The University of Toledo is in the middle of a Miami Valley trifecta.

        The Rockets are coming off last Saturday night's loss at the buzzer to Xavier. Tonight, they play the University of Cincinnati in the Gatorade Rock-N-Roll Shootout in Cleveland. Then they open their Mid-American Conference season against Miami on Wednesday.

        “That's not very smart scheduling, is it?” Toledo coach Stan Joplin said with a laugh.

UC vs. TOLEDO

• What: Gatorade Rock-N-Roll Shootout.   • When: 6 p.m. today.   • Where: Gund Arena (20,500), Cleveland.   • Records: Toledo 7-3, UC 9-2   • TV: Channel 19.   • Radio: WLW-AM (700).   TOLEDO   Player-Ht-Yr-Avg   Robierre Cullars-6-5-Sr.-12.6   Greg Stempin -6-8-Sr.-18.0   Craig Rodgers-6-11-Sr.-5.9   Nick Moore-6-1-So.-9.4   T. Reynolds-5-9-Fr.-16.2   Coach: Stan Joplin (72-51, fifth season; same overall)   CINCINNATI   Player-Ht-Yr-Avg   Leonard Stokes-6-6-So.-13.5   Jamaal Davis -6-9-Jr.-9.9   Donald Little-6-11-So.-7.7   Steve Logan-6-0-Jr.-12.1   Kenny Satterfield-6-2-So.-18.1   Coach: Bob Huggins (285-88, 12th season; 453-160 overall)   BY THE NUMBERS   • 14-7: Toledo's series lead over UC.   • 1990: Last meeting between the teams (Toledo won 84-72).   • 5-0: UC's record in the Rock-N-Roll Shootout.

        Toledo (7-3) has had a week to recover from its stunning loss to the Musketeers when Lionel Chalmers nailed a 25-foot jumper as time ran out.

        The Rockets attracted some attention in the past month because they were ranked No.1 in Jerry Palm's RPI.com listing. They have fallen to No.7 in the most recent RPI; UC is fourth.

        “I haven't been able to figure out that RPI yet,” Joplin said. “... Maybe I could take that to my contract negotiations.”

        The 19th-ranked Bearcats (9-2), riding a five-game winning streak, will face one of the top players in the MAC in Greg Stempin. The 6-foot-8 senior forward averages 18 points and is the No.13 scorer in Toledo history. He is on pace to finish with more than 1,600 career points.

        Stempin can score inside and outside and often brings the ball up court against full-court pressure.

        “I think he's gotten better every year,” Joplin said. “He's self-motivated. Sometimes he beats himself up a little bit too much.

        “He makes my job a lot easier. I don't know if I'll ever be able to recruit a player like Greg to have on my team again. He's the whole package: He's a very good student, he's a very good kid, and on top of that he's a pretty good basketball player.”

        Cincinnati assistant coach Dan Peters, who scouted Toledo, said Stempin is “obviously a key focal point,” but the Rockets' 3-point shooting is also a concern.

        Toledo is shooting .393 from beyond the arc. Four starters have at least 15 3-point field goals, and two are shooting better than 40 percent from long range. Peters said the Bearcats can't allow open looks at the basket from the perimeter.

        Stempin is one of three seniors starting. Center Craig Rodgers averages 5.9 points and 5.3 rebounds, and forward Robierre Cullars averages 12.6 and 5.3.

        “Cullars is a pretty good athlete,” Peters said. “He could throw up two airballs and then make three 3s in a row.”

        Terry Reynolds, a 5-9 freshman, has been the surprise of the season for the Rockets, averaging 16.2 points and 5.2 assists. It was two free throws by Reynolds with 3.9 seconds left that gave Toledo a one-point lead over XU.

        “He's quick,” Joplin said. “He can get to the basket and he can finish, and he can shoot the ball from the outside. So he presents some problems for people.”

        He says that, then talks about how Toledo will have its hands full defensively with Cin cinnati point guard Kenny Satterfield.

        “I'm disappointed that he didn't go pro last year,” Joplin said, again laughing. “That would've really helped us.

        “I don't know if we can match up with him. He's probably going to get 20 points. I hope he doesn't have one of those games like Tito Maddox had against us at Fresno, where he gets (19) points, 13 assists and (four) rebounds. That would really hurt.”

        Toledo's losses are to Xavier, Fresno State and St.Bonaventure. Joplin said the Rockets have a hard time against athletic teams, like the Bearcats. Rebounding, he said, will be a key tonight.

        “We have matchup problems all the way around,” he said. “This game is good for our program. Hopefully our kids will compete and try to keep the game close and hopefully win.”

        NOTE: Rodney Crawford's surgery went as expected Friday. He had two screws put into the break in his ankle, and the prognosis is he will be out six to eight weeks.

Toledo gets Cincinnati three-way

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