MAC Tuesday 2/25

[hellah10]

KENT - MARSHALL STUFF

KENT - MARSHALL STUFF

Kent State Meets Marshall in Crucial MAC Showdown
February 24, 2003

The Kent State University men?s basketball team (18-6, 11-4 MAC) and Marshall University (11-12, 7-7 MAC) each look to get back into the win column after dropping their ESPN Bracket Buster games last Saturday. The Golden Flashes and Thundering Herd meet Tuesday, Feb. 25, in the Cam Hnderson Center (9,043) at 7:30 p.m. in Huntington, W.Va.

Kent State is coming off a 79-78 loss to the University of Hawaii on Saturday, while Marshall lost to Illinois State University 57-53. The Golden Flashes have lost four of the last five games, while the Herd has lost two straight.

A win for the Golden Flashes would sweep the season series with Marshall. Kent State knocked off the Herd 71-58 at the M.A.C. Center Jan. 18. The Flashes are also looking to maintain a 1/2-game lead over Miami University in the MAC East Division, while trying to keep pace in the overall MAC race, which Central Michigan leads a 1/2-game over Kent State.

The Golden Flashes recorded the best season in Mid-American Conference history last year, posted a 30-6, 17-1 MAC record, with a second consecutive MAC Tournament crown, and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament with wins over three ranked opponents.

SERIES HISTORY VS. MARSHALL

Kent State and Marshall have met a total of 47 times in their history, with the Thundering Herd holding a 25-22 advantage in the all-time series. Kent State swept three games from Marshall last season, including the most recent meeting, a 82-70 KSU win, in the quarterfinal round of the 2002 MAC Tournament. The Golden Flashes have won six straight in the series, with Marshall?s last win coming Jan. 8, 2000, a 90-80 decision in Huntington, W.Va. Kent State holds a 16-7 record against the Herd in games at the M.A.C. Center, including wins in six straight.

SCOUTING MARSHALL

The Thundering Herd comes into Tuesday?s game with a 11-12 (7-7 MAC) record, having lost two in a row. Marshall dropped its ESPN Bracket Buster Saturday game at home to Illinois State University 57-53. Marshall?s last win was a 74-58 victory over the University of Akron (Feb. 12).

Ronald Blackshear had 16 points to pace the Herd in the loss to Illinois State. Blackshear is averaging 21.4 points per game, ranking fifth in the MAC. He also leads the conference in free throw shooting (.883) and three-point makes per game (3.61). Marvin Black had 12 points and 18 rebounds in Saturday?s loss. On the year he is totaling 12.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Black is fifth in the league in rebounding.

Greg White (Marshall ?82) enters Tuesday?s game with a 112-81 (.580) record in his seventh year with the Thundering Herd. He is 231-235 (.496) in his 17th year overall.

For more information on the Thundering Herd, log onto www.HerdZone.com.

KENT STATE VS. THE MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE

The Golden Flashes have a 317-442 (.418) Mid-American Conference record in 51 seasons since joining the MAC in 1952, with one MAC Championship and three MAC Tournament titles. Kent State holds a 398-551 (.419) all-time record against teams currently competing in the MAC, with over .500 records against the University of Akron, the University at Buffalo and Central Michigan University. Since the 1998-99 season, Kent State is 67-21 (.761) in MAC regular season games. Including conference tournament games, the Golden Flashes have won 47 of the last 57 games against MAC opponents.

HEAD COACH JIM CHRISTIAN

Jim Christian (Rhode Island ?88) is 18-6 in his first season as head coach at Kent State following one season as the top assistant under former head coach Stan Heath. Christian also spent three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh, one season at Miami University, a year at Western Kentucky University and two seasons at St. Francis (Pa.) University. As the lead assistant during the 2001-02 season, Christian played a key role in directing Kent State to the most successful campaign in MAC history.

Christian is assisted by Geno Ford (Ohio ?97), Rob Senderoff (Albany ?95), Rob Murphy (Central State ?96) and Ryan Pedon (Wooster ?00).

2002-03 CO-CAPTAINS

Kent State?s 2002-03 co-captains are senior forward Antonio Gates (Detroit, Mich./College of the Sequoias [Calif.]) and senior guard Anthony Wilkins (Cleveland, Ohio/Gulf Coast [Fla.] C.C.).

