THE MATCHUP
Western Michigan Broncos (11-15, 7-7 MAC)
at Toledo Rockets (14-13, 7-7 MAC)
Feb. 21, 2017 • 7 p.m. • Savage Arena (7,014)

Series Record: WMU trails, 81-62
Last Meeting: 90-74, WMU (1/10/17, in Kalamazoo)

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Radio • Bronco Radio Network - Robin Hook PBP (Pre-game show begins at 6:30 p.m. ET)
Stations • WZOX — 96.5 FM: (Flagship) Kalamazoo, Portage, Mattawan; WMAX — 96.1 FM: Holland, Muskegon; WMAX — 96.1 FM: WTKG 1230 AM: Grand Rapids
TV/Stream: ESPN3
Talent: Mason Lowry (PBP), Jay Gast( Analyst)
Twitter Updates: @WMUMBB

WHAT'S ON THE SCHEDULE
Western Michigan travels to Toledo for its next matchup, Tuesday at 7 p.m. and returns home for a 2 p.m. contest against Ball State on Saturday, Feb. 25. The Broncos are also on the road next Tuesday, Feb. 28, at Northern Illinois and the regular season wraps up against Central Michigan at home on March 3.

BRONCOS HITTING THEIR STRIDE
Broncos are coming off of home wins against Bowling Green (89-79) and Eastern Michigan (88-80) last week. With the two wins, the Broncos have now won four in a row and five of its last six contests. After starting Mid-American Conference play 2-6, the Broncos have evened their league record at .500. The Broncos are 7-7 in the conference, 11-15 overall and are one game out of first place in the MAC West Division. WMU has an impressive 10-2 record at home this season.

IN THE STANDINGS
Western Michigan and Toledo are both tied in second place in the MAC West standings, one game back of Ball State (8-6 MAC record) with four regular season games to go. If the MAC Tournament started today, WMU would be the No. 5 seed behind Akron, Ohio, Buffalo and Ball State.

SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
> Junior point guard Thomas Wilder is averaging a team-best 18.9 ppg and 4.1 rpg while senior Tucker Haymond is averaging 14.8 ppg and 5.0 rpg. The two have 166 assists combined. Freshman guard Reggie Jones (9.6 ppg),  freshman post Brandon Johnson (7.8) and junior center Drake LaMont (7.3) are all averaging over seven points per game. Seth Dugan is the team's leading rebounder with 5.5 rpg followed by Johnson at 5.2 rpg.

> The Broncos are averaging 76.5 ppg this season and allowing 78.2 ppg defensively. WMU is shooting 45.4 percent from the field, 36.5 percent from three and 71.1 percent from the free-throw line.

HAYMOND NAMED MAC POTW
Senior Tucker Haymond was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Player of the Week, Monday, Feb. 20. It is the second-straight week the Broncos have had the weekly recipient. Freshman Reggie Jones was honored last week. Junior Thomas Wilder also earned the honor on Jan. 17. Haymond had a double-double in each of WMU's two wins last week, averaging 21 points and 10 rebounds for the week. He shot 61.9 percent from the floor, knocking down 13 of 21 attempts. He was nearly perfect from the free throw line, going 15-for-17 (88.2 percent). On Tuesday against Bowling Green, Haymond totaled 16 points (13 in the first half) and 10 rebounds. He followed that on Saturday with 26 points and 10 rebounds against Eastern Michigan.

SCOUTING TOLEDO
Toledo is coached by Tod Kowalczyk in his sixth season. The Rockets (14-13 overall record, 7-7 MAC) enter Tuesday's game winning three of their last four.      

> Senior guard Jonathan Williams is averaging a team-best 20.0 ppg and averages 2.9 rpg while senior forward Steve Taylor Jr. averages 15.7 points per game and grabs a team-high 12 rpg.The Rockets are averaging 81.0 ppg this season and allowing 77.8 ppg defensively. Toledo is shooting 49.0 percent from the field, 37.7 percent from the three and 69.8 percent from the free-throw line.   

SERIES HISTORY VS. THE ROCKETS
This will be the 144th meeting between the Broncos and the Rockets, with Toledo owning an 81-62 advantage.  The Broncos are 17-11 against Toledo under head coach Steve Hawkins. WMU has won 7 of the last 10 meetings against the Rockets, dating back to 2013. Last year the two teams split meetings, each winning on their home floor.

> The two teams met this season on Jan. 10 in Kalamazoo as the Broncos snapped a five-game winning streak for Toledo, with 90-74 victory. WMU shot a staggering 70 percent from the floor in the game - second highest single-game shooting percentage in school history - and went 13-for-16 (81.3%) from the free-throw line. Freshman Reggie Jones led the way with 20 points and six rebounds while junior Thomas Wilder added 19 points and nine assists on the night. The 16-point victory was WMU's largest win margin against a MAC opponent this season.