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

Kent State welcomes #14 Buffalo to the MAC Center for a 6:30 tip on Friday. This is arguably the biggest home game the Flashes have hosted in a decade. Although Buffalo's loss to Northern Illinois may put their ranking in jeopardy, that won't be determined until next week and it has little to do with Friday's contest. The Golden Flashes have an opportunity to put an exclamation mark on a rough week for UB and more importantly on a big time conference home stand. But that is just fluff.

Buffalo is 17-2, 5-1 in the MAC while the Flashes are 15-4 with a 4-2 conference record. Buffalo has power 5 wins over West Virginia and Syracuse. KSU has power 5 wins over Vandy and Oregon State. All four of those were road victories. The Bulls also knocked off 16-3 San Francisco back in December.

UB is 9 deep but counts on 7 regulars including 6'3 senior CJ Massinburg, 6'7 senior Jeremy Harris and 6'8 senior Nick Perkins to do the heavy lifting. It seems like those 3 have been at UB for 8 years a piece. Massinburg was an all conference first teamer last year and is averaging 18 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists per game this season. If Buffalo should qualify for the NCAA tournament, he is the type of guard the nation would fall in love with...if only for a weekend.

While Massinburg and Harris run the backcourt, Perkins holds it down in the post. He averages 15 and 7 per game while also leading the team in blocked shots. Perkins was the 6th man of the year and an all MAC first teamer last season. Those guys, along with guard Dontay Caruthers and center Montell McRae make up a solid senior class for coach Nate Oats (who will be coaching somewhere else next year).

I hope the ride back home from DeKalb was as long as it was rough and the Bulls get their rear ends to class today and tomorrow before heading to Northeast Ohio. I hope the Flashes legs are fresh despite playing only 8 guys in last night's overtime victory and that they get out in transition, get back on defense and feed off the crowd.

burden---take the over!

GO FLASHES!

This team is 15-4 and plays hard. Jaylin Walker is the most exciting player we’ve had here in years. Can we get more than 2200 in the building to watch?

JimJoyce, I'm pretty sure they will get at least 3,000 for Buffalo, but if Kent State doesn't make a game of it, many will not be back the rest of the year.

(01-23-2019 10:51 AM)JimJoyce Wrote:  This team is 15-4 and plays hard. Jaylin Walker is the most exciting player we’ve had here in years. Can we get more than 2200 in the building to watch?

Part I) I know attendance has been lackluster and I know that many fans here have differing opinions as to why that is. I would say, though, that Tuesday was freezing. School closing freezing. Stay in your dorm with that special someone freezing. Saturday vs. NIU wasn't any better because of the impending storm. On top of this, KSU had a handful of home games while the students were on break, which doesn't help.

Part II) Follow the game on ESPN+, Twitter or IHear Radio freezing....wait a minute, I think this is part of the problem. We have become our own worst enemy!!! So many options. Why would I get dressed, leave my house and pay $10? I might actually have to....talk to someone!!! if I do that. And goodness forbid my phone dies....what would I do then?

Plus, is there even a hype guy anymore?

I surely didn’t mean for this to be hijacked into an attendance thread but if a poor performance against a Top-20 team keeps people from coming to future games, no marketing department or hype guy in the world can combat that kind of stupidity.

I just can’t believe you wouldn’t pay to see Jaylin Walker right now. Forget the league, he’s playing as well as anyone in the country. Same with football. People will pay hundreds to see Julian Edelman in an NFL game but couldn’t be bothered to see him at Dix Stadium for $6.

(01-23-2019 12:06 PM)JimJoyce Wrote:  I surely didn’t mean for this to be hijacked into an attendance thread but if a poor performance against a Top-20 team keeps people from coming to future games, no marketing department or hype guy in the world can combat that kind of stupidity.

I just can’t believe you wouldn’t pay to see Jaylin Walker right now. Forget the league, he’s playing as well as anyone in the country. Same with football. People will pay hundreds to see Julian Edelman in an NFL game but couldn’t be bothered to see him at Dix Stadium for $6.

Weather prevented me from driving 3 hr to the NIU game and weeknights are very tough to make - you're right about Walker and Edelman. I have fond memories of he and Cribbs running all over the place, in around and over opponents. I also remember K Mack and Lamar Hunt - eek. One thing about the MAC spills and thrills at discount prices from kids who mostly don't have futures as pros.