WHAT?S WITH SATURDAYS?

Kent State has six losses on the year, five coming on Saturday. The Golden Flashes are 8-5 on the last day of the week, but have a perfect 4-0 record in games that start at 7 p.m. Of Kent State?s five Saturday losses, four have come on 2 p.m. starts. The Flashes? scoring margin in those 7 p.m. tipoffs is +11.0, while in all other Saturday tips KSU?s scoring margin is +0.2.

MAC 0-FOR-BRACKET BUSTER

The Golden Flashes closed the MAC-portion of the Bracket Buster with a one-point loss to the University of Hawaii, and the other three MAC teams participating in the event did not fare well, either. Marshall University lost at home to Illinois State University 57-54, Ball State University was dropped at Western Kentucky University 84-79 and Bowling Green State University stumbled at the University of Illinois-Chicago 83-72, making the MAC 0-for-4 on the day. The Western Athletic Conference was 1-3 on the day, while the Missouri Valley Conference was the biggest Bracket Buster winner, going 4-0.

GATES SELECTED TO ALL-DISTRICT TEAM

Senior forward Antonio Gates (Detroit, Mich./College of the Sequoias [Calif.]) was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District first team Feb. 18. The 150 student-athletes from 15 districts are now eligible for the NABC Division I All-America Team to be named at the conclusion of the 2002-03 season. Joining Gates on the All-District 10 first team were David West from Xavier University, Chris Thomas and Matt Carroll from the University of Notre Dame and Purdue University?s Willie Deane.

THANKS FOR THE HOSPITALITY

Kent State has had tremendous shooting success in opposition arenas this season. On the year, the Golden Flashes are shooting .511 in road games, while limiting their opponents to .423 shooting. Kent State has outshot its opponent in 11-of-13 road games. Conversely, the Golden Flashes are allowing teams to shoot .456 at the M.A.C. Center, while hitting .494. And when the win over Urbana University is removed, the opposition is shooting .473 at the M.A.C. Center.

GOLDEN FLASHES ONE OF TOP SHOOTING TEAMS IN NATION

Kent State is fourth in three-point shooting and is seventh in field goal percentage according to the latest NCAA statistical release. The Golden Flashes are shooting .503 (666-of-1,323) from the floor and .415 (179-of-431) from three-point range, one of just six Division I teams that rank in the nation?s top-30 in both categories (see list below).

The Golden Flashes trailed Creighton University in field goal shooting, behind by 1.6 percent through the games of Feb. 17. Kent State trails Illinois State University by 1.2 percent in three-point shooting.

Kent State has shot .500 or better from the field in 15-of-24 games this season, and over .400 from beyond the arc in 15 games as well.

KENT STATE IN FEBRUARY

Since the start of the 1998-99 season, the Golden Flashes have posted a 29-9 (.763) mark during the month of February. Last season, Kent State was in the middle of its MAC-record 21-game winning streak, posting a perfect 8-0 mark in February 2002. Kent State is 4-4 in February 2003.

CHRISTIAN FARING WELL AMONG ROOKIE COACHES

Jim Christian is off to the second best start of any rookie coach in Division I in their first year as a head coach this season. Christian has compiled a 18-6 record for a winning percentage of .750, behind Ray Lopes from Fresno State University who is 19-6 (.760). The list includes all coaches making their head-coaching debut at the start of the 2002-03 season. The all-time best start by a rookie coach was established by Norman Shephard, who led the University of North Carolina to a 23-0 record in 1923-24. Bill Guthridge, also of North Carolina, set the first-year wins total record with 34 in 1997-98.

BIG M.A.C.C. ATTACK

Kent State has made M.A.C. Center a tough place to play since the start of the 1997-98 season. The Golden Flashes have posted a 69-9 (.873) record, including a 56-7 (.889) mark since the start of the 1998-99 season. Kent State, which has gone undefeated at home three times in the modern era (since World War II), is averaging 4,662 fans at home this season, fourth in the MAC.

KENT STATE RECORDS WATCH

Please see complete records information on page 14 of the game notes.

? Junior center John Edwards (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) set two records with his six blocks against the University at Buffalo (Feb. 18). Edwards matched the KSU single-game mark, first set by Tony Banks Feb. 9, 1990 against Wright State. Edwards also established the school?s single-season blocked shots record, now with 39 on the year, passing John Whorton?s record from 1997-98. Edwards is now third all-time in blocks with 94, 13 behind Whorton?s 107.

