Kent State University
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Western Michigan
Kent State Heads To Cleveland For MAC Tournament On Thursday Night
3/7/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Complete Notes (.PDF)
Tickets
Tickets are available through the Kent State Athletics ticket office or by calling 330-672-2244. The ticket office will close at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Look for ticket manager Greg Keys, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Arcade entrance inside Quicken Loans Arena.
The Game
Kent State (20-10; 10-6 MAC) heads into the Mid-American Conference Tournament as the fourth seed and will begin play in the quarterfinals at 7:00 pm on Thursday against the winner of Wednesday's Western Michigan (13-19; 6-10 MAC) and Northern Illinois (5-25; 3-13 MAC) match-up.
Kent State is paced offensively by senior forward Justin Greene who ranked fourth in the league averaging 15.4 points per game against MAC competition. Just a year ago he averaged 16.3 points & 10.0 rebounds in three games while leading the team into the championship game.
The Golden Flashes have also been lifted by the all-around play of senior guard Michael Porrini. Porrini, who had 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals in the 61-55 regular season finale loss to Akron last Friday, was the only player in the MAC to average better than nine points, five assists and four rebounds during league play this season. Porrini's play has been a major factor in the Kent State's success this season. Kent State is +194 with him on the court in the 20 games won and -83 in the 10 losses.
Western Michigan is the 8th seed and advanced to second round with a 69-63 win over #9 Ball State. Northern Illinois meanwhile is the 12th seed and advance to the second round with a 55-52 win at #5 Eastern Michigan.
TV / Radio
SportsTime Ohio/ESPN3 (Michael Reghi & Steve Mix)
WNIR 100.1 FM (Ty Linder)
Next Up For Kent State
With a win Kent State will advance to the MAC Tournament semifinals on Friday, March 9 against Akron.
Quick Flashes
• This is the first time since 1985 Kent State has entered the MAC Tournament as a four seed.
• The 4th seed has won the MAC Tournament four times (Miami, 2007; Ohio 2005; EMU, 1998; Ball State, 1995)
• The Golden Flashes line-up has combined to play 25 games in the MAC Tournament over the past three seasons.
• Including the MAC Tournament, Kent State has won 30 straight games against MAC West opponents. The last loss was a 56-51 defeat at Toledo on Feb. 2, 2008.
• The Golden Flashes rank 10th in the country averaging 8.8 steals a game
• Kent State is the only team in the MAC to have five players with at least 30 steals (over 1.0 spg)
• Kent State has outrebounded four of the last five opponents
• The Golden Flashes have hit at least five three-pointers in 19 of the 20 wins this season
• Justin Greene needs only five points to become only the seventh player in school history to reach 1,500 in a career. Greene also needs nine rebounds to be the second with 800.
• Kent State shot a league best 38% from three and 47% from the field in conference games
Kent State in the MAC Tournament
• Kent State is making its 30th appearance in the MAC Tournament.
• Kent State is 32-24 in MAC Tournament games. The Golden Flashes' have advance to the semifinals 14 times.
• Kent State has won MAC Tournament titles in 1999, 2001, 2002, 2006 and 2008.
• Kent State appeared in the championship game four straight years from 2001-04 and has played for the title for in eight of the previous 13 seasons.
As the Higher Seed
• The Golden Flashes are 28-5 all-time in the MAC Tournament as the higher seed.
• The record includes an 18 game winning streak as the higher seed that was snapped by Ohio in the quarterfinals in 2010.
MAC Tournament in Cleveland
• Since the MAC Tournament moved to Cleveland in 2000 Kent State has an 20-8 record in Quicken Loans Arena (formerly Gund Arena) during tournament play.
As the No. 4 Seed
• This is Kent State's third time as the No. 4 seed.
• Kent State is 1-2 as the four seed (1985 & 1980).
Scoring 70 the MAC Tournament
• Kent State is 20-2 in the MAC Tournament when scoring over 70 points and has won 17 straight.
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