Kent State goes to Toledo Wednesday to play the team that has played by far the toughest schedule in the MAC.
It’s the second league game for both teams. KSU lost at Central Michigan 81-61 Saturday; Toledo lost at Ball State, 75-69.
The Rockets are 5-7 on the season. They lost their first six games, but look who they’ve played:
- No. 64 Arizona (lost 62-59 in Toledo).
- No. 2 Notre Dame (lost 74-39 in South Bend).
- No. 33 St. Bonaventure (lost 74-63 on the road).
- No. 17 Dayton (lost 83-57 in Toledo).
- No. 73 Virginia Commonwealth (won 80-61 at a neutral tournament).
- No. 70 Ball State (lost 75-69 away).
RealTimeRPI puts Toledo’s schedule strength at No. 30 in the country (of 349 Division I schools). Next highest MAC schools are Western Michigan at 97 and Ohio at 111.
Toledo’s RPI is 117, sixth among MAC schools. Ohio (9-3) is highest at 54; Eastern Michigan (10-2) is 68th. RPI is figured based on a team’s record, its opponents record and its opponents’ opponents’ record. Road wins are weighted and home losses are weighted more heavily.
Kent State (3-8) has the lowest RPI in the conference at 326 and a schedule strength of 271, ninth in the 12-team MAC.
Toledo won five in a row between its 0-6 start and Saturday’s loss to Ball State.
The Rockets have three players who average in double figures and a fourth who is just short. Five-foot-10 senior guard Brenae Harris scores 12.8 a game, 5-10 forward senior Ana Capotosto 12.2, 6-0 junior forward Janice Monakana 10.6 and 5-10 sophomore Jay Bravo-Harriott 9.8. Bravo-Harriott was MAC freshman of the year last season. Monakana is leading rebounder at 5.8 per game.
As a team, the Rockets are ninth in the conference in scoring at 65.0 per game (just behind KSU at 65.5) and seventh in defense at 66.2 (KSU is last at 71.8). They’re next to last in field goal defense (42.3 percent) to Kent (43.8). But you have to take into account their tough schedule in looking at the statistics.
Toledo makes 6.3 three-point shots a game and leads the conference in three-point percentage (35.3); KSU is last at 26.0 (4.3 per game).
KSU’s leading scorer is forward Jordan Korinek at 15.5 points a game, eighth in the conference. Larissa Lurken averages 14.7. Tyra James’ 14 points at Central Michigan moved her back into double figures in scoring at 10.3.
The game starts at 7 p.m. Audio starts at 6:45 on WHLO 640 and Golden Flash iHeart Radio. Video is on ESPN3; you can get live statistics through the Toledo website. You have to subscribe to ESPN to be able to see the online-only game.