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MAC Championship or No Dancing: Toledo's Tournament Hopes Crushed by Northern Illinois

Toledo has been one of the dominant teams in the
MAC this season, but they fell to Northern Illinois
on Wednesday night in DeKalb.
Photo Courtesy: www.toledoblade.com

The Toledo Rockets entered DeKalb, Illinois on Wednesday night with a 23-4 overall record while averaging 81 points per game. Toledo has been near the top of the MAC all season long while Northern Illinois has been near the bottom. However, that didn't stop the Huskies from stunning the Rockets.

Northern Illinois came in as an inconsistent team but put together a stellar performance on both ends of the floor to defeat Toledo, 74-65. The Huskies shot 46% from the field while playing tremendous defense on the other end of the floor as well. Toledo was held sixteen points under their season average in the surprising loss, a loss that ended the Rockets' chances of landing a NCAA automatic-bid. While playing in the MAC, every game is a must-win if you'd like to be playing in the NCAA tournament. However, with Toledo's record now dropping to 11-4 in MAC play, post-season dreams are fading quickly for Tod Kowalcyzk's Rockets. Prior to the loss to the Huskies, Toledo was right on the border between landing a potential at-large bid or being sent packing. Well, with a weak resume as far as big wins are concerned, this loss has sealed the fate for Toledo, they'll need to win the MAC tournament on March 15 in order to receive a NCAA tournament bid.

Toledo is still much in the race to win the MAC tournament in the middle of March but they will no longer have something to fall back on if they lose. Sure, they might land a bid to the NIT, but it will be a conference championship or nothing if Toledo wants to play with the big boys during March Madness. The Rockets will take on Western Michigan this Saturday in a game that has a substantial impact on the MAC West. Western Michigan beat Toledo back in January so the Rockets will look for revenge. The Broncos will enter Savage Arena with a 12-3 conference record while Toledo enters with a conference record of 11-4. However, if the Rockets defeat Western Michigan on Saturday, they will hold the tiebreaker and take over first in the Mid-American Conference once again. The tiebreaker will go off of common-opponents according to Jeremy Guy, the Mid-American Conference communications director, which means Toledo defeated Buffalo while Western Michigan did not. However, that will all be voided if the Rockets cannot defeat Western on Saturday. With the MAC tournament approaching quickly, Saturday's matchup between Toledo and Western Michigan could decide who receives the number one overall seeding in Cleveland.


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Looking Ahead: Can Toledo Make the NCAA Tournament?

Toledo point guard, Juice Brown has lifted
the Rockets past several opponents
 this season but is Western Michigan
a bad loss on Toledo's resume?
Photo Credit: www.Toledofreepress.com

We're less than three weeks away from the Mid-American Conference tournament in Cleveland. However, Toledo is looking like the early favorite to take home the MAC Championship and a NCAA tournament bid.

The MAC is becoming a mid-major powerhouse in Men's Basketball with teams such as Western Michigan making a climb back to prominence. Aside from the Broncos who have a current overall record 17-8, Akron also has seventeen wins with a 17-9 overall record. Once again, the Ohio Bobcats are a very serious threat to win the MAC this season as well with a 18-8 overall record thus far. However, they're all chasing the men in the Midnight Blue & Gold, the Rockets of Toledo. Currently, Toledo is tied with Western Michigan for the best record in the MAC with a 10-3 conference record. However, Western Michigan's win over Toledo on January 8 has the Broncos with the tie-breaker until they meet again on March 1 in Toledo.

So what if Toledo doesn't live up to expectations and gets taken down in Cleveland without an automatic NCAA bid? Can they receive an at-large bid to the big dance?

As it currently stands, Toledo has only four losses with their 22-4 overall record. Of those four losses, only one is seen as a truly poor loss and that came to the Eastern Michigan Eagles in Ypsilanti. Not only did they lose the game, but they were blown out 65-44, which certainly looks bad on a tournament resume. The Eagles are currently 15-11 overall in the MAC, which isn't seen as a dominant conference by national media.

Aside from the lost to EMU, the Rockets dropped a game in Athens against the Ohio Bobcats, 95-90 in overtime. The loss to the Bobcats isn't seen as too bad of a loss on the Rockets' resume since Ohio is one of the top teams in the conference but with only four losses, it could attract attention from the NCAA tournament committee. Ohio currently has an 18-8 overall record but just an 8-5 record in the MAC, which could turn Toledo's loss to the Bobcats into a poor loss on the resume.

