fallsdog
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Kent State vs. Ball State (MAC Quarterfinals)
After knocking off Northern Illinois at the buzzer the Golden Flashes advance to Cleveland to face Ball State in the second of four quarterfinal matchups on Thursday. The game should tip around 2:30, which would make for a potential happy hour celebration at Flannery's should KSU get it done. But first things first.
Central Michigan and Buffalo will get the MACTION going on Thursday. This game interests me. Buffalo is the obvious favorite. They have been crushing all recent comers, winning their last three by an average of 26 points. One team they didn't crush...Central Michigan. The Chips gave UB all they could handle before falling by 2 in mid February. The game will probably be played in front of (best guess) 1,300 fans which could make for a strange atmosphere.
The most intriguing game of the night will tip at 6:30 when Miami takes on Toledo. This game has the potential to draw some fans...particularly if the Miami alum show a little love and honor and get to the Q. Regardless, I think Toledo rolls into the semis.
As for the Flashes, what a long, strange trip its been. 13-13 overall, 9-9 in the conference with a win over Buffalo and losses to Akron and Northern Illinois. KSU and Ball State split the season series with each team winning at home. Ball State is pretty good. They have a few dangerous offensive weapons and as a team they can put up points in a hurry.
The big problem for Kent State is that BSU is simply better in the paint. 6'9 Center Trey Moses and 6'8 forward Tahjai Teague feasted on KSU in the last meeting. Staying out of foul trouble is key number 1 and probably key number 2 on Thursday afternoon. But you've gotta figure with they way BSU's season ended...Kent State has a real shot.
Go Flashes!
My predictions:
Buffalo over Central by 13
Ball State over Kent State by 9
Toledo over Miami by 4.5
Eastern over Akron by 14
(This post was last modified: 03-06-2018 01:24 PM by fallsdog.)
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03-06-2018 12:12 PM |
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burden
Heisman
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RE: Kent State vs. Ball State (MAC Quarterfinals)
Number one thanks for the predictions Fallsdog I’m calling my bookie Luigi right after I post this (I’m of Italian descent so I can use the stereotype).
Number two I heard last night the MAC tournament being in Cleveland for 19 years is the longest Conference tournament run in the same city other than the Missouri Valley in St. Louis. The Big East run in New York doesn’t count since the current Big East is a totally different conference that just bought the copyrighted name of the previous version.
Number three after looking at the crowds in various mid major tournaments (both men’s and womens) the attendance in Cleveland isn’t all that bad.
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03-06-2018 02:23 PM |
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fallsdog
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RE: Kent State vs. Ball State (MAC Quarterfinals)
Hey no problem burden. There was a time when I looked forward to predicting every KSU basketball game. Mostly because the Flashes were generally the favorite. And then one day a certain message board user called my predictions a curse!!
You have to figure if the Mid American Conference higher ups had their wish Buffalo, Kent State, Toledo and Akron would roll on Thursday. I'll tell you what, records aside that scenario could make for a nice environment on Friday.
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03-06-2018 02:43 PM |
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JimJoyce
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RE: Kent State vs. Ball State (MAC Quarterfinals)
I’ll take New York and Kent State in the afternoon games and UT and the nearby Polytechnic Institute in the evening session.
Until proven otherwise, EMU is a pretender when it comes to winning in the CLE.
(This post was last modified: 03-06-2018 04:20 PM by JimJoyce.)
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03-06-2018 04:19 PM |
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mmucha1986
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RE: Kent State vs. Ball State (MAC Quarterfinals)
akron vs kent state in mac final.. fitting for sure. a redo from that horrible mess last friday..
not gonna happen.. but fun to talk about :)
very much look forward to rooting-on our flashes in-person :)
wheels touch-down at 7AM thurs.
best of luck to the women tomorrow!
(This post was last modified: 03-06-2018 07:18 PM by mmucha1986.)
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03-06-2018 04:31 PM |
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GFlash68
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RE: Kent State vs. Ball State (MAC Quarterfinals)
My dark horse for the tournament is EMU. Not much of a dark horse is needed as they are talented and play that zone defense that will give any cold shooting team a fit.
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03-06-2018 05:06 PM |
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burden
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RE: Kent State vs. Ball State (MAC Quarterfinals)
(03-06-2018 02:43 PM)fallsdog Wrote: Hey no problem burden. There was a time when I looked forward to predicting every KSU basketball game. Mostly because the Flashes were generally the favorite. And then one day a certain message board user called my predictions a curse!!
You have to figure if the Mid American Conference higher ups had their wish Buffalo, Kent State, Toledo and Akron would roll on Thursday. I'll tell you what, records aside that scenario could make for a nice environment on Friday.
Only with the point spread.
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03-06-2018 06:03 PM |
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fallsdog
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RE: Kent State vs. Ball State (MAC Quarterfinals)
Let me throw back a couple Warsaw Mules while I watch Cleveland State and then I’ll give over/unders.
