u200bu200bATHENS, Ohio — Tod Kowalczyk wasn’t just recycling coachspeak when he said the University of Toledo spent the holiday break improving its defense.
The Rockets went out and proved it, opening the Mid-American Conference schedule with a confidence-boosting 86-77 win at Ohio.
The Bobcats missed their first nine attempts to score — seven field goal attempts and two free throws — and turned the ball over twice. And that was all in the first 4 minutes, 16 seconds, as Toledo built a 13-0 lead.
The immediate defensive intensity was a departure from the passive, meek starts against Vermont and West Virginia, which sent UT into Christmas and the New Year with a two-game losing streak.