(01-23-2019 09:59 AM)fallsdog Wrote:  Kent State welcomes #14 Buffalo to the MAC Center for a 6:30 tip on Friday. This is arguably the biggest home game the Flashes have hosted in a decade. Although Buffalo's loss to Northern Illinois may put their ranking in jeopardy, that won't be determined until next week and it has little to do with Friday's contest. The Golden Flashes have an opportunity to put an exclamation mark on a rough week for UB and more importantly on a big time conference home stand. But that is just fluff.

Buffalo is 17-2, 5-1 in the MAC while the Flashes are 15-4 with a 4-2 conference record. Buffalo has power 5 wins over West Virginia and Syracuse. KSU has power 5 wins over Vandy and Oregon State. All four of those were road victories. The Bulls also knocked off 16-3 San Francisco back in December.

UB is 9 deep but counts on 7 regulars including 6'3 senior CJ Massinburg, 6'7 senior Jeremy Harris and 6'8 senior Nick Perkins to do the heavy lifting. It seems like those 3 have been at UB for 8 years a piece. Massinburg was an all conference first teamer last year and is averaging 18 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists per game this season. If Buffalo should qualify for the NCAA tournament, he is the type of guard the nation would fall in love with...if only for a weekend.

While Massinburg and Harris run the backcourt, Perkins holds it down in the post. He averages 15 and 7 per game while also leading the team in blocked shots. Perkins was the 6th man of the year and an all MAC first teamer last season. Those guys, along with guard Dontay Caruthers and center Montell McRae make up a solid senior class for coach Nate Oats (who will be coaching somewhere else next year).

I hope the ride back home from DeKalb was as long as it was rough and the Bulls get their rear ends to class today and tomorrow before heading to Northeast Ohio. I hope the Flashes legs are fresh despite playing only 8 guys in last night's overtime victory and that they get out in transition, get back on defense and feed off the crowd.

burden---take the over!

GO FLASHES!

Kent St. 8, Buffalo 6 in a defensive struggle

Burden, a score Bill Musselman would have loved when he coached at Ashland. He once said that his goal was to hold the opponent scoreless.

It’s like Elton is one of us...only he doesn’t have any answers or come out and place any blame.

https://www.cleveland.com/sports/2019/01...s-low.html

Shout out to the good people in and around Athens.

You read the article and you think somehow the last 2-3 paragraphs must have been cut off. That would be the part where there’s some insight as to why this is happening and/or what the solutions are. But that’s really asking too much of EA.

It seems obvious: attendance is down all across the country, but in the MAC it’s more noticeable because it wasn’t that great to begin with. And it’s down because students and alums and locals have many more modes of entertainment available to them. And even for the students and fans who love hoops, it’s pretty nice to be able to stream the game on your iPad or laptop or on the 60” 4K TV in your living room.

Some MAC grad friends and I used to make the 2-3 hours drive to see games in Oxford, Muncie, BG, Toledo, and Kent several times a year. No longer. Now we gather in a living room and save a lot of time and money and get a great view of the game somewhere on the ESPN platforms or CBSSN, etc. It’s not really a difficult decision.

The MAC boned everyone with the TV contract. But will Elton mention that or even ask someone at those offices about its effect on football and basketball? Hell no.

I've attended 5 games this year including the Toledo game Tuesday night. I'm enjoying the season. I drive up from Canton.

I had to walk across Summit through snow and ice (not complaining, it's winter) just like everyone else. $10 for a ticket (very reasonable in my opinion).

I'm staying home Friday night to watch the game on CBS Sports Net. If the Toledo game had been on a television channel I currently subscribe to I would have stayed home and watched that game from my home.

As far as the football comments go, I think people want to see winning teams, not just individual players.

Ehh that’s not necessarily true, either. Because we still didn’t draw in 2012 as a Top-25 team. And this basketball team is 11 games over .500 and ranked seventh in the league in attendance. Seventh.

(01-24-2019 10:36 AM)pembroke1246 Wrote:  I've attended 5 games this year including the Toledo game Tuesday night. I'm enjoying the season. I drive up from Canton.

I had to walk across Summit through snow and ice (not complaining, it's winter) just like everyone else. $10 for a ticket (very reasonable in my opinion).

I'm staying home Friday night to watch the game on CBS Sports Net. If the Toledo game had been on a television channel I currently subscribe to I would have stayed home and watched that game from my home.

As far as the football comments go, I think people want to see winning teams, not just individual players.

Individual players are all the NBA markets. Houston doesn’t play the Lakers it’s Harden vs. LeBron. Personally I think sports as us older folks know it are dying. Fantasy sports, free agency (including college sports)and a public that moves around the country at will has really reduced the number of people that root for the home team or alma mater. The fact that it is male dominated (a few place kickers and sideline reporters aren’t going to change that) and the concusion problem don’t help any. I just read that Maricopa Community College just dropped football due to insurance costs (they have been national champions a few years). I also read an article stating they are very close to having a simple blood test to find out if a player has brain damage due to concussions. I can’t imagine a player continuing to play after being diagnosed with that. That will kill football, soccer and hockey or at least change the games tremendously.

(01-24-2019 12:17 PM)burden Wrote:  Individual players are all the NBA markets. Houston doesn’t play the Lakers it’s Harden vs. LeBron. Personally I think sports as us older folks know it are dying. Fantasy sports, free agency (including college sports)and a public that moves around the country at will has really reduced the number of people that root for the home team or alma mater. The fact that it is male dominated (a few place kickers and sideline reporters aren’t going to change that) and the concusion problem don’t help any. I just read that Maricopa Community College just dropped football due to insurance costs (they have been national champions a few years). I also read an article stating they are very close to having a simple blood test to find out if a player has brain damage due to concussions. I can’t imagine a player continuing to play after being diagnosed with that. That will kill football, soccer and hockey or at least change the games tremendously.

I agree with the bold faced portion 110%. Whether you call it the look at me mentality, the ESPN mentality or simply call it players branding themselves to ensure paydays...it is taking over at many levels.

I have a great book in my personnel library where Joe Paterno (I know, I know...) talks about why he doesn't believe in, let alone attend, signing day ceremonies. I will do my best to paraphrase...why should a 17 or 18 year old boy who is about to come to State College and get the snot beat out of him until he catches up get a false sense of importance?


The italicized portion frustrates me because I believe that simple changes to HS, NCAA and Professional football could really help minimize head injuries. One change that I am sure will not be popular is to slow the darn offenses down.

Running 100+ plays a game with receivers coming across the middle leads to collisions taking place in open space that have not helped the game. I am not saying that teams should get back to 3 yards and a cloud of gas but it wouldn't hurt.

BEAT BUFFALO!

I think Elton needs to look up the word "notoriety" in his dictionary.

I'm 74 years old and I could write a large book on the changes in basketball and football I've noticed. Some for the better, some for the worse, some neutral. ESPN, in my opinion. did more harm than good.

If the media coverage for MAC sports around the league is as bad as it is in northeast Ohio, most potential fans know nothing about the MAC, its teams or its players.

To have a shot in this one we're going to have to shoot it well from the perimeter and hold our own on the glass. Rebounding is starting to become an issue. In the non conference season we grabbed 71.6% of the available rebounds on the defensive end and 32.4% of the available rebounds on the offensive end. Both pretty respectable. So far during conference play those have dropped to 62.7% on the defensive end and 30.4% on the offensive end.

I'll be very curious to see how we handle Perkins. His size and mobility always makes him a really difficult matchup. I'm afraid AK and Whittington don't have the lateral quickness to stay in front of him and Williamson or Peterson would get bulled over in the post. Physically, Duling might be our best matchup but he seems to have fallen out of the rotation and his defense has been sporadic. I'm afraid if Whittington spends too much time on Perkins he's going to pick up a lot of fouls... then again, he probably would anyways.

Also, Toledo started the game off killing us in the pick and roll, in large part because we hedge aggressively and often double the dribbler up top. Perkins is significantly more mobile than Toledo's center, so if we haven't fixed the pick and roll defense he could be in for a big night.

One other comment, getting off to a better start could be key. In my opinion part of why we've seen some ugly starts is we haven't been getting Walker involved early. I hesitate to put it on Walker because clearly letting the game come to him is working... but running some plays designed to get him good looks early might help him get going a little earlier. Against Toledo Walker's first shot came at the 11:29 mark of the first half. He didn't score his first points until 8:58. Against EMU he only attempted 3 shots in the first half. I'm worried if that happens again we might find ourselves in a big hole early.

Two pretty good pieces on Cleveland dot com today. Terry Pluto wrote an interesting story about Coach Senderoff and Mr. Alexander wrote a UB/game preview. Tonight's guest of honor is Evan Williams! Get it done boys.

I believe Elton is incorrect about Memphis State being the last to come to Kent State. Ball State was ranked when they came, and lost, in 1989 (give or take a year).

Walker is just silly.