2023–24 Toledo Rockets men's basketball team American college basketball season
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]
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
Source:[ 12]
Incoming transfers
Source:[ 12]
Recruiting class
College recruiting information
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Bryce Ford G
Scottsdale, AZ
Pinnacle
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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:
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
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
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 .
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