# 2021–22 Toledo Rockets men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Toledo Rockets men's basketball team represented the University of Toledo during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Rockets, led by 12th-year head coach Tod Kowalczyk, played their home games at Savage Arena, as members of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 26-8, 17-3 in MAC Play to finish as regular season champions. They defeated Central Michigan in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament before losing in the semifinals to Akron. As a No. 1 seed who failed to win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Dayton.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Rockets finished the 2020–21 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.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Marreon Jackson | 3 | G | 6'1" | 200 | Senior | Cleveland, Ohio | Transferred to Arizona State |
| Mattia Acunzo | 4 | F | 6'8" | 225 | RS Freshman | Sardinia, Italy | Transferred to Robert Morris |
| Spencer Littleson | 11 | G | 6'4" | 200 | Senior | Rochester Hills, Michigan | Graduated |
| Luke Maranka | 12 | F | 6'10" | 225 | Sophomore | Ada, Michigan | Transferred to Davenport |
| Blake Williams | 22 | G | 6'0" | 195 | Senior | Holland, Ohio | Graduated |
| Jonathan Komagum | 35 | F/C | 6'9" | 215 | Junior | Cleveland, Ohio | Transferred to Sacramento State |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| RayJ Dennis | 10 | G | 6'2" | 180 | Junior | Plainfield, Illinois | Transferred from Boise State. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Jordan Burge | 21 | G | 6'3" | 200 | Junior | Cleveland, Ohio | Transferred from Parkland College. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |

### 2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Mihai Carcoana C | Ludus, Romania | Elevation Prep | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Arnor Eythorsson SF | Selfoss, Iceland | Sudurland College | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| EJ Farmer PG | Cleveland, Ohio | Cleveland Heights | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Kooper Jacobi SF | Sellersburg, Indiana | Silver Creek | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Elijah Wilson SG | Lithonia, Georgia | Mountain View | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| 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: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 11, 2021. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 23, 2021* 12:00 pm | | Hillsdale | W 93–68 | – | 30 – Rollins | 8 – 2 Tied | 5 – Dennis | Savage Arena Toledo, OH |
| October 30, 2021* 1:00 pm | | at Findlay | W 83–78 | – | 28 – Rollins | 9 – Rollins | 3 – 2 Tied | Croy Gymnasium (812) Findlay, OH |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 9, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Valparaiso | W 69–61 | 1–0 | 20 – Shumate | 9 – Shumate | 4 – Dennis | Athletics–Recreation Center (2,824) Valparaiso, IN |
| November 13, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Detroit Mercy | W 81–73 | 2–0 | 19 – Rollins | 11 – Shumate | 4 – Rollins | Savage Arena (5,086) Toledo, OH |
| November 17, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Oakland | L 59–80 | 2–1 | 21 – Rollins | 11 – Millner Jr. | 4 – Rollins/Millner Jr. | Athletics Center O'rena (3,616) Auburn Hills, MI |
| November 22, 2021* 12:00 pm, FloSports | | vs. Charlotte Nassau Championship Quarterfinal | W 98–86 | 3–1 | 27 – Millner Jr. | 9 – Dennis | 4 – Rollins | Baha Mar Convention Center Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 23, 2021* 5:30 pm, FloSports | | vs. Tulane Nassau Championship Semifinal | W 68–67 | 4–1 | 19 – Shumate | 12 – Millner Jr. | 5 – Dennis | Baha Mar Convention Center Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 24, 2021* 8:00 pm, FloSports | | vs. Coastal Carolina Nassau Championship Final | W 79–70 | 5–1 | 35 – Rollins | 6 – Dennis/Moss | 6 – Dennis | Baha Mar Convention Center (500) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 29, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Northwest Ohio | W 106–36 | 6–1 | 17 – Millner Jr. | 7 – 3 tied | 8 – Rollins | Savage Arena Toledo, OH |
| December 4, 2021* 5:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 22 Michigan State | L 68–81 | 6–2 | 21 – Rollins | 10 – Dennis | 3 – Shumate | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| December 7, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Bradley | W 67–65 | 7–2 | 27 – Rollins | 9 – Shumate | 4 – Dennis | Savage Arena (3,576) Toledo, Ohio |
| December 11, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Richmond | L 69–72 | 7–3 | 25 – Millner Jr. | 8 – Millner Jr. | 6 – Rollins | Robins Center (6,592) Richmond, VA |
