80 in NIT". CBS Sports. March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.

[transfer-12] "2023 D1 Basketball Transfers". Verbal Commits. Retrieved August 5, 2023.

[13] "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Toledo Athletics. Retrieved September 16, 2024.

[14] "Toledo Rockets Schedule 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved September 16, 2024.

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