Saturday, January 18
Buffalo, N.Y.
6:00 p.m.
Kent State University
at
University at Buffalo
Derek Jackson
Men's Hoops Visits Buffalo for TV Game Saturday Evening
1/17/2014 2:59:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes (.pdf)
Kent State (11-5, 2-1) travels to Buffalo (8-5, 2-1) for a key Mid-American Conference East Division contest on Saturday evening. The game will be televised live on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel at p.m.
A year ago, the Golden Flashes accomplished the difficult task of defeating a talented Bulls squad in each of their three matchups, including a 70-68 victory in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Flashes appear to have regained their early season form and enter with back-to-back wins that followed a three-game skid. In both wins, the Flashes showed resolve to overcome double-digit second half deficits.
Defense has been the key in both comeback victories. Against Ball State, the Flashes turned six Cardinal turnovers into 13 points and used a 19-2 run to take the lead for good.
In Wednesday's 73-64 overtime win at Northern Illinois, Devareaux Manley drilled a deep three-pointer and guard Kellon Thomas followed with it was a great defensive effort to force a shot clock violation as the Huskies attempted to hold for the final shot that sent the game into overtime.
Point guard Kris Brewer owned the overtime period as he scored nine of the Flashes' 15 points. Brewer scored 19 of his game-high 25 points over the final 8:25 of regulation and overtime.
Brewer is Kent State's leading scorer (12.8 ppg) on the season and is averaging 16.3 points in conference play. Backcourt mate Derek Jackson adds 11.1 points per game and a team-high 28 steals.
Forward Darren Goodson adds 10.4 points per game and was moved to the bench four games ago prior to the beginning of MAC play. Forward Mark Henniger is enjoying his best season as a Golden Flash, averaging 8.6 points and a team-best 5.5 rebounds.
Buffalo is led by first-year head coach Bobby Hurley, a former All-American at Duke. Hurley's squad is unbeaten at Alumni Arena this season, winning its seven home games by an average of 15.8 points.
The Bulls took a four-game winning streak to Toledo Wednesday night, but were unable to hold onto a seven-point halftime lead and Julius Brown's jumper as time expired gave the Rockets a 67-65 victory. All-MAC forward Javon McCrea led the way with 20 points and 10 rebounds for his third straight double-double. Guard Joshua Freelove added 16 points on 4-for-6 from three-point range.
Considered by many as the top post player in the conference, McCrea is among the MAC leaders in scoring (17.0), rebounding (9.6), blocked shots (3.1) and double-doubles (7). In three games last season, McCrea averaged 28.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 4.3 blocks against Kent State.
Freelove, a transfer from Alabama State, provides a perimeter scorer to complement McCrea and averages 12.2 points. He is among the MAC's top three-point threats and leads the conference in three-pointers per game (2.2) while ranking seventh in three-point percentage (.407). Preseason all-MAC forward Will Regan averages 9.5 points and 5.8 rebounds.
Point guard Jarrod Oldham is second in the MAC with 5.5 assists per game. Protecting the ball has been an issue for the Bulls, however, as they are 267th nationally with 13.8 turnovers per contest.
Quick Flashes
• The Flashes rank fourth in the MAC in defensive rebounding % and allowed more than 10 second-chance points on Saturday for the first time since Nov. 23.
• Despite having just one player among the MAC's top 20 scorers, KSU ranks third in scoring as a team (74.2 ppg).
• The Flashes are getting huge bench contributions and have received 15 or more points from their reserves in each game.
• The Flashes committed a season-low six turnovers vs. Bucknell and average the 38th-fewest per game in the nation.
Series History
• Kent State leads the all-time series 29-8.
• The Golden Flashes have won four straight matchups with the Bulls, including a sweep of their three matchups last season.
• Buffalo's last win in the series was 66-65 on Jan. 7, 2012 at home. The Bulls are 7-10 at home in the series and have won three of the last four matchups.
• On four occasions, the schools have needed an overtime period to decide a winner with Kent State coming away victorious each time.
• The two schools met twice prior to Buffalo joining the Mid-American Conference for the 1998-99 season. The Flashes won, 47-33, during the 1938-39 season and 63-55 on Feb. 26, 1966.
• Kent State won the first nine matchups between the schools, which is the longest winning streak in the series.
TV / Radio
The game will be televised live regionally on TWC Sports Channel and streamed nationally on ESPN3. Michael Reghi and Dave Cecutti will be on the call.
Ty Linder (play-by-play) and Dave Carducci (color) will bring you the action on 640 AM WHLO and the Golden Flashes iHeartRadio channel.
