Men’s basketball shoots for 12th straight win and MAC regular season title – Kent Wired

The last time the Kent State men’s basketball team played the University at Buffalo, they lost 64-51.

The Flashes fell to 4-4 in the Mid-American Conference and were 9-9 overall. They were tied for fifth in the conference.

Today, KSU is 15-4 at the MAC and 20-9 overall, and is aiming for a regular season championship.

Kent State is on an 11-game winning streak, the fifth-longest active winning streak in all of Division I basketball and the highest as a program since the 2001-02 season.

The 2021-22 Flashes are in good company, the 2001-02 team won a MAC record 21 straight games before making it through the conference tournament and a run in the NCAA Elite Eight.

Antonio Gates, a two-time athlete who was also on the KSU football team and later became an All-Pro tight end for the NFL, was a forward on that team.

MAC’s first team is Toledo (16-3 MAC, 24-6 overall), who are one game ahead of the Flashes. The Rockets have already clinched at least a share of the regular season title, and Kent State can share that title with a win and a loss at Toledo.

The Rockets take on ninth-place MAC Bowling Green (6-13, 13-17) on Friday at 6:30 p.m.

KSU has a tough opponent in Buffalo (13-5, 19-9), which sits fourth in the conference.

The Bulls are third in the conference in points (80.9 points per game) and field goal percentage (.457 per game). They are first in rebounds per game with an average of 42.9.

Buffalo’s defense is sixth in points per game (72.4) and fourth in opponent field goal percentage (42%). Its top scorer is senior forward Jeenathan Williams, who is fourth in the MAC with an average of 19.2 points per game.

Kent State is led by its powerful defense. He is second in the conference in points allowed per game (64.1) and in opposing FG percentage (40.2%).

KSU’s offense is seventh in the conference in scoring with an average of 71 points per game, but has scored above that number in nine of its last 11 wins. He is fourth in the MAC from the field (44.1% per game).

Junior guard Redshirt Sincere Carry is the fifth leading scorer in the conference. He averages 18.7 points per game. He’s scored 20 or more points in each of his last three games, including a 42-point performance against Ball State.

Kent State takes on Buffalo on Friday at 6 p.m. at the MAC Center, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPNU.

Coach Rob Senderoff hopes to see the KSU students in person.

“I hope whoever’s reading this plans to be there Friday night,” Senderoff said. “We’ve had a special season so far, and we’re lucky to be playing against a great team on national television, and lucky to have won 12 straight games heading into the conference tournament.”

“We would like to have a big crowd, we certainly need everyone in Kent and certainly on campus to be there and make some noise.”

Jimmy Oswald is a sportswriter. Contact him at [email protected]