Toledo’s patience paid off.
The Rockets spent the spring and summer bolstering their nonconference men’s basketball schedule in hopes of building an at-large NCAA tournament resume. They held an open date for a ranked opponent in a Power Five conference.
Or as they’re referred to in the industry — a guarantee game.
Toledo had been in contact with Arkansas earlier in the summer about a potential one-off game in Fayetteville, Ark., but the Razorbacks weren’t interested. But as UT searched for an opponent, Arkansas was the team that kept coming up. So the programs kept in contact.