? Junior guard Eric Haut (Lansing, Mich./Walter French Academy) is putting together one of the finest three-point shooting season in KSU history. He has 72 three-point field goals this year, third on the single-season list and is hitting .456 which ranks fourth in a season. He also has 114 career treys, eighth all-time.

? Sophomore center Nate Gerwig (Pittsburgh, Pa./Schenley) has appeared on the single-season field goal percentage list now that he is over 100 attempts on the year. He is shooting .667 (80-of-120), easily first in a season. If Gerwig eventually qualifies (500 attempts needed), he will obliterate the career mark of .594 set by Whorton. Gerwig is hitting .673 (144-of-214) in his career.

 

[hellah10]

KSU AMONG NATION?S ELITE LAST FIVE SEASONS

Since the start of the 1998-99 season, Kent State ranks 11th nationally with a .765 winning percentage (117-36) and is 13th in total victories for the highest marks among MAC schools. Duke University tops both lists with 149 wins and a .887 winning percentage.

The following rankings are through games of Feb. 16, 2003.

FLASHES BEST IN MAC LAST FIVE YEARS

Since the start of the 1998-99 season, Kent State has posted the most overall victories (118) and best overall winning percentage (.761) in the MAC, as well as the most MAC wins (67) and highest MAC winning percentage (.761). Ball State is second with 90 overall victories, while Bowling Green has the second-most MAC wins with 54.

The Golden Flashes? 100 wins over four years (1998-2002) tied the MAC record set by Ball State University from 1988-92.

20 WINS AGAIN? ... GOING FOR FIVE

Kent State currently has a streak of four consecutive 20-win seasons, which marks the sixth time a MAC team has won 20 games in four or more straight years. Most recently, Eastern Michigan University accomplished the feat with 20-plus win seasons from 1994-98. The Golden Flashes are two wins shy of equaling the record, set by the University of Toledo (1976-81) and tied by Ball State University (1988-93), with five consecutive 20-win seasons Kent State?s 30 wins last season broke the MAC record of 29 set by Ball State in 1988-89.

GOLDEN FLASHES WINNING THE CLOSE ONES

The Golden Flashes are 12-5 this season in games decided by 10 points or less and 7-3 in games decided by five points or less. Kent State is also 13-2 this year when leading with five minutes left. Since the start of the 2001-02 season, the Golden Flashes are 21-8 in 10-point games and 14-6 in five-point contests.

ESPN BRACKET BUSTER SATURDAY

The Golden Flashes competed in the inaugural "Bracket Buster Saturday," a made-for-television event set up by ESPN, on Feb. 22 at M.A.C. Center. Kent State hosted the University of Hawaii, in one of nine games put together in an effort to bolster "mid-major" programs? chances for an NCAA Tournament at-large selection. The Golden Flashes and Rainbow Warriors played to a national television audience on ESPN2. The other matchups in the Bracket Buster were: Fresno State at Creighton, Northern Iowa at Louisiana Tech, Illinois State at Marshall, Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Southern Illinois, Ball State at Western Kentucky, Bowling Green at Illinois-Chicago, Detroit at UC-Santa Barbara and Tulsa at Gonzaga.

BROWN BREAKS OUT

Freshman forward Clif Brown (Ferndale, Mich./Ferndale) had a breakout performance against the University at Buffalo. He scored a career-best 19 points on 8-of-9 (.889) shooting. He has hit 17 of his last 21 (.809) field goals and is 22-of-28 (.786) on the year.

KENT STATE RETIRES FOUR JERSEYS

At halftime of the Miami game Feb. 3, the Kent State athletics department honored the four members of last year?s men?s basketball senior class by retiring their jerseys. Honored were Trevor Huffman (24), Andrew Mitchell (12), Demetric Shaw (10) and Eric Thomas (40). During their careers, the quartet led the Golden Flashes to three NCAA Tournament appearances, one NIT bid and a four-year record of 100-31, the most wins in any four-year period in MAC history.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME

The Golden Flashes have made Gund Arena a home away from home, having won their last eight consecutive games at The Gund. The current streak includes the 2002 Rock-N-Roll Shootout against Boston College, three games at the 2002 MAC Tournament, the 2001 Rock-N-Roll Shootout against Cleveland State University and another three games at the 2001 MAC Tournament. Kent State?s only other game at The Gund was a 69-68 setback against Ohio University Mar. 5, 2000.

