My question is
My question is
My question is on Kent St. is what are they playing for? They have won the Conf championship and it is senior night. A backdoor cover very possible....Here's an article on Kent St
(U-WIRE) KENT, Ohio -- Saturday's game at Ohio just became a lot less
important -- as far as the Mid-American Conference race is concerned.
Kent State clinched the title outright Wednesday night, not because of
anything it did on the court, but because of Ball State's 80-65 loss to
Western Michigan. The loss drops Ball State to 10-5 in the MAC and 17-9
overall, four games behind Kent State (21-5, 14-1 MAC) with three games
to play.
"Winning the league championship is a tremendous accomplishment, and
we're very happy for our fans and the university," said Kent State coach
Stan Heath. "Our win over Marshall put us in position and, with the turn of
events (last night), this is a very exciting time for us."
Now, the Flashes must figure out a way to stay motivated for the last three games with the
championship already secured. Positioning themselves for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid should
they fail to win the MAC Tournament would be one reason to keep the motivation going. Another is a
desire to continue the dominant run Kent State has taken through the MAC this season.
"That's what the four seniors are talking about," senior Trevor Huffman said after finding out that Ball
State lost last night. "We've got a chance to make history. Not many people can say that. We want to
go out with the guns blazing."
The record for MAC victories in a season is 16, set three times by Miami, most recently in 1995. All
three Miami teams that set the mark went 16-2. The only team to go through the MAC season with
one loss is Western Michigan which went 15-1 in 1976.
By establishing a four-game lead at this juncture, the Flashes have joined a handful of teams across the
country that have dominated in their respective conferences this season.
Kansas (Big 12), Hampton (MEAC), Central Connecticut (NEC) and Tennessee Tech (OVC) are
the only teams with a three-game lead or larger in conference play. Hampton and Kansas are the only
conference unbeatens. Had it not been for a last-second loss at Buffalo on Jan. 9, Kent State would
be in that category as well.
"We've still got three games to play," said Heath following the Marshall game, cautioning against
getting caught up in hype surrounding the regular season title. "I do feel good about winning the
championship. When I came here, I envisioned us being a championship type team. Once we got on
the same page as a team, we started playing well."
And they haven't stopped.
Since the MAC season began in January, Kent State has failed to score 70 just once, in the loss to
Buffalo. It's won 17 of 18 games including a school-record 12 straight games. During the streak,
Andrew Mitchell has led the Flashes in scoring with 17.6 points per game. Antonio Gates has scored
15.8 while Huffman has put up 14 points a game. Huffman's dished out 49 assists during the same
stretch, committing just 30 turnovers. Mitchell's had 46 assists and 17 turnovers.
But the most telling statistic of dominance is the margin by which Kent State is winning. Only twice
since losing to Buffalo have the Flashes failed to win by at least double figures; both were three-point
wins against Bowling Green and Western Michigan.
BIG MAN IS BACK: Center John Edwards rebounded from two scoreless games with eight points
and three dunks against Marshall Tuesday. Edwards played well in the first game against Marshall on
Jan. 5, scoring six points and grabbing four rebounds.
ANOTHER RECORD: Huffman broke the school record for career three-pointers Tuesday. After
hitting five against the Herd, Huffman has 185 for his career.
WILD, WILD WEST: The race for the West Division championship heated up with Western's win.
The Broncos (15-11, 8-7) are just two games behind the Cardinals, who have to play Miami and
Northern Illinois at home before ending the season at Central Michigan.
Western has road games left at Toledo and Eastern Michigan and ends the season at home against
Northern Illinois.
Toledo is also two games behind Ball State at 8-7 in the league and 11-13 overall. The Rockets
defeated Buffalo 54-42 last night. Toledo still has to play at home against Western, on the road at
Ohio and at home against Eastern Michigan.