Toledo also dropped a game in Kalamazoo which could prove huge on their resume. Not that it is seen as a bad loss by any means, but Toledo could have sole possession of the MAC lead if they beat the Broncos back on January 8th to begin MAC play. The Rockets lost that game 87-76 but they will meet at Savage Arena on March 1 in Toledo where the Rockets will look for revenge.

In non-conference, Toledo went 13-1 overall with a loss to the nationally-ranked Kansas Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse. This was only a ten-point loss to one of the top programs in the country which is something the tournament committee can look past. Toledo really proved that they can hang with anybody in the country on any given night with their performance against the Jayhawks on December 30th.

There is a side-effect of Toledo's 22-4 record, however. The Rockets' strength of schedule is a poor. Aside from playing at Kansas, Toledo's toughest non-conference opponent was Boston College, who is playing poorly this season. However, the game was at Boston College and the Rockets did pull out the 95-92 win early in the season. The next difficult non-conference games would most likely be Detroit and Cleveland State, two decent teams in a dismal Horizon League conference. It will come down to Toledo's strength of schedule if they fail to receive an automatic bid this March.

Another downfall on the resume is Toledo is lacking big time resume building wins. Big wins don't come in the MAC conference no-matter who you beat during conference play, so it is important that MAC teams get important wins during the non-conference schedule. Toledo's win over Boston College will need to get them into the big dance, but it may not be enough, especially if the Rockets get another loss before the end of the season. A 28-4 regular season record will be hard to ignore but of course this whole conversation is invalid if the Rockets win the MAC Championship in Cleveland on March 15 and receive the automatic bid to the big dance.


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Breaking Down Toledo's 2014 Recruiting Class

Lima, Ohio athlete, Mykale Rogers is the highest
rated recruit in Toledo's 2014 recruiting class.
Photo Courtesy: www.berecruited.com

Twenty-three signed letter of intents for the Toledo Rockets 2014 recruiting class. Fourteen of those twenty-three letter of intents come on the defensive side of the ball, where the biggest improvement is for this season's Rockets. After allowing over 28 points per game last season, Toledo will look to lower that number under first year defensive coordinator, Jon Heacock. Last season's 7-5 overall record without a bowl invitation can be seen as a bit of a disappointment. This year's recruiting class is rated as the second-best recruiting class in the MAC by Scout.com and 247sports.com and the third-best in the conference by Rivals.com. Since 2010, Toledo's recruiting classes have been ranked top-two in the conference by all three major recruiting sites. However, Matt Campbell is extremely high on this particular class.

“I think this may be the best and deepest class we’ve signed since I’ve been here,” said Campbell. Campbell is now 17-9 as head coach of the Rockets after serving for three seasons as UT’s offensive coordinator. “We specifically tried to bolster the depth on both sides of the ball. We’ve recruited young men with great character who are committed to academics. We have players who will play a big role for us in the future, as well as some guys who could see action for us next fall.”

As for the specific areas that Campbell and his staff try to recruit, Campbell says they are building a nice hotbed in Florida as well as the Baltimore area. “We will always get the bulk of our players from within a four-hour radius of Toledo, but we’ve created a good niche in the Tampa Bay area ever since we signed Bernard Reedy out of St. Petersburg four years ago,” said Campbell. “The Baltimore/DC area has been good for us lately, as well, and we are starting to recruit the Dallas/Fort Worth area. We’re always going to defend our home turf, but we’re in a situation now where we can go out and bring in players into our program from areas that have great football traditions and coaching.”

The highest rated Toledo commits by the recruiting sites are Tampa Bay, FL linebacker, Anthony Davis who is a three-star by all three of the major sites. Aside from Davis, athlete Mykale Rogers of Lima Catholic Central in Ohio is also listed as a three-star and may be an underrated three-star at that. The last three star is a commit who signed on National Signing Day, tight end Davion Riley of Lake Wales, FL. Riley and his high school teammate, defensive back Dedric Brinson committed to Toledo in a package deal. Brinson is a three-star on Scout and 247 Sports, but Rivals has the cornerback listed as an underrated two-star. Jamal Woodland rounds out Toledo's top five as far as top commitments. Woodland is a 6'2, 185 lb. defensive back from Lanham, Maryland.

