Men's Basketball Opens Three Straight At Home Against IPFW Monday
1/16/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Game 17
Kent State (10-6) at IPFW (4-13)
Monday, Jan. 17, 2005 7 p.m. M.A.C. Center (6,327) Kent, Ohio
TV: TV2 (aired on cable television in Portage County)
Radio: WNIR-100.1 FM (Bill Needle)
Records: Kent State is 10-6 having lost a pair of road games last week. The Golden Flashes are opening the first of three games at the M.A.C. Center this week. IPFW, an NCAA Division I independent, is 4-13 and coming off a 79-59 win against Youngstown State.
Coaches: Kent State head coach Jim Christian (Rhode Island 88) is 54-24 (.692) in his third season with the Golden Flashes. IPFW recently had a coaching change with former associate head coach Joe Pechota taking over as interim head coach last Thursday and is 1-0.
Series: Kent State leads 3-0; 2-0 in games at Kent
Websites: Kent State-www.oldfiles
IPFW-www.ipfw.edu/athletics
Up Next: Kent State hosts Buffalo, Wed., Jan. 19, at 7 p.m.
Golden Flashes Return Home Against IPFW Looking To Snap Two-Game Losing Streak
After dropping a pair of conference road games last week, the Kent State University mens basketball team returns to the M.A.C. Center to host IPFW, Monday, Jan. 17. Game time is 7 p.m. against the Mastodons.
The Golden Flashes are undefeated at home this season and will be playing their next-to-last non-conference game of the season against IPFW. Mondays game will be televised by KSUs TV2.
Flash Facts
Kent State is unbeaten at the M.A.C. Center this season, owning a perfect 5-0 record on the home hardwood.
In addition to its perfect home record, Kent State is 3-0 at neutral sites this year, with each of its six losses coming on the road.
Kent State shot a season-low 33.3 percent from the field at Ohio, connecting on just 18-of-54 attempts.
In the last two games, KSU is shooting .348 (40-of-115) from the floor.
Scouting the Mastodons
IPFW, an NCAA Division I independent, is 4-13 on the year, snapping an eight-game losing streak Saturday with a 79-59 win at home against Youngstown State. Peter Campbell scored a game-high 21 points, while David Simon added 17 points and eight rebounds for the Mastodons, who were playing just two days removed from a head-coaching change at IPFW. On the year, Simon leads the team averaging 15.4 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. He also has 21 blocks in 13 games. He is the lone Mastondon scoring in double figures. Campbell averages 9.9 points, while Beau Bauer chips in with 9.6 points per game.
Joe Pechota (Concordia [Mich.] 95) is the interim head coach at IPFW, earning his first career win Saturday.
Series History vs. IPFW
Kent State leads the all-time series with IPFW 3-0, including last years 67-66 win in Fort Wayne. DeAndre Haynes hit a three-pointer from just inside the halfcourt stripe in the closing seconds to vault the Golden Flashes from two down to the one-point victory (see box score on page 4). The Golden Flashes have won both meetings against IPFW played in Kent. Third-year Kent State coach Jim Christian is 1-0 all-time against IPFW.
Kent State Drops Fourth Straight Road Game Against Ohio
Kent State University struggled on the road for the second consecutive game, losing at Ohio 80-54 Jan. 15. The loss is the Golden Flashes seventh straight conference road loss dating back to last season.
Kent State (10-6, 3-3 MAC) coupled a season-low 33.3 percent from the field with Ohio (7-6, 2-3 MAC) shooting its season-high 55.6 percent, the highest shooting clip the Golden Flashes have allowed. Ohio also forced Kent State into 18 turnovers that the Bobcats turned into 22 points.
The Golden Flashes also struggled from three-point range, hitting 8-of-22 (.364) and, shooting just 50 percent (10-of-20) from the free-throw line.
Scott Cutley had 11 points and seven rebounds for Kent State, while Mike Scott tallied a career-high eight points. Mychal Green led Ohio with 23 points, while Terren Harbut added 16 points.
Notes From Ohio
The loss is Kent States third straight against Ohio in Athens... It was the worst loss for Kent State under head coach Jim Christian... Kent State has a 2-6 record on the this season... Kent State used a 7-0 run in the final 1:46 of the first half to close the lead to 10 points, 38-28 at halftime, but went scoreless for the first seven minutes of the second half to fall behind 27 points... Ohio leads the all-time series with Kent State 83-32.
Kent State Falls To .500 In MAC
The loss at Ohio dropped the Golden Flashes to 3-3 in MAC play, the first time Kent State has been .500 in the conference since the start of the 1998-99 season. Kent State had its record evened at both 1-1 and 2-2 in January 1999 with road losses at Toledo and Western Michigan. The Golden Flashes have not been under .500 in the MAC since Feb. 7, 1998, following a loss to Eastern Michigan that dropped Kent State to 6-7. The Flashes finished that year 9-9 in conference play.
