2 units......cleveland state (+9.5) over kent state
when i projected a number for this game, i figured cleveland state would have been about a 6 or 7 point dog. the way to beat kent state has been the same for the last 3 or 4 years. size and rebounding. kent has always had some of the best guards in all of mid-major basketball and always seem to be traditionally weak on the interior. this year, is the same story, and they took a huge blow before the season when nate gerwig went down with a season ending injury. he was one of their only solid interior players. eventually, kent state is going to be fine. they'll find their stride and they will be one of the upper-tier mac teams come conference tournament time. even though theyre 3-1, ksu just isnt playing well. theyre not attacking the basket and when they do get to the line, outside of eric haut --- nobody is shooting free throws very well. cleveland state is a team that could give kent some problems. vikings lack a great perimeter game, but they are aggressive, attack the basket, and rebound well -- which is no surprise at all, given the fact that head coach garland was a michigan state assistant under izzo until this year. vikings average 45 rebounds a game to kent state's 35. another number that is worth noting (and was alluded to above): kent state is not as aggressive as csu when it comes to taking the ball to the rim. cleveland state has attempted 205 free throws in 6 games. kent has attempted just 100 in 5. since its only fair to objectively point out the both the strengths and weaknesses of both teams, csu MUST take care of the basketball. theyre averaging an obscene 22 turnovers a game. all in all, i just feel like this game is going to stay pretty tight throughout. kent state just doesnt have that killer instinct like theyve had in years past. its early, but they dont have a true leader. a few years ago, it was huffman and mitchell who were clearly the leaders. last year it was antonio gates. nobody on kent's roster right now can take over a game like some of the ksu studs of the last few yrs. if csu limits the turnovers, they can easily hang within 4-6 points. vikings size and aggressiveness should give a small kent team some problems. i can live with a few turnovers as long as csu plays true to their form, which is getting to the line a shitload and getting after it defensively.
when i projected a number for this game, i figured cleveland state would have been about a 6 or 7 point dog. the way to beat kent state has been the same for the last 3 or 4 years. size and rebounding. kent has always had some of the best guards in all of mid-major basketball and always seem to be traditionally weak on the interior. this year, is the same story, and they took a huge blow before the season when nate gerwig went down with a season ending injury. he was one of their only solid interior players. eventually, kent state is going to be fine. they'll find their stride and they will be one of the upper-tier mac teams come conference tournament time. even though theyre 3-1, ksu just isnt playing well. theyre not attacking the basket and when they do get to the line, outside of eric haut --- nobody is shooting free throws very well. cleveland state is a team that could give kent some problems. vikings lack a great perimeter game, but they are aggressive, attack the basket, and rebound well -- which is no surprise at all, given the fact that head coach garland was a michigan state assistant under izzo until this year. vikings average 45 rebounds a game to kent state's 35. another number that is worth noting (and was alluded to above): kent state is not as aggressive as csu when it comes to taking the ball to the rim. cleveland state has attempted 205 free throws in 6 games. kent has attempted just 100 in 5. since its only fair to objectively point out the both the strengths and weaknesses of both teams, csu MUST take care of the basketball. theyre averaging an obscene 22 turnovers a game. all in all, i just feel like this game is going to stay pretty tight throughout. kent state just doesnt have that killer instinct like theyve had in years past. its early, but they dont have a true leader. a few years ago, it was huffman and mitchell who were clearly the leaders. last year it was antonio gates. nobody on kent's roster right now can take over a game like some of the ksu studs of the last few yrs. if csu limits the turnovers, they can easily hang within 4-6 points. vikings size and aggressiveness should give a small kent team some problems. i can live with a few turnovers as long as csu plays true to their form, which is getting to the line a shitload and getting after it defensively.