Complete list of Toledo commits in the 2014 Class:

Name                          Pos.        Ht.       Wt.       Cl.       Hometown-High School / Transfer or Prep

Adeniyi, Olasunkanmi DE/OLB  6-2       225        Fr.        Richmond, TX-Fort Bend Bush
Alexander, Devin        DB          6-0       205        Fr.        St. Louis, MO-Ritenour
Atariwa, Yazeed          DL          6-4       257        Fr.        Sterling, VA-Dominion
Berry, Mike                 OLB        6-3       205        Fr.        Beavercreek, OH-Beavercreek
Brinson, Dedric           CB          6-2       180        Fr.        Lake Wales, FL-Lake Wales
Davis, Andrew             WR         6-4       185        Fr.        St. Petersburg, FL-Lakewood
Davis, Anthony           LB          6-0       210        Fr.        Tampa, FL-Chamberlain
James, Tré                   LB/DE    6-0       250        Jr.        Baltimore, MD-Baltimore City College / Snow College
Johnson, Jon’Vea        WR         5-11     183        Fr.        Gary, IN-West Side
Mathis, Trevon            CB          5-11     163        Fr.        Pittsburgh, PA-Woodland Hills
Mattison, Cameron      DB          6-1       185        Fr.        Charlotte, NC-Mallard Creek
Olekanma, Richard      LB          6-1       217        Fr.        Downers Grove, IL-North
Pfeiffer, Alex              OL          6-5       281        Fr.        Cincinnati, OH-Anderson
Reynolds, Brandon      DE/LB    6-2       207        Fr.        Solon, OH-Solon
Riley, Davi’on             TE           6-3       207        Fr.        Lake Wales, FL-Lake Wales                                               
Rogers, Bernard           CB          5-11     170        Fr.        Tampa, FL-Plant
Rogers, Mykale            WR         6-1       180        Fr.        Lima, OH-Central Catholic
Spielman, Noah           DL          6-0       278        Fr.        Upper Arlington, OH-Upper Arlington
Swanson, Terry            RB          5-9       183        Fr.        Aliquippa, PA- Aliquippa
Thompson, Cody         WR         6-1       187        Fr.        Huron, OH-Huron
Weber, Bill                  OL          6-4       325        Fr.        Coppell, TX-Coppell
Whitfield, Marcus        WR         5-11     165        Fr.        Massillon, OH-Washington
Woodland, Jamaal       CB          6-2       190        Fr.        Lanham, MD-Duval

Follow @PrideOfUT on Twitter for more updates on recruiting.

Question & Answer with Toledo Commit, Dedric Brinson

Lake Wales, Fla. defensive back Dedric Brinson has officially committed to The University of Toledo. Brinson was once committed to Iowa State but had his commitment to the Cyclones dropped due to taking other visits. The underrated defensive back is rated as a two-star by Rivals.com but is a three-star on several other recruiting sites. We caught up with the newest Toledo commit.

Dedric Brinson (Lake Wales, Fla.) officially
committed to Toledo on Sunday.
Photo Credit: www.TheRocketNation.com

Pride of UT: What made you choose Toledo?

Brinson: "I chose Toledo because they recruited me professionally. Toledo is a family, it's a team, and I love that atmosphere, the coaches and players were so close and they actually had a relationship."

Pride of UT: What schools were in your top three prior to committing to Toledo?

Brinson: "Well I was committed to Iowa State until I took a visit to Indiana which led them to start recruiting a JUCO cornerback. Toledo then hopped on the train and I took my visit and loved it."

Pride of UT: What did you like most during your visit to Toledo?

Brinson: "I loved spending time with the players and the coaches. I got to see academic buildings, and the new football facility (Larimer Athletic Complex) which will be done in July. It'll be cool to have new lockers and to be the first incoming class to be a part of the new facilities. The coaches were another thing that I liked, they really showed me how much they cared, a lot of schools would have girls around trying to get us to commit, but this visit wasn't like that, it was real."

Pride of UT: What do you like most about the Toledo coaching staff?

Brinson: "I liked how real the coaches were and how upfront with me they were. I also like how close the coaches are to the players and how they're like a father-figure and a coach at the same time. The coaches know that there's a time to have fun and a time to get down to business, and I really liked that."

Pride of UT: What other schools did you visit?

Brinson: "Aside from Toledo, I visited Iowa State and Indiana, and Indiana was sure showing a lot of interest."

Pride of UT: What made you choose Toledo over Indiana?

Brinson: "I didn't feel that bond like I did with Toledo, the family atmosphere wasn't as strong as it was in Toledo."

Pride of UT: What are you expecting from Toledo's football program over the next four seasons?

Brinson: "We're going to be a winning program, win MAC championships, and I'll be built into a leader in a lot of ways, on and off the field."

Pride of UT: How is your high school teammate Davion Riley's recruitment coming along?

