Kent State University
Akron
MAC Semifinal Match-up vs Akron On Tap For Kent State Friday At 7:00 pm
3/9/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Complete Notes (.PDF)
MAC Tournament Home Page
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 Friday. Look for ticket manager Greg Keys, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Arcade entrance inside Quicken Loans Arena.
The Game
Kent State (21-10) is geared up for a Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinal against Akron (21-10) at 7:00 pm on Friday. The Golden Flashes are making their 15th overall semifinal appearance and 11th in the last 15 years. The game will serve as a rematch of an epic 66-65 overtime game won by the Zips in the MAC Championship game a year ago. This is the fourth meeting in the MAC Tournament between the two schools in the last six years.
Led by a 23-point, 9-rebound performance from senior forward Justin Greene, Kent State earned a 76-72 win over Western Michigan in the quarterfinals on Thursday night. A First Team All-MAC selection each of the past two seasons, Greene also handed out four assists and shot 10-16 from the field. The 6'8" forward has had his share of success at the Q the last two seasons averaging 18 points and 10 rebounds in his last four MAC Tournament games.
Senior guard Michael Porrini meanwhile kept the statisticians busy once again racking up 10 points, eight assists and six rebounds in the win. His eight helpers matched his own mark for the second highest single game MAC Tournament total by a Kent State player.
Akron is the No. 1 seed in the tournament. After receiving byes through the first, second and quarterfinal rounds the Zips will be playing their first game in the Tournament.
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 championship on Saturday, March 10 against the winner of the Ohio-Buffalo semifinal.
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 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 five of the last six opponents
• The Golden Flashes have hit at least five three-pointers in 19 of the 21 wins this season
• Justin Greene needs only two points to move into the top six & 15 for the top five on Kent State's career scoring list. He became the only player in school history with over 1,500 points and 800 rebounds in a career on Thursday.
• Kent State is 13-0 this season when hitting at least 15 free throws in a game
• Kent State shot a league best 38% from three and 47% from the field in conference games
• The Golden Flashes forced 33 turnovers leading to 38 points in the first two meetings this season against the Zips