RECORD MAC REGULAR SEASON STREAK SNAPPED

With its 60-52 win at Miami University Jan. 8, the Golden Flashes set a Mid-American Conference record with their 17th consecutive regular-season MAC victory. But the streak came to an end Jan. 11 when Kent State lost 78-74 to Bowling Green. The previous mark of 16 games was owned by Miami University, set from the 1956-57 to 1958-59 seasons.

GOLDEN FLASHES TAKE FIFTH STRAIGHT IN OT

Kent State has been tough to beat in recent years, and even tougher when extra time is needed. With its wins over Southwest Missouri State University Nov. 30 and Boston College Dec. 28, the Golden Flashes have won five in a row in overtime. KSU was a perfect 2-0 in overtime games last season, including a 78-73 OT victory in the Sweet 16 over the University of Pittsburgh. The Golden Flashes last loss in overtime was a 89-85 setback to Cal-State Northridge in the Blue & Gold Coca-Cola Classic, Dec. 1, 2000.

GATES NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK

For the second week this season, senior forward Antonio Gates (Detroit, Mich./College of the Sequoias [Calif.]) was named the Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week (Dec. 30). Gates was also named "Player of the Week" by ESPN.com?s Andy Katz, in his "The Weekly Watch" column. Gates scored a career-best 32 points to go along with nine rebounds and three assists in the Flashes? lone game during the week. He also played 43 minutes in KSU?s OT win and was 11-of-18 (.611) from the field and 9-of-10 (.900) from the line.

Gates was also named the MAC East Player of the Week Dec. 16 after he narrowly missed posting the first triple-double in school history with 20 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds in a win over Cleveland State University.

HAUT TABBED MAC EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Junior guard Eric Haut (Lansing, Mich./Walter French Academy) was named the Mid-American Conference East Division Player of the Week for the third week of the 2002-03 season. He averaged 21.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 steals in the Golden Flashes wins over the University of Rhode Island and Illinois State University. He shot a combined .708 (17-of-24) from the floor during the week and had back-to-back career-scoring highs with 21 points at URI and 22 points against ISU.

RECORD-BREAKING 2001-02 SEASON

The Golden Flashes are coming off the best season in school and Mid-American Conference history, in which they posted a 30-6, 17-1 MAC record during the 2001-02 campaign. Following is a recap of Kent State?s accomplishments from the record-breaking season:

? Captured KSU?s second consecutive Mid-American Conference East Division championship ? Claimed third MAC Tournament title in the last four years ? Earned second straight berth in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament with wins over three ranked opponents ? Won a MAC-record 30 games ? Posted a MAC-record 21-game winning streak ? Won a MAC-record 17 conference games and claimed the league title by a record five games ? Finished the season ranked 12th in the ESPN/USA Today Top-25 poll

GATES NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-MAC TEAM

Senior forward Antonio Gates (Detroit, Mich./College of the Sequoias [Calif.]) has been named to the 2002-03 Preseason All-MAC East Division Team as voted upon by the MAC News Media Association. He enters the season as an All-America candidate after averaging 16.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, earning All-MAC second-team honors a year ago. Also on the Preseason All-MAC Team are Ohio University senior forward Brandon Hunter, University of Akron junior guard Andy Hipsher, Marshall University junior guard Ronald Blackshear and Miami University junior guard Juby Johnson from the East Division with Ball State senior forward Theron Smith, Central Michigan University junior center Chris Kaman, Eastern Michigan University junior guard Ricky Cottrill, University of Toledo senior guard Nick Moore and Western Michigan University senior guard Robby Collum from the West Division.

GATES EARNS NATIONAL PUBLICITY

Senior forward and All-America candidate Antonio Gates (Detroit, Mich./College of the Sequoias [Calif.]) has gained national publicity as one of the top "mid-major" players in the country. In an ESPN.com survey of 170 Division I coaches and players, Gates was chosen as the fifth-toughest player on any mid-major team with four percent of the vote. Western Kentucky University center Chris Marcus received 27 percent to lead University of North Carolina at Wilmington?s Brett Blizzard. Ball State forward Theron Smith (11) and Creighton University?s Kyle Korver (9) were ranked third and fourth, while Gonzaga University forward Cory Violette (3) was sixth. Gates was also chosen by Dick Vitale in his 2002-03 Vitale V-Lists as one "Five Toughest Mid-Major PTPers." Gates was joined by Marcus, Violette, Ohio University forward Brandon Hunter and University of Tulsa?s Kevin Johnson on the list.

