Game preview from UT's website

[Mr. Neutral]

Rockets Travel Down I-75 to Battle Xavier on Monday; Look to Rebound From Season-Opening Loss at No. 19 Florida
Courtesy: Toledo Athletics
Release: 11/16/2008

Senior guard Tyrone Kent has scored in double figures in 27 of his last 28 contests.

TOLEDO, OH - Following a season-opening 80-58 setback at No. 19 Florida on Friday, Toledo (0-1) faces another stiff challenge on Monday, Nov. 17 when it travels to Cincinnati, OH to face Atlantic 10 preseason favorite Xavier (1-0). The contest will tip off at 7:30 p.m. and be televised live on Fox Sports Ohio.

Senior guard Jonathan Amos produced an impressive outing for the Rockets in their season opener against the Gators. He led UT with 22 points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals in 37 minutes. Senior guard Tyrone Kent tallied 13 points despite being saddled with first-half foul trouble and playing just 27 minutes. Sophomore forward Justin Anyijong also was in double figures for UT, tallying a career-high 11 points and tying his career best with six rebounds.

The Rockets weathered the storm early on against the Gators’ trademark full-court press and were trailing 28-25 with less than three minutes to play in the first half. Florida closed out the half with an 11-2 run though to take a 39-27 advantage into the locker room. The Gators continued to put pressure on the Midnight Blue and Gold early in the second half and took their biggest lead of the night, 56-31, with 13:59 to play.

Xavier posted a dominating 71-43 triumph over IPFW in its season opener on Friday. The Musketeers blocked 11 shots and limited the Mastodons to a paltry 25.0 field-goal percentage. Senior F C.J. Anderson paced XU with a 15-point, nine-rebound effort. Sophomore F Jamel McLean (10 pts.-10 reb.) and freshman C Kenny Frease (12 pts.-7 reb.) contributed 22 points and 17 boards off the bench.

The last time the Rockets squared off against the Musketeers was on Dec. 23, 2000 when XU pulled out a last-minute 63-61 road victory. Lionel Chalmers hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Musketeers the victory after Toledo freshman guard Terry Reynolds hit a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining to give UT a 61-60 lead.


Toledo (0-1) at Xavier (1-0)

WHEN: Monday, Nov. 17, 7:30 p.m. EST.
WHERE: Cintas Center (10,250), Cincinnati, OH.
TEAM RECORDS:
• Toledo (0-1, 0-0 MAC) • Xavier (1-0, 0-0 Atlantic 10)
SERIES RECORD: Xavier leads, 12-11.
ABOUT XAVIER: Xavier extended its homecourt win streak at the Cintas Center to 11 games with Friday’s 71-43 win over IPFW. The Musketeers made their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008, their seventh in the last eight years and 18th appearance in the last 26 seasons.
THE COACHES:
• Gene Cross, 0-1 at Toledo (1st year), same overall.
• Sean Miller, 94-39 at Xavier (5th year), same overall.
TV: Fox Sports Ohio. Brad Johansen will handle play-by-play with Steve Wolf providing analysis.
RADIO: WSPD (1370 AM) in Toledo. Mark Beier will handle play-by-play with Jay Lehman providing analysis.
Internet: Rocket radio broadcasts can be heard at http://www.utrockets.com. UT’s home games can also be seen live via RocketVision at http://www.utrockets.com.