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James Madison
at Richmond (Exh.)
James Madison University | Official Athletics Site
Saturday, February 8
Toledo, Ohio
2 p.m.
James Madison University
at
Toledo
Men's Hoops Heads to Toledo for MAC-SBC Matchup with Rockets
2/7/2025 9:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
James Madison Dukes (15-9, 8-4Â SBC) at Toledo Rockets (14-8, 8-2 MAC)
Feb. 8, 2025 – 2 p.m. ET
Toledo, Ohio -- John F. Savage Arena
Game Links
Live Stats · Audio Broadcast · ESPN+ · JMU Game Notes
JMUSports.com · @JMUMBasketball · #GoDukes
MEN'S HOOPS HEADS TO TOLEDO FOR MAC-SBC CHALLENGE WITH ROCKETS
- James Madison, winners of five straight, will step out of Sun Belt action for a Saturday showdown with the Toledo Rockets in Toledo, Ohio on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m as part of the MAC-SBC Challenge.Â
- JMU used a late surge to down Troy, 64-61, on Wednesday night at the Atlantic Union Bank Center. The Dukes moved into a tie for second in the Sun Belt standings with the win.
- Toledo sits at 14-8 overall and 8-2 in MAC play and have won four straight. The Rockets are 6-2 at home this season, including wins over Northern Illinois (89-85) and Buffalo (87-74) this week.Â
- The game will be on ESPN+ with Mason Lowry (PxP) and Rhett Boyd (color), and on the Varsity Network App and WSVA 92.1 FM | 550 AM with Dave Riggert, with coverage beginning 30 minutes before tip.Â
MAC-SBC CHALLENGE
- This will be the first matchup between James Madison and Toledo.Â
- The Dukes are 15-9 against Mid-American Conference all time and opened the season with an 88-78 win over Ohio on Nov. 4.Â
- JMU has won its past three games against the MAC and are 3-0 in MAC-SBC Challenge games since the challenge was introduced before the 2023-24 season. The Dukes also beat Kent State 113-108 in double overtime on Nov. 9, 2023 and Akron 73-59 on Feb. 10, 2024.Â
- As a conference, the Sun Belt is 23-13 (.639) against the MAC dating back to last season. The Sun Belt captured the inaugural MAC-SBC Challenge with 15 wins across the 24 total matchups during the 2023-24 campaign, including 10 during the February 2024 home contests.
ABOUT TOLEDO
- Toledo enters this contest with a 14-8 recond, including a 14-4 record last season in the MAC. The Rockets recently won 87-74 over Buffalo at home, marking their fourth straight victory.Â
- Following their contest with JMU, Toledo will hit the road for two games and resume MAC action against Miami (OH) on Feb. 11 and Eastern Michigan on Feb. 15 before returning home to play Ball State.
- Toledo is led by Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk, who is in his twelfth season at Toledo for the Rockets and fourteenth overall in his career. Kowalczyk led Toledo to its fourth straight 20-win season and became only the second MAC program ever to win four consecutive outright league titles.
- Sonny Wilson leads the Rockets and is sixth in the MAC in points per game averaging 15.6 this season and 3.3 assists per game. Javan Simmons is sixth in the MAC in rebounds, averaging 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists, while also scoring 12.5 points per game.
- As a team, the Rockets are third in the MAC in field goal percentage (46.3) and fourth in points (79.1). Toledo is second in scoring in the MAC in overall games at 81.6 points per game on 46.3% shooting. The Rockets also boast the fifth-highest scoring margin behind Kent St. at 5.1.
LAST TIME OUT: LATE SPURT PUSHES DUKES PAST TROY
JMU 64, TROY 61 | FEBRUARY 5, 2025 | Box Score | Recap
- Down 61-59 with 1:18 to play, James Madison scored the final five points to take down Troy, 64-61, and win its fifth game in a row and move into a tie for second in the Sun Belt on Wednesday night inside the Atlantic Union Bank Center.
- Mark Freeman hit a free throw to bring the Dukes within one (61-60) and gave JMU (15-9, 8-4 SBC) the lead with a layup with 29 seconds left before Xavier Brown drew a charge on the defensive end and iced the game with a pair of free throws.
- Freeman finished with 13 points off the bench, while Brown tallied 12 points and a pair of rebounds. Bryce Lindsay and Elijah Hutchins-Everett paced the Dukes with 14 points apiece and Eddie Ricks III led JMU with six rebounds.
- The Dukes shot 21-of-48 (.438) from the field and made eight threes, paced by four from Lindsay – his ninth game with four or more this season. Hutchins-Everett knocked down 7-of-8 shots from the charity stripe and finished 3-of-3 from the field.
- The Dukes improved to 11-2 at home this season and are now 20-5 (.800) against Sun Belt foes since joining the league in 2022-23.
- JMU finished 14-of-19 from the free throw line against Troy on Wednesday and is shooting 78.3 percent at the charity stripe in Sun Belt games, second in the league behind Louisiana (80.2).Â
- AJ Smith (80.5), Elijah Hutchins-Everett (80.0), and Mark Freeman (78.9) all rank inside the top five in the Sun Belt in individual free-throw percentage. Hutchins-Everett finished 7-of-8 at the free throw line against the Trojans on Wednesday.Â
DEFENSE, BALANCED SCORING FUELING WINNING STREAK
- In its past five games, James Madison has held opponents to an average of 63.6 points per game and 39.9 percent shooting from the floor.Â
- Mark Freeman is averaging 18.4 points per game in that span while shooting 51.7 percent (31-of-60) from the floor and 10-of-28 (.357) from deep. He has scored at least 13 points all five games - including 29 points against Coastal on Jan. 30.Â
- Bryce Lindsay - who made his first career start against Old Dominion on Jan. 22 - has continued his stellar play, averaging 14.2 points per game in his last five. As of Feb. 6, he leads the Sun Belt in three-point percentage at 42.2 percent and ranks 33rd nationally in the same category.Â
- The Dukes have also shot 82.0 percent from the free-throw line in the last five games.Â
Players Mentioned
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