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03-06-2018 07:07 PM |
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AlphaFlash
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RE: Kent State vs. Ball State (MAC Quarterfinals)
Remember the good old days when we'd be thrilled to win 1 MAC Tourney game?
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03-06-2018 09:26 PM |
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fallsdog
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RE: Kent State vs. Ball State (MAC Quarterfinals)
Here is a little scouting report on Ball State University:
The Cardinals started the season 1-4. But, this included road losses to Oklahoma, Bucknell and Oregon. After that rocky start they went on a 9 game heater with wins over Indiana State, Valpo and Notre Dame. Their best stretch of Mid American Conference action came after a sub .500 start when they rattled off 5 wins in a row. What has followed??? A three game skid.
It is easy to see why this Kent State team was so close to the 4 seed. There really isn't a statistical category that stands out when you look at this BSU team. With that in mind, they are ahead of Kent State in most offensive categories, but that is no real surprise. Individually Moses and Teague are two of the top ten rebounders in the league and 6'7 sophomore Kyle Mallers leads the league in FT Percentage at 86%.
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03-07-2018 12:09 PM |
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mmucha1986
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RE: Kent State vs. Ball State (MAC Quarterfinals)
my take:
#1 need de la rosa to have a solid game & not get in foul trouble
#2 need de la rosa to have a solid game & not get in foul trouble
#3 zabo, pippen & avery be their usual awesome selves
#4 jaywalk - hot shooting night & keep doing a good job creating shots for others
#5 need de la rosa to have a solid game & not get in foul trouble
if we do this, we win.
x-factor: akiean frederick.. may have to sub-in for de la rosa if foul trouble. may need another strong performance from akiean frederick.
x-factor #2: zabo is back. 15 plus pts in each of the last 4 games. needs to keep that string going. can't disappear tomorrow (offensive production) or we're sunk.
(This post was last modified: 03-07-2018 01:39 PM by mmucha1986.)
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03-07-2018 01:30 PM |
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anti-zip
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RE: Kent State vs. Ball State (MAC Quarterfinals)
Coming into this season I thought this team would go as far as Jaylin Walker could take them. Walker hasn't taken the step up I was hoping but several others have stepped up this season. Zabo and AD made huge strides. However, we need Walker making shots if we're going to have a chance at running off three more wins. Last year we saw he's capable of carrying a team in a tournament hopefully he can step up again. He's been really off lately though. In the last 5 he's 6-35 from three. That has to change for us to have a chance.
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03-07-2018 08:46 PM |
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JimJoyce
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RE: Kent State vs. Ball State (MAC Quarterfinals)
That’s one thing I’ve never understood. We hear constantly how he has a “permanent green light.” Well I just don’t see what he’s done to earn that. It’d be one thing if he was a 43 percent career three point shooter. But he’s not. And I bet at least half those 35 attempts in the last five games have come with 20 seconds left on the shot clock or more.
This team, and certain players in particular, take far too many threes.
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03-08-2018 08:13 AM |
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burden
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RE: Kent State vs. Ball State (MAC Quarterfinals)
Here we go again. 39-39 at half time.
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03-08-2018 03:22 PM |
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anti-zip
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RE: Kent State vs. Ball State (MAC Quarterfinals)
Gotta get them off the offensive glass and get to their shooters in the corners.
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03-08-2018 03:34 PM |
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anti-zip
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RE: Kent State vs. Ball State (MAC Quarterfinals)
Three ridiculous calls on Pippen today... Great.
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03-08-2018 03:47 PM |
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Muskrat
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RE: Kent State vs. Ball State (MAC Quarterfinals)
Well, at least they avoided having a losing season.
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03-08-2018 04:40 PM |
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Old School Flash
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RE: Kent State vs. Ball State (MAC Quarterfinals)
(03-08-2018 03:47 PM)anti-zip Wrote: Three ridiculous calls on Pippen today... Great.
Agree completely! There were many other calls on drives to the basket where the replays showed no contact at all (or very very minor contact). Refs have to let the teams play at least a little. If the contact doesn't effect the shot at all then a foul call is ridiculous.
I'm not one to whine about refs much but this...sheesh!
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03-08-2018 04:45 PM |
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burden
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RE: Kent State vs. Ball State (MAC Quarterfinals)
Nice win today. Winning all these close games is obviously not just luck. They avoid the turnovers mainly due to Avery and don’t panic. I did get a little nervous when Ball St got such a good shot in the last second as another OT looked like it might happen but luckily the shot was missed. On to play Buffalo. Buffalo looked very good at times today but every time they looked like they were going to blow the game wide open they let CMU back in. Their the better team but they can be beaten. We will see tomorrow.
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03-08-2018 07:29 PM |
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FlashPan
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RE: Kent State vs. Ball State (MAC Quarterfinals)
ADR for once had very few turnovers. He was a cash cow today with BSU fouling him constantly. Chang ching with the foul shots by DLR. And Walker played much smarter today. Buffalo player 33 Perkins will be a handful. This will be a tough game tomorrow night to pull off.
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03-08-2018 08:43 PM |
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