Rockets improving despite inconsistency

If the Rockets take inventory of their strengths and weaknesses after roughly a quarter of the Mid-American Conference season is in the books, they will find that consistency is an element that they have yet to locate. Toledo heads into the series of cross-divisional games in the MAC with a 1-4 conference record after putting together back-to-back performances that illustrate the issue. The Rockets recently powered past Northern Illinois by a 71-41 score for their first MAC win, then came back three days later and scored just 38 points in a loss to Eastern Michigan. Toledo, on the rebound after back-to-back 4-28 seasons, has already demonstrated significant improvement. The 30-point victory over Northern Illinois was the Rockets' ninth win of the season. But as second-year head coach Tod Kowalczyk looks ahead and sketches out the plan for the rest of the MAC schedule, the consistency issue keeps popping up. The Rockets can be explosive and prolific one night, and then look out of sorts just a few nights later. Kowalczyk, whose team was 1-7 when it had scored 69 points or fewer, thinks the young group of Rockets allows some offensive shortcomings to bleed over into its performance in the defensive end of the floor. "I think it's inexperience and immaturity," Kowalczyk said. "We allow our offense to dictate our defense too much. Mature teams and veterans teams, they don't let the offense dictate how they defend." If the Rockets are going to get their house in order and become a more consistent team, offensively and defensively, they will have to get well against the teams from the MAC East Division. The Rockets play six straight games against the MAC East teams before the final round of league games against fellow West teams. NOTES, QUOTESPearson leads the way --Sophomore G Rian Pearson led the group of four Rockets who were averaging double-figure scoring through Jan. 22. Pearson ranked second in the conference with an average of nearly three offensive rebounds per game, and he was fourth in both scoring (15.9 ppg) and rebounding (7.9 rpg). --Junior G Dominique Buckley is Toledo's top shooter from long range, leading the Rockets with his 45.1 percent success rate from outside the arc through Jan. 22. Buckley is a Michigan native and one of the many transfers on the Toledo roster. He started his college career at Iowa State, playing 27 games for the Cyclones in the 2009-10 season. --The Rockets scored a 71-41 win over Northern Illinois on Jan. 18. The 30-point win was Toledo's largest margin of victory in a MAC game since an 88-58 win over Eastern Michigan early in 2006. BY THE NUMBERS: 14 -- Sophomore F Matt Smith led the Rockets with 14 blocked shots through Jan. 22. Smith, who is 6-foot-7, often gets matched up against bigger players due to Toledo's overall lack of size. Smith started his career at Wisconsin-Green Bay, transferred to Toledo and then sat out last season. QUOTE TO NOTE: "It's more a lack of execution and attention to detail. We have to do a much better job of understanding our principles and philosophies." -- Toledo coach Tod Kowalczyk, on what his team needs to do to improve in the MAC STRATEGY AND PERSONNELTHIS WEEK'S GAMES:--at Miami, Jan. 25KEY MATCHUPS: The Rockets face one of the MAC's most dangerous players in Miami senior F Julian Mavunga, who averages a conference-best 18.4 ppg and 9.6 rpg. He averages a league-leading 38.4 minutes per game. Toledo will likely give F Matt Smith and GF Reese Holliday both a turn at trying to check the 6-foot-8 Mavunga, but the Rockets' lack of size will be a detriment in this matchup. If Toledo focuses too much on Mavunga, Miami G Brian Sullivan can make the Rockets pay, since he was one of the top freshman 3-point shooters in the country at 45.7 percent through Jan. 22. --vs. Kent State, Jan. 28KEY MATCHUPS: The Rockets face the MAC's top program over the past decade, a team led by last season's MAC player of the year, senior F Justin Greene. Toledo F Matt Smith likely will be called on to face off with Greene, who was the top scorer in conference play with 18 points per game through Jan. 22. Toledo's G Rian Pearson could be matched up with Kent State senior G Michael Porrini, who was the only player ranked in the MAC's top 15 in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and blocked shots through Jan. 22. If the Rockets can slow down the talented Greene and the versatile Porrini, they would put themselves in position to win the game. FUTURES MARKET: Toledo expects its attention to the foul line to pay dividends both now and down the line. The Rockets entered the six-game swing against the teams from the MAC East Division ranked second in the conference from the line at 72.4 percent. The Rockets saw improved free-throw shooting and more opportunities as a key to improving the team. Toledo was making about 17 free throws per game through Jan. 22, while their opponents were hitting just 12 per game. Toledo G Dominique Buckley ranked second in the MAC from the line at 87.5 percent. PLAYER NOTES --Sophomore G Rian Pearson started his college career at Wisconsin-Green Bay, playing in 32 games in the 2009-10 season. After sitting out last year as a transfer, Pearson led the Rockets in both scoring and rebounding this season through Jan. 22. --Sophomore CF DeLino Dear apparently remains in head coach Tod Kowalczyk's doghouse. Dear, who started every game but one last season, was benched for disciplinary reasons in the Jan. 3 game with Indiana-Northwest. After playing 26 minutes against Central Michigan in the next game, Dear was on the floor for a combined 10 minutes in the next three games, and he did not play in the road loss to Eastern Michigan on Jan. 21.