2023 MAC Men's Basketball Championship Semifinals

No. 1 Toledo 82, No. 5 Ohio 75
Box Score
Toledo Press Conference
Ohio Press Conference

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Junior guard RayJ Dennis scored 28 points to lead No. 1 seed Toledo to an 82-75 victory over No. 5 seed Ohio in the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on Friday.

Toledo (27-6) will now face the winner of the Kent State-Akron game in the MAC Championship Game Saturday night (7:30 p.m. ESPN2). The Rockets, winners of 17 straight games, will be playing in the league title game for the first time since 2018. UT tied its school record with 27 victories set previously in the 2013-14 season, and its 17-game winning streak is tied for the longest in the nation with Oral Roberts.

Dennis, the MAC Player of the Year, connected on 11-of-20 shots from the field, was 5-of-6 from the free throw line and grabbed six rebounds. Time and time again he came through with big baskets whenever the Rockets needed it. He was joined in double figures by junior guard Dante Maddox Jr., who scored 20 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

Toledo shot 51.8% from the floor, its eighth-straight game over 50 percent, while holding the Bobcats to just 38.6%. Ohio out-rebounded the Rockets, 43-29, but could only convert its 20 offensive rebounds into 14 second-chance points.

Toledo trailed in the early going but used a 17-4 run to take a 37-31 lead at halftime. Ohio (19-14) pulled to within one point, 42-41, early in the second half but could never catch the Rockets. Toledo, which built the lead to as much as 11 points, sealed the win by connecting on 17-of-23 free throws in the second half after not attempting any in the first 20 minutes.