A University of Toledo men’s basketball team that was picked to finish in third place in the Mid-American Conference West Division, exceeded expectations and came one game shy of breaking a 38-year NCAA tournament drought.
The Rockets used a trip to Italy in the offseason to become closer as a team, and that paid dividends during the season. This year’s team was a group that genuinely enjoyed playing with each other. They won the West title and reached their first MAC title game since 2014.
After a dramatic 64-63 win Friday against Eastern Michigan in a MAC tournament semifinal, Toledo fell short against MAC regular-season champion Buffalo in a 76-66 loss in Saturday’s title game.