Big M.A.C.C. Attack
Kent State has made the M.A.C. Center a tough place to play since the start of the 1997-98 season. The Golden Flashes have posted an 86-15 (.851) record at home during the last seven seasons. Kent State is 5-0 at home this season.
Haynes Fourth In Nation In Assists
In the latest NCAA statistical report, junior guard DeAndre Haynes ranks fourth nationally in assists per game. His average leads the MAC by better than one assist per contest.
Haynes has moved into fourth on the KSU career list for assists, passing Andrew Mitchell. He needs 82 assists to move into third. Haynes also cracked the all-time steals top 10, moving into seventh.
National Assist Leaders (thru 1/10) Assists Average
1. Damitrius Coleman, Mercer 102 8.5
2. Raymond Felton, North Carolina 100 7.7
3. Rob Munroe, Quinnipiac 84 7.6
4. DeAndre Haynes, Kent State 104 7.4
5. Aaron Miles, Kansas 81 7.4
6. Will Funn, Portland State 110 7.3
Marcus Williams, Connecticut 88 7.3
8. Jerel Blassingame, UNLV 92 7.1
9. Will Conroy, Washington 98 7.0
10. Walker Russell, Jacksonville State 97 6.9
Kent State Career Assists Leaders Total Needs
1. Ed Norvell (1995-99) 594 173
2. Trevor Huffman (1998-2002) 520 99
3. Anthony Grier (1981-85) 503 82
4. DeAndre Haynes (2002-present) 421
Kent State Career Steals Leaders Total Needs
1. Reggie Adams (1985-89) 197 54
2. Ed Norvell (1995-99) 184 41
3. Harold Walton (1988-92) 177 34
4. Andrew Mitchell (1998-2002) 164 21
5. Anthony Grier (1981-85) 160 17
6. Trevor Huffman (1998-2002) 156 13
7. DeAndre Haynes (2002-present) 143
Home vs. Road
The friendly confines of the M.A.C. Center have been just that this season for Kent State, very friendly. At home, Kent State is averaging 77.6 points per game and shooting 51.1 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from three-point range. The Golden Flashes also have a +30 turnover margin at home, averaging 20.9 assists per game.
On the road, however, Kent State is averaging 63.0 points per game and shooting 41.1 percent from the field. The Flashes have a -21 turnover margin on the road and are averaging nearly five more turnovers than assists on the road. KSU also is shooting 32.5 percent from beyond the arc on the road.
The New Year Brings Chilly Results
Kent State suffered its third loss in the month of January against Ohio. It is the first time in the last three seasons that the Golden Flashes have had multiple losses in January. Kent State has posted a 24-5 record in the first month of the New Year since January 2002.
Warzynski Named MAC East Player Of The Week
Kevin Warzynski averaged 18.5 points and 5.5 rebounds in leading the Golden Flashes to wins over Eastern Michigan (67-64) and Miami (68-49) last week, earning MAC East Division Player of the Week honors Jan. 10. The victories put KSU at the top of the East Division with a 3-1 league record. Against EMU, Warzynski 18 points with three rebounds, including a 3-of-3 performance from three-point range. He followed with 19 points and eight rebounds vs. the RedHawks. Warzynski was a perfect 5-of-5 from three-point range in the two games.
Where The Threes Come From
Kent State is second in the MAC and is 26th in the nation in made three-point field goals per game, averaging 8.06 per contest. A year ago, the Golden Flashes finished 14th in Division I in made three pointers with 8.52, but, unlike this season, one player accounted for the bulk of the treys each game. This season, Kent State is receiving at least one three pointer per game from three different players:
Name 3FG/G 3FG-FGA Pct.
Jason Edwin 1.81 29-67 .433
Armon Gates 1.75 28-67 .418
DeAndre Haynes 1.44 23-62 .371
Jay Youngblood 0.94 15-41 .366
Kevin Warzynski 0.69 11-20 .550
Marcus Crenshaw 0.63 10-38 .263
Scott Cutley 0.63 10-31 .323
Brett Bartlett 0.13 1-5 .200
Mike Scott 0.13 2-13 .154
TOTALS 8.06 129-346 .373
Conference Losing Streak Reaches Seven Games
Kent State has lost seven consecutive MAC road games stretching back to last season. It is the longest road losing streak in conference play since a nine-game slide from the end of the 1994-95 season to the start of the 1995-96 year.
Comparing Overall To Conference Averages
Jason Edwins scoring averaging overall is 11.6 points per game, but in conference-only games, the senior guard is averaging 13.2 points per game, the greatest increase (+1.6) of any player of the team. Kevin Warzynskis average has jumped 0.7 points per game in conference play, however DeAndre Haynes (-2.3) and Jay Youngblood (-3.6) have not fared as well in MAC games in the scoring column.
