The unofficial online home for fans of the Kent State University Golden Flashes. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

Usually the last game of both rounds of MAC play, Kent travels to Akron to open MAC play this Saturday. Akron has been playing well, especially since McKnight returned to action a couple of weeks ago. Akron is the deeper team, has more shooters than Kent State and surely has the more experienced roster. Kent's advantage seems to be athleticism, at least at a few positions.

In order for Kent to have a shot in this one I think we are going to need to see:
1) Force turnovers like crazy. I'll take Sherman, Porrini, Holt and Gaines against the Akron guards. Every time McNeese touches the ball, for example, he should be harassed.

2) Attack McKnight and Marshall all night long. Getting either of those clowns in foul trouble would be a big advantage. Plus, I don't see Kent beating anybody with the long ball in the near future. I would send Sherman to the rack, feed Greene whenever possible and even send Porrini to the block now and then. Anything Kent gets out of Manns, Nealy, Johnson or Leonard would be gravy.

Go Kent.

I would say the saying Akron is playing well is beyond generous. They have struggle to beat some really poor teams and haven't beaten a decent team yet. Here are their wins:

236 5-7 Youngstown St W 91-84 OT
202 7-7 @ Detroit W 77-69
218 4-10 @ UIC W 54-52
248 2-8 Bethune Cookman W 77-66 OT
144 6-8 vs UA Little Rock (1) W 75-61 57
204 4-8 vs Stetson (1) W 72-56
276 0-12 UA Pine Bluff W 87-60
180 5-11 Oral Roberts W 84-80

Combined record of these teams: 33-71
Best RPI win: 144-UA Little Rock

They had a hard time beating a very bad Oral Roberts team last night at home. They have looked better than getting humiliated by Temple, but what is better when you are playing Stetson and UA Pine Bluff?

They do have some gunners, but it looks like a soft team again. Without Guyton, the game is probably a toss-up at their place. We haven't adjusted yet to what our lineup will be down the road. They may well beat us, but they are not a good basketball team. I'm not sure one exists in the MAC right now.

This one makes me a little nervous. We have beaten better teams this year. WE should win. But Akron has the experience going for them.

One area where we might be able to pound Akron is on the glass. They have the second worst rebounding margin in the MAC at -4.9 while Kent is 3rd best at +1.9. I'm sure that Mcknight's return will help Akron in this area but it certainly hasn't made a huge difference just yet. In their last game they were out rebounded 39 to 20 by Oral Roberts. Hopefully we can take advantage of that.

They are not very could at rebounding, Zeke Marshall the 7 footer only averages 4.6 rebounds per game. By the way I saw Justin Manns yesterday and his dreads were all shaved off.

(01-04-2011 05:23 PM)pt1244 Wrote:  They are not very could at rebounding, Zeke Marshall the 7 footer only averages 4.6 rebounds per game. By the way I saw Justin Manns yesterday and his dreads were all shaved off.

Interesting... new haircut, new attitude = improved production? I hope so. He may be the key to whether or not this is a successful season.

Regardless of what happens Saturday, I think after 14 games I can deduce this KSU team can win the MAC Tournament Championship. However I feel like it can also completely miss any post-season berth. That's how schizophrenic it's been at times.

I wouldn't call Oral Roberts "very bad" at all. And it seems like the MAC put the division rivalries first. Start with a bang?

OK, fair enough on ORU. I can't call them good, though: a mid-pack Summit team battling Akron down to the wire on Akron's floor 12-13 games into the season is what they are. My point was that Akron is still struggling against teams that one would hope they would handle if they were one of the MAC's better teams.

Then again, becoming one the MAC's better teams this season may not be a very high threshold. It's not pretty anywhere.

Yep. I was looking over the composite schedule while writing the conference preview. I came to conclusion the conference's best win was BG @ St. Louis. Not much to write home about.

Has anything gone right this season so far for Kent State? In no particular order of importance, and to just name a few off the top of my head: Grimsley leaving, Nealey hurting, injuries, arrests, illness, one-game suspensions....Also, has anyone exceeded expectations? How many have even met expectations? This year could be a disaster if it weren't for the fact that the MAC is the weakest it's been in my memory.

I read Carducci's article this morning and because of the pressure and lack of experience in big games, I fully expect them to lose this one. Will I be happy about it? HELL NO. Will it be the end of their season? NO. They need to peak in March. With everything going on, keeping it close might be as good as a win.

I didn’t know what to expect at the beginning of the season. Just before MAC play, I still don’t. Am to the point of calling this a reloading year and letting what happens happen.

I’d be thrilled with a MAC opening win but am not going to make a prediction.

(01-05-2011 11:30 AM)The Flash Wrote:  They need to peak in March.

That's really the name of it. We could lose a good number of January games, win the rest the ugly way, then get hot in Feb. It happened to OU last year. Heck, they weren't even that hot in Feb. It happened to Buffalo -I think in 2004. Our team is immature now, but with the right combination of scenarios, they can mature real quick.

(01-05-2011 10:45 AM)Kent 76 Wrote:  Has anything gone right this season so far for Kent State? In no particular order of importance, and to just name a few off the top of my head: Grimsley leaving, Nealey hurting, injuries, arrests, illness, one-game suspensions....Also, has anyone exceeded expectations? How many have even met expectations? This year could be a disaster if it weren't for the fact that the MAC is the weakest it's been in my memory.

I think Rod Sherman's play has been a bright spot. It seems to me like he has flown under the radar a bit but he's quietly having a very good year. On the year he has an assist to turnover ratio of 1.55 and he's scoring a very respectable 1.39 points per shot. Last year he had an assist to turnover ratio of 1.1 and a points per shot of 1.1. Also, in the three games since Guyton went out his numbers look like this, 17.3 ppg, 5.3 apg, 3.7 rpg, 2 a:to, and 1.33 pps. To me this is impressive because more of the offensive load has been put on him and he has improved his assist to turnover ratio, started scoring more points, and not significantly dropped his points per shot.

However, I think the most impressive upgrade he's made in his senior year is his free throw shooting. He is leading the team in Ft percentage at .789. Coming into the year he was a career .637 ft shooter including a .643 average last year. Clearly he is having the kind of senior year we have come to expect which is great because several of last year's seniors did not.

I suspect Grimsely was strongly encouraged to find another place to play. Kind of shame in a way because an experienced forward would look really good right now.

I was wondering why all of the teams are opening with the rivalry so early.
http://www.recordpub.com/news/sports_article/4958450

If this team expects to compete for any title this season, the outside shooting had better improve in a very significant way. I have a lot of faith in Coach Ford, but this may be his biggest challenge.

Watching this team in warm ups with no hand in the face, make me think that we had better get a lot of dunks.

I was asked why I suggested a full-court press on the JMU thread. Kent State is a bit light on guards, but I don't worry about their conditioning. These guys were stars on HS and AAU teams. They did not come off the floor. I think that is where a lot of college coaches over-coach. They think it is a badge of honor if they play 10 guys.

I am not advocating a press in every situation, but it should be in the arsenal and used quite often against certain teams. Kent State does not have a good defensive big guy in the half court. I think guys like Johnson, Leonard and Manns could be better in a full-court game. Also, Gaines should be starting and playing 38 minutes a game just because of his defense.