The previous time the University of Toledo men’s basketball team hosted a ranked team, it was Wally World making a stop at Savage Arena in 1999.
Twenty years since welcoming Wally Szczerbiak and No. 25 Miami (Ohio) to Toledo, the Rockets finally will have a home contest against a ranked opponent when No. 25 Buffalo comes to Savage Arena on Friday night.
It will mark the fifth time since the Rockets moved their games to Savage Arena that they will face a ranked opponent at home.
With Toledo at 20-4 overall and atop the Mid-American Conference West Division, the stars have aligned, as a good Toledo team gets to go toe-to-toe with one of the top teams in the league in Buffalo, which is tied for the MAC East lead with Bowling Green.
“Both teams are at the top of their divisions,” UT vice president and athletic director Mike O’Brien said. “These teams played for the conference championship last year in Cleveland. I think it is the perfect storm. We don’t have ranked opponents at Savage very often. This just happens to be a league opponent, which makes it that much better.”
Toledo coach Tod Kowalczyk said the history of ranked teams at Savage weighs little on his mind as the game against Buffalo approaches. But he is aware and appreciative of the support the Rockets program garners in the community.
“This community has supported this program over time,” Kowalczyk said. “I think people in this community know that this is a very good team. Obviously, we have a good opponent with a nationally ranked Buffalo team coming in. I like to think this is an easy sellout, as it should be.”
O’Brien hopes that his program is represented well Friday night, especially with it being a national broadcast on ESPNU.
“It’s a great opportunity for national exposure for our team, our university, and the city of Toledo,” O’Brien said. “It’s my hope that we show the national audience what great support we have with a tremendous atmosphere in Savage on Friday night.”
Here is a look at past ranked teams that have played at Savage Arena.
1999: Toledo 66, No. 25 Miami (Ohio) 63
In front of 7,526 fans, Toledo limited Szczerbiak to 18 points, six below his average. He started to turn it on late in the game, but missed a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
"I thought my last shot was good,” Szczerbiak said after the game. “I guess I was farther out than I thought.”
Justin Hall had 17 points for Toledo, and Art Norman added 13 points, as Toledo survived a back-and-forth game.
“The joint was jumping and every possession was a miniwar, every defensive stand a bit of a bloodbath,” Dave Hackenberg wrote in The Blade.
1986: No. 2 Purdue 89, Toledo 67
The Boilermakers, led by legendary coach Gene Keady, flexed their muscles at Toledo and proved how they were every bit as good as their No. 2 ranking.
“It was like putting a French poodle against a ‘pit bull.’ Suffice to say the Boilermakers deserve the No. 2 ranking,” The Blade’s John Bergener wrote.
St. Francis de Sales product Todd Mitchell led Purdue with 20 points.
“Purdue has 6-[foot]-8 kids running the floor like 5-11 guards,” UT senior Gary Campbell said. “Without a doubt, they’re the best team I’ve ever seen.”
1986: No. 14 Temple 75, Toledo 68
Jeff Haar did everything he could to keep Toledo in the game against John Chaney’s Owls. Haar had 23 points and 11 rebounds, and Mark German added 20 points.
“God, I wanted to win so bad,” Haar said after the game.
Temple was led by a 22-point effort from its star guard, Nate Blackwell.
“He and his Toledo teammates didn’t [win],” Bergener wrote of Haar. “But, oh, how they frightened No. 14 Temple before succumbing in the championship game of The Blade Classic.”
1976: Toledo 59, No. 5 Indiana 57
In the opening game at Centennial Hall (now Savage Arena), the Rockets shocked coach Bob Knight and visiting Indiana, snapping the defending champion Hoosiers’ 33-game winning streak.
“Wow, Rockets, What a Debut!” The Blade headline read the next day after a crowd of 9,662 watched the Rockets stun Indiana.
Stan Joplin led Toledo with 21 points, and Dick Miller added 14 points and 13 rebounds.
“Toledo just outplayed us and outhustled us,” Knight said following the game. “Hell, I’m not surprised at anything that happened. They’ve always played good defense. Bobby Nichols is a hell of a basketball coach.”
First Published February 12, 2019, 11:17 p.m.