Next Up For Kent State
The Flashes return home to the M.A.C. Center to host Western Michigan in a cross-divisionl matchup on Thursday (Jan. 23).
Kent State (11-5, 2-1) travels to Buffalo (8-5, 2-1) for a key Mid-American Conference East Division contest on Saturday evening. The game will be televised live on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel at p.m.
A year ago, the Golden Flashes accomplished the difficult task of defeating a talented Bulls squad in each of their three matchups, including a 70-68 victory in the MAC Tournament quarterfinals at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Flashes appear to have regained their early season form and enter with back-to-back wins that followed a three-game skid. In both wins, the Flashes showed resolve to overcome double-digit second half deficits.
Defense has been the key in both comeback victories. Against Ball State, the Flashes turned six Cardinal turnovers into 13 points and used a 19-2 run to take the lead for good.
In Wednesday's 73-64 overtime win at Northern Illinois, Devareaux Manley drilled a deep three-pointer and guard Kellon Thomas followed with it was a great defensive effort to force a shot clock violation as the Huskies attempted to hold for the final shot that sent the game into overtime.
Point guard Kris Brewer owned the overtime period as he scored nine of the Flashes' 15 points. Brewer scored 19 of his game-high 25 points over the final 8:25 of regulation and overtime.
Brewer is Kent State's leading scorer (12.8 ppg) on the season and is averaging 16.3 points in conference play. Backcourt mate Derek Jackson adds 11.1 points per game and a team-high 28 steals.
Forward Darren Goodson adds 10.4 points per game and was moved to the bench four games ago prior to the beginning of MAC play. Forward Mark Henniger is enjoying his best season as a Golden Flash, averaging 8.6 points and a team-best 5.5 rebounds.
Buffalo is led by first-year head coach Bobby Hurley, a former All-American at Duke. Hurley's squad is unbeaten at Alumni Arena this season, winning its seven home games by an average of 15.8 points.
The Bulls took a four-game winning streak to Toledo Wednesday night, but were unable to hold onto a seven-point halftime lead and Julius Brown's jumper as time expired gave the Rockets a 67-65 victory. All-MAC forward Javon McCrea led the way with 20 points and 10 rebounds for his third straight double-double. Guard Joshua Freelove added 16 points on 4-for-6 from three-point range.
Considered by many as the top post player in the conference, McCrea is among the MAC leaders in scoring (17.0), rebounding (9.6), blocked shots (3.1) and double-doubles (7). In three games last season, McCrea averaged 28.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 4.3 blocks against Kent State.
Freelove, a transfer from Alabama State, provides a perimeter scorer to complement McCrea and averages 12.2 points. He is among the MAC's top three-point threats and leads the conference in three-pointers per game (2.2) while ranking seventh in three-point percentage (.407). Preseason all-MAC forward Will Regan averages 9.5 points and 5.8 rebounds.
Point guard Jarrod Oldham is second in the MAC with 5.5 assists per game. Protecting the ball has been an issue for the Bulls, however, as they are 267th nationally with 13.8 turnovers per contest.
Quick Flashes
• The Flashes rank fourth in the MAC in defensive rebounding % and allowed more than 10 second-chance points on Saturday for the first time since Nov. 23.
• Despite having just one player among the MAC's top 20 scorers, KSU ranks third in scoring as a team (74.2 ppg).
• The Flashes are getting huge bench contributions and have received 15 or more points from their reserves in each game.
• The Flashes committed a season-low six turnovers vs. Bucknell and average the 38th-fewest per game in the nation.
Series History
• Kent State leads the all-time series 29-8.
• The Golden Flashes have won four straight matchups with the Bulls, including a sweep of their three matchups last season.
• Buffalo's last win in the series was 66-65 on Jan. 7, 2012 at home. The Bulls are 7-10 at home in the series and have won three of the last four matchups.
• On four occasions, the schools have needed an overtime period to decide a winner with Kent State coming away victorious each time.
• The two schools met twice prior to Buffalo joining the Mid-American Conference for the 1998-99 season. The Flashes won, 47-33, during the 1938-39 season and 63-55 on Feb. 26, 1966.
• Kent State won the first nine matchups between the schools, which is the longest winning streak in the series.
TV / Radio
The game will be televised live regionally on TWC Sports Channel and streamed nationally on ESPN3. Michael Reghi and Dave Cecutti will be on the call.
Ty Linder (play-by-play) and Dave Carducci (color) will bring you the action on 640 AM WHLO and the Golden Flashes iHeartRadio channel.
Next Up For Kent State
The Flashes return home to the M.A.C. Center to host Western Michigan in a cross-divisionl matchup on Thursday (Jan. 23).
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