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

Here is a quick look at Mountain Hawks.

Lehigh's offense has been paced by two guards, 6'5 senior Michael Ojo is averaging 17 points a game and 6'3 sophomore CJ McCollum is right behind him at 16.5 per game. Oddly enough, both players are also among the team's leading rebounders with McCollum averaging 7.5 and Ojo grabbing 5 per game.

Other players to watch are Gabe Knutson, a 6'9 sophomore who is averaging 8 points and 5.5 rebounds through 4 games, 6'2 freshman guard Anthony D'Orazio averages about 7.5 ppg and 6'0 freshman Mackey McNight is scoring 6.5 points per game.

Those are the numbers that jump out. A deeper look shows that:
1) The Mountain Hawks have 11 guys averaging 10 or more minutes per contest.
2) Only 3 of those players are 6'7 or bigger.
3) But they do have guys on the roster listed at 6'10, 7'1 and 6'8.
4) Both of Lehigh's wins have been at home (Wagner and Cornell) and they are 0-2 on the road (Penn State and Monmouth)

So what does all this mean? (like I have any idea) Here is what I think:

Justin Greene should be able to get to the basket. I would imagine that Lehigh will throw plenty of zone Kent's way and try to force the Flashes to shoot from distance. Along with that, Kent should be able to control the boards and out-muscle Lehigh in the paint.

The guards will clearly be challenged. I would expect Lehigh to be somewhat disciplined and to take care of the ball. They will probably be patient on offense, wait for Kent's defense to "break down" and score off of sharp cuts to the hoop.

In closing, as the house is starting to smell like Turkey, this looks like another good test for Kent State's guards. I think that their maturity will be tested but I am glad to see that Lehigh is young too. I would be more concerned if a veteran Patriot League team was coming into the MAC Center on Friday.

Prediction - Kent State 71 Lehigh 58