| December 21, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Marshall | W 95–63 | 8–3 | 23 – Rollins | 9 – Shumate | 5 – Dennis | Savage Arena (3,769) Toledo, OH |
| MAC regular season |||||||||
| December 29, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Western Michigan | W 83–56 | 9–3 (1–0) | 22 – Shumate | 11 – Shumate | 5 – Shumate | Savage Arena (4,028) Toledo, OH |
| January 1, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Kent State | L 63–66 | 9–4 (1–1) | 14 – Rollins | 9 – Rollins | 3 – Dennis | MAC Center (701) Kent, OH |
| January 4, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Central Michigan | W 82–54 | 10–4 (2–1) | 21 – Rollins | 8 – Millner Jr. | 4 – Shumate | McGuirk Arena (1,075) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| January 8, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Northern Illinois | W 94–63 | 11–4 (3–1) | 16 – Millner Jr. | 7 – Rollins | 4 – Millner Jr. | Savage Arena (3,780) Toledo, OH |
| January 11, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Miami (OH) | W 75–72 | 12–4 (4–1) | 22 – Rollins | 7 – Moss | 4 – Moss | Millett Hall (913) Oxford, OH |
| January 15, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Bowling Green | W 91–78 | 13–4 (5–1) | 29 – Shumate | 9 – Shumate | 10 – Rollins | Stroh Center (3,366) Bowling Green, OH |
| January 18, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Ball State | W 83–70 | 14–4 (6–1) | 24 – Rollins | 10 – Rollins | 7 – Rollins | Savage Arena (3,635) Toledo, OH |
| January 21, 2022 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Ohio | W 87–69 | 15–4 (7–1) | 26 – Rollins | 6 – Rollins | 5 – Rollins | Convocation Center (8,069) Athens, OH |
| January 25, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Buffalo | W 86–75 | 16–4 (8–1) | 25 – Rollins | 11 – Rollins | 6 – Moss | Savage Arena (3,927) Toledo, OH |
| January 28, 2022 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | Akron | W 84–76 | 17–4 (9–1) | 21 – Rollins | 9 – Millner Jr. | 6 – Moss | Savage Arena (5,489) Toledo, OH |
| February 1, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Eastern Michigan | W 86–66 | 18–4 (10–1) | 24 – Shumate | 10 – Moss | 4 – Millner Jr. | George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,791) Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 4, 2022 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Ball State | L 83–93 | 18–5 (10–2) | 22 – Rollins | 9 – Moss | 5 – Rollins | Worthen Arena (3,321) Muncie, IN |
| February 8, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Ohio | W 77–62 | 19–5 (11–2) | 18 – Millner Jr. | 16 – Rollins | 8 – Rollins | Savage Arena (5,881) Toledo, OH |
| February 12, 2022 4:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Illinois | W 100–72 | 20–5 (12–2) | 22 – Dennis | 8 – Dennis | 8 – Dennis | Convocation Center (1,141) DeKalb, IL |
| February 15, 2022 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | Kent State | L 59–72 | 20–6 (12–3) | 21 – Dennis | 7 – Moss | 6 – Millner Jr. | Savage Arena (4,570) Toledo, OH |
| February 19, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Central Michigan | W 68–66 | 21–6 (13–3) | 29 – Shumate | 7 – Shumate | 5 – Millner Jr. | Savage Arena (5,049) Toledo, OH |
| February 22, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Western Michigan | W 92–50 | 22–6 (14–3) | 28 – Millner Jr. | 9 – Dennis | 7 – Rollins | University Arena (1,660) Kalamazoo, MI |
| February 26, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Miami (OH) | W 88–73 | 23–6 (15–3) | 24 – Rollins | 12 – Moss | 5 – Dennis | Savage Arena (5,539) Toledo, OH |
| March 1, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Buffalo | W 92–76 | 24–6 (16–3) | 20 – Rollins | 8 – Rollins | 6 – Rollins | Alumni Arena (5,470) Buffalo, NY |
| March 4, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Bowling Green | W 96–56 | 25–6 (17–3) | 22 – Shumate | 10 – Moss | 9 – Dennis | Savage Arena (6,712) Toledo, OH |
| MAC Tournament |||||||||
| March 10, 2022 11:00 am, ESPN+ | (1) | vs. (8) Central Michigan Quarterfinals | W 72–71 | 26–6 | 22 – Millner Jr. | 6 – Rollins | 4 – Moss | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Cleveland, OH |
| March 11, 2022 5:00 pm, CBSSN | (1) | vs. (4) Akron Semifinals | L 62–70 | 26–7 | 18 – Rollins | 7 – Moss | 3 – Rollins | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Cleveland, OH |
| NIT |||||||||
| March 16, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | (1) Dayton First Round – Dayton Bracket | L 55–74 | 26–8 | 18 – Millner Jr. | 7 – Millner Jr. | 4 – Dennis | Savage Arena (3,709) Toledo, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source