Miami RedHawks vs Toledo Rockets men's basketball preview: Will Toledo keep pace with MAC West leaders?

The Miami RedHawks travel to Savage Arena to face off against the MAC West leaders Toledo Rockets at 7 Eastern on Saturday night. The line is -11.5 for Toledo which I think is a fair estimate for this game. Three weeks ago I had Toledo towards the bottom of my rankings but a recent hot stretch has moved them up to four for me this week. After a three game losing streak to Northern, Buffalo and Ohio with two of those being at home, a switch went off. The Rockets have won three straight including two key road wins in hostile arenas at Buffalo and Kent State.

Miami has had a tough season to say the least. Eric Washington has been a great story scoring 14 points per game and shooting 43 percent from the field. The RedHawks were 6-5 playing at Dayton who is ranked #19 in the country and lost a heartbreaker by one. I had recapped that game and felt that it was going to inspire the team.

They went in another direction losing 10 games in a row including seven MAC games. It hasn't been all bad as they have won three of their last four victories taking down NIU, Bowling Green and Western Michigan. Their last game was not pretty beating the Broncos 45-44. The RedHawks really won the game at the line making 21 of 28 free throws as they really struggled from the field only making 11 of 33 shots from the field.

Toledo is coming off its biggest victory of the season defeating Buffalo 71-69 behind Jonathan Williams and Nathan Boothe. These two have been consistent scores for the Rockets and Boothe is a favorite for player of the year. It's important for Toledo to not overlook the RedHawks as this is a game in which they can themselves in the West.

Prediction for the game: Toledo 79, Miami 58