Kent State University
Ball State University
Men’s Basketball Looks to Keep Rolling Saturday at Ball State
1/23/2015 11:25:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes Video Live Stats Audio
Kent State goes back on the road to play Ball State (7-9, 2-3) in a Mid-American Confrence Saturday afternoon at Worthen Arena. The game is scheduled for 2 p.m.
The Golden Flashes (13-5, 4-1) made six of eight free throws in the final minute to hold off Toledo, 67-60, Wednesday night at the M.A.C. Center for their fourth consecutive victory.
Improvements on the defensive end have been the key to Kent State's success during the early part of the season. The Flashes are allowing just 60.4 ppg, which ranks 48th in the country and holding opponents to 40.2 percent shooting overall. Only six teams have managed to score more than 61 points and six have shot better than 40 percent from the field against the Flashes this season.
Redshirt sophomore Jimmy Hall played his best game in a Kent State uniform in his MAC debut with a career-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting vs. Bowling Green. Hall, a transfer from Hofstra, has provided a boost on the interior and leads the Flashes with 14.1 points per game and 7.2 rebounds per game. The Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook Preseason MAC Newcomer of the Year is shooting 51.0 percent from the field and is second in the MAC in offensive rebounding (3.0 per game).
Senior guards Devareaux Manley, Kris Brewer and Derek Jackson lead a talented group of perimeter players. Manley (12.2 ppg) ranks in the top 35 in the country in 3-pointers per game (3.17) and 3-point percentage (.425). Brewer (10.9 ppg) has accepted the sixth man role and become more consistent, scoring at least eight points in all but two games this season while making game-winning free throws on two occasions. Jackson (10.2 ppg) has moved into the starting point guard role and ranks third in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.81) and is second in the MAC in steals per game (1.9). The trio is shooting 39.8 percent (102-for-256) from the three-point line.
Juniors Chris Ortiz (6.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and Khaliq Spicer (5.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.5 bpg) have made strides over the past month to aid Hall on the interior. Ortiz game up just short of a double-double vs. Bowling Green with 8 points and a career-high 10 rebounds and is averaging 8.8 points and 5.5 rebounds in conference games. Spicer notched career-highs of 11 points and 4 blocks in an impressive performance at Kansas and is averaging 2.4 blocks per game in league play.
Scouting Ball State
Ball State has lost three straight games after starting 2-0 in conference play. Head coach James Whitford led the Cardinals to wins over Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan before a heartbreaking double-overtime loss to Western Michigan prevented a sweep of the schools from the state. Ball State then lost a pair of games against MAC East foes Bowling Green (58046) and Ohio (82-73).
The Cardinals average 68.8 points per game while allowing 66.9 points per game. The three-point shot has been a big of the team's offense and accounts for 35.2 percent of its scoring. They make 8.1 three-pointers per game which ranks 35th in the country, and shoot 37.1 percent from beyond the arc. Ball State averages 14.3 turnovers per game, which is the second-most in the conference.
Guard Zavier Turner is the Cardinals' top scorer at 13.1 points per game. Turner who did not play in Wednesday's loss to Ohio, is averaging 16.8 points per game in league play and is the MAC leader in three-point field goal percentage (.600) and minutes per game (39.0) in conference games. Forward Sean Sellers leads all MAC freshmen in scoring (12.4 ppg), three-point shooting (47.1 percent), three-pointers per game (2.0) and free throw shooting (85.0 percent).
Forward/center Matt Kamieniecki (8.2 ppg, 8.1 rpg) is a double-double threat on the interior. Kamieniecki is averaging 10.6 rebounds per game and 4.2 offensive rebounds per game in conference games to lead the MAC in both categories. Forwards Franko House and Bo Calhoun add 8.9 and 6.1 points per game, respectively.
Guards Jeremiah Davis and Francis Kiapway have stepped up for the Cardinals after the team lost a starter at the conclusion of the semester in December. Davis, a transfer from Cincinnati who missed the first 10 games of the season due to a foot injury, is averaging 8.5 points per game and has scored 11 or more in three of the last five games. Kiapway is a three-point specialist who is coming off a career-high 19 points against Ohio.
Quick Flashes
• Head coach Rob Senderoff needs three wins to move into a tie for fifth on Kent State's all-time wins list (74).
• Kent State ranks 40th the nation in 3-point shooting vs. Division I opponents (.382).
• The Golden Flashes are outscoring opponents by an average score of 33.3-30.7 in the second half.
• Kent State is getting 20.9 points per game from its bench compared to just 14.2 points per game for its opponents' bench.
• Redshirt sophomore Jimmy Hall, a transfer from Hofstra, has scored in double-figures in 15 games this season. Hall became the first player to score in double-figures in his first eight games in a Kent State uniform since Jay Peters, who scored in double-figures in the first 12 games of the 1986-87 season.
• Hall a transfer from Hofstra, was named Preseason MAC Newcomer of the Year by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.
• Senior guard Kris Brewer was selected by a MAC Media Panel to the five-player Preseason All-MAC East Team. Brewer was an All-MAC honorable mention selection last season.
• Hall a transfer from Hofstra, was named Preseason MAC Newcomer of the Year by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.
Series History
• Kent State owns a 39-38 record all-time vs. Ball State owns a 10-game winning streak in the series.
• The Golden Flashes own a 13.4-point average margin of victory over the last 10 meetings.
• During the current winning streak, the Flashes recorded the largest victory in series history with a 76-42 win on Feb, 10, 2010.
• The last time Ball State defeated the Flashes was Jan. 2, 2005 at Worthen Arena.
• The Cardinals are 27-10 as the home team in the series, but the Golden Flashes have won four straight visits to Muncie.
TV / Radio
Ty Linder and Dave Carducci will bring you the action on 640 AM WHLO and the 640 WHLO iHeartRadio channel.
Next Up For Kent State
The Golden Flashes return to the M.A.C. Center to host Central Michigan on Tuesday, January 27.