Brinson: "I know where Davion is going to end up, we just need to keep it a secret until Wednesday when he is going to publicly announce." (All signs point to Riley also signing with Toledo)

Pride of UT: What do the Toledo coaches like most about you?

Brinson: "They like my aggressiveness, I'm a great fit for their defense because I play a lot of man coverage. They also like how my teachers talk about me in the classroom, and how I carry myself on and off of the field."

Pride of UT: Any final comments?

Brinson: "All the glory goes to God. I have to thank my family and friends, it's a blessing to have this opportunity. I just need to stay humble and continue to work, all the credit goes to my family and friends. Also, I love the Toledo atmosphere and the fans, it'll be a nice next four years."

@PrideOfUT and the Pride of UT website will have all signing day news regarding the Toledo Rockets.

Toledo Lands 3-star Cornerback, Dedric Brinson; Is Davion Riley Next?

Lake Wales, Fla. cornerback, Dedric Brinson was once
committed to Iowa State, but decided to commit to
Toledo on Sunday.
Photo Courtesy: polkcountyfootball.com

Dedric Brinson has officially ended his recruitment and has committed to the University of Toledo. Brinson is a three-star cornerback as rated by 247sports.com. The 6'2, 175 lb. cornerback from Lake Wales, Florida is part of a package deal that could bring Brinson's high school teammate, tight end Davion Riley with him. Riley is a three-star tight end with good size and great hands. The athletic 6'3, 210 lb. tight end has offers from twenty schools, including Florida State, Oregon, and Tennessee.

Brinson and Riley made their visit to Toledo together on January 24th. If schools offer Brinson, they'll offer Riley, and vice versa, because this duo is going to college together. Brinson has committed to Toledo, but Riley has said he will wait until signing day to publicly announce his commitment. With Brinson's size, he will surely fit in well with new Toledo defensive coordinator, Jon Heacock's defense.

Toledo is extraordinarily excited about Brinson's commitment, but they want Riley as well. We'll have to wait until signing day to see where the three-star tight end will land, but all signs are pointing towards Riley joining Brinson in the Midnight Blue and Gold next fall.

Follow @PrideOfUT on Twitter for the latest recruiting news.

One Week Before Signing Day: Toledo Recruiting Update

Lake Wales, Florida three-star tight end,
Dav'ion Riley is a big name that is still
uncommitted.
Picture Courtesy: 247sports.com

It has been a tough week for Toledo's 2014 recruiting class after losing top recruit, Travis Smith to Wake Forest. However, not all is lost with a week left before signing day. There are two extremely big uncommitted names left that are very high on the Rockets' recruiting board.

The first big time uncommitted recruit is Lake Wales, Florida tight end, Dav'ion Riley. Riley is a three-star recruit as listed by Rivals.com and is has a nice 6'3, 210 lb. frame. A freakish athlete, Riley has offers from nearly twenty division-one schools including Florida State, Oregon, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. However, Toledo is one of the front runners to land Riley's services. The only official visits Riley has taken were to Indiana and Toledo. Riley visited the University of Toledo campus on January 24th with high school teammate Cedric Brinson. Brinson is the less sought after of the two recruits, but the two are projected to sign with the same school as a package. Riley is a freakish athlete who will be a weapon to any recruiting class that he chooses to sign with.

The second big time uncommitted recruit that Toledo is really targeting is Tampa, Florida outside linebacker, Josh Black. Black is a three-star prospect as rated by Rivals.com and has been offered by ten schools including Arizona, Bowling Green, and Minnesota. However, none of those three schools are in Black's future. According to several recruiting sites, Black's commitment is between Marshall, South Florida, and the Toledo Rockets. Black visited Toledo on December 6th, South Florida on January 17th and Marshall on January 24th. A decision is coming very soon for the three-star linebacker. According to Black, his visit to Toledo in December went very well but he wanted to take other visits prior to committing. The 6'2, 225 lb. outside linebacker is a future stud at whatever school he chooses to attend.

More recruiting news to pass along for Toledo is at the quarterback situation. Toledo has pulled back from recruiting Petaluma, Florida three-star quarterback, JaJuan Lawson. Lawson is visiting Cal this weekend which caused Toledo to back off of his services. Instead, the Rockets may look elsewhere at the quarterback position. The quarterback void left by Travis Smith's decommitment is fully expected to be filled in the 2014 recruiting class, but may not be filled until after February 5th's signing day. @PrideOfUT on Twitter will keep you posted with more on that situation and much, much more.