Kent State University
Northern Illinois University
Kent State Travels to Northern Illinois for Saturday Tilt
1/9/2015 7:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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Kent State (9-5, 0-1) looks for its first Mid-American Conference win as it goes on the road to play Northern Illinois (7-5, 1-0) Saturday at 8 p.m.
Despite a 3-2 record in road games this season, the Golden Flashes have played well away from home. The Flashes won their first three road games before a narrow three-point loss in the championship game of the Sun Bowl Invitational to a very good UTEP team and competed well for the first 30 minutes against No. 13 Kansas in front of a hostile crowd at Allen Fieldhouse.
Kent State was unable to close out Wednesday's MAC opener against Bowling Green and suffered a 66-64 setback. The Flashes led by as any as 15 points late in the first half, but the Falcons kept it close and made six of eight shots, including all four three-point attempts, and shot four-for-five from the foul line over the final eight minutes to steal a victory at the M.A.C. Center.
Improvements on 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 55th in the country and holding opponents to 40.3 percent shooting overall. Only five teams have managed to score more than 61 points and shoot at least 40 percent from the field against the Flashes this season.
Redshirt sophomore Jimmy Hall is coming off his best game in a Kent State uniform after scoring a career-high 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting vs. Bowling Green on Wednesday. Hall, a transfer from Hofstra, has provided a boost on the interior and leads the Flashes with 14.9 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game. The Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook Preseason MAC Newcomer of the Year is shooting 51.5 percent from the field and is second in the MAC in offensive rebounding (3.1 per game).
Senior guards Devareaux Manley, Kris Brewer and Derek Jackson lead a talented group of perimeter players. Manley (12.1 ppg) ranks in the top 25 in the country in 3-pointers per game (3.36) and 3-point percentage (.452). Brewer (10.7 ppg) has accepted the sixth man role and become more consistent, scoring at least eight points in all but one game this season. Jackson (9.8 ppg) has moved into the starting point guard role and ranks seventh in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.83) and leads the MAC in steals per game (2.2). The trio is shooting 41.0 percent (87-for-212) from the three-point line.
Juniors Chris Ortiz (5.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg) and Khaliq Spicer (4.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.3 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 7.0 points and 5.7 rebounds over the last seven games. Spicer notched career-highs of 11 points and 4 blocks in an impressive performance at Kansas and is averaging 7.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocks over the past three games.
Scouting Northern Illinois
Northern Illinois (7-5, 1-0) defeated Ohio, 70-60, Wednesday night to open the MAC season and pick up its first road win of the season. The Huskies have played their best at the NIU Convocation Center and boast a 6-0 home record this season. They are averaging 75.0 points in those contests, which is more than seven points more than their season averaging, while holding opponents to 60.2 points per game.
Wing Darrell Bowie is the Huskies' top scorer at 12.5 points per game, but did not play Wednesday after injurying his shoulder against UC Riverside on Jan. 2. Bowie adds 6.8 rebounds per game. Center Jordan Threloff joins him to provide a tough interior duo. Threloff is averaging 9.1 points per game and is the team's top rebounder (8.0 rpg) and shotblocker (9). Center Pete Rakocevic (4.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg) replaced Bowie in the starting lineup vs. Ohio and scored a season-high 12 points to go with 7 rebounds.
Guard Aaric Armstead (10.7 ppg) is NIU's top offensive player on the perimeter and leads the team in three-pointers (16). Armstead stepped up in Bowie's absence and poured in a season-high 17 points in the conference opener. Guard Anthony Johnson, a transfer from Purdue, has provided another perimeter scoring option. Johnsn (9.0 ppg) has led the Huskies in scoring twice, including a season-high 18 points in the non-conference finale vs. UC Riverside. Guard Aaron Armstead, the older brother of Aaric, contributes 6.8 points per game off the bench and is the team's top three-point shooter (.421).
Travon Baker and Michael