TOLEDO, OH - Toledo (3-9) opens its 57th Mid-American Conference campaign as well as defense of its 2006-07 MAC regular-season title on Sunday, Jan. 6 when it hosts Ball State (1-11). Tip-off time for the contest at Savage Hall is slated for 2:00 p.m.

The "Community Day" contest will feature tickets for just $2.00 and with Red Panda making a return trip to serve as halftime entertainment.

The Rockets have won their last three meetings vs. the Cardinals and also have won five straight over BSU at home by an average margin of victory of 17.2 points.

UT is coming off a 71-69 home triumph over Oakland last Saturday. Junior guard Tyrone Kent led the Rockets with 22 points, including a layup with three seconds left to give the Rockets the victory.

UT held a 52-35 advantage with 9:44 to play, but the Golden Grizzlies whittled away their 17-point deficit to tie the game at 67-67 with 1:02 to play. Kent quickly put Toledo back in front with a lay-in with 42 ticks left before Jones answered back seven seconds later with a jumper to set the stage for Kent’s heroics.

Kent leads the MAC averaging 18.8 points per game and also ranks second with 3.00 three-point field goals and third with 2.08 steals per game. Junior guard Jonathan Amos is averaging 12.2 points per contest and leads the conference with 3.08 steals per game.

As a team, Toledo is leading the conference in steals per game (9.33) and three-point FG% defense (.290).

Under first-year Head Coach Billy Taylor, Ball State is led offensively by senior guard Peyton Stovall’s 14.1 points per game. Junior forward Anthony Newell is averaging 21.0 ppg but just returned in Monday’s 69-62 win over IPFW after missing nine games due to a foot injury.

Stovall led the Cardinals to their first victory of the season vs. the Mastodons with a career-high 37 points. Newell added 18 points and seven boards in his return to the lineup.

The Cardinals rank last in the MAC in scoring offense (55.0), field-goal percentage (39.0), three-point FG% (27.2) and three-point field goals made (3.92). On an individual basis, Stovall ranks second in the conference with a 46.5 three-point field-goal percentage and is 10th in scoring.