Gates was also featured in ESPN The Magazine?s college basketball preview issue in the section highlighting five versatile players that can play virtually everywhere on the floor. He was joined in the section by Nick Collison from the University of Kansas, Julius Hodge from North Carolina State University, the University of Florida?s Matt Bonner and Ryan Sidney from Boston College

 

[TIME TO MAKE $$$]

On Toledo ,

GL!

 

[hellah10]

Adding...

Kent St -1.5 1st Half ..... I think I have lost every single 1st Half bet I have placed with Kent, not tonight my friends

 

[spang]

GO CHIPP"S

I am on CMU bigtime tonight, one of my strongest plays of the year. However, I just can't bring myself to back The Flashes tonight after those bastards cost me that $1,400 parlay a couple of weeks ago.

Bitter?
You bet!

Still, I wish you well

 

[hellah10]

However, I just can't bring myself to back The Flashes tonight after those bastards cost me that $1,400 parlay a couple of weeks ago.

Bitter?
You bet!

I feel your pain bro. 2001 football season I had a 8 team parlay to win like 10 grand...I had Ole Miss over Arkansas and I lost in that 7 overtime bullshit I STILL get pissed when someone brings that game up

good luck spang

 

[TORONTO-VIGILANTE]

good luck tonite omar, et al.

 

[LoneWolf]

If my math is right, C.Mich is winning by an avg of 12 pts/game @ home, vs. conf. Akron is losing by an avg of 12 pts/game away vs. conf.

 

[hellah10]

If my math is right, C.Mich is winning by an avg of 12 pts/game @ home, vs. conf. Akron is losing by an avg of 12 pts/game away vs. conf.

nice calculations :thumb:

 

[hellah10]

Adding...

Central Michigan -5 1st Half

 

[TORONTO-VIGILANTE]

just in case you didn't read this in my thread:

about your comment with miami ohio and north ill BOTH being on fire lately.

i would like to disagree....

Miami (OH) has recently played against their "weaker" sisters in buffalo and akron...granted they won them on the road...then a few games ago they couldn't even cover at home against BUFFALO???? of all teams??? and again they couldn't even cover at home against a mediocre ball st squad who don't even have a stellar road record???

again, just goin on pure stats here.

north ill has gone ON the road and beaten KENT, AND good MAC HOME teams in eastern michigan AND bowling green....not too shabby....

but we'll see.

good luck tonite.

 

[hellah10]

good point....but even winning against shit teams can gain your confidence...

but like i said - i picked NIU for 3 reasons

1) rebounding
2) road warriors
3) no Danny Horace (whos 6'7" by the way...)

 

[LoneWolf]

hellah, what's up with the line move on N.Ill from 4' to 6?What'd you think?

 

[hellah10]

probably people just middling back.....

 

[bohawk]

Good luck boys! Hope the Ohio teams(except for the Zips & Miami,
scared of PJ Smith),come through.Coming back to "Beautiful Ohio"
from cold So Padre Tx. this weekend. Go Bucks!

 

[just cover]

WOW -

I liked N. Ill. so played a small amount on them at +6. The line movement scared me. I just got back from Carib and was going to play a little on the ML and it jumped from I think +202 to +232 when I went to place the ML. I must have got it in right before game time because I went to check if it was still at +6 for the game and it was at +7 so added more.

I might have put to much on 1 game but are there any reasons for all this line movement I don't know about? What was there some late steam to move the line a whole point- just a minute or 2 before tipoff? Does anybody have any info?

thanks---

just cover

 

[chump]

thanks for the info...

i would appreciate if you could post some halftime thoughts

thanks again

 

[freelancc]

lets hope CENTRAL comes thru again..

 

[ststrl]

I swear the MAC is gonna give me a heart attack :look:

 

[hellah10]

k just got home....see marshall leading at half lost yet another 1st halfer on kent...

Adding...

Kent -2.5 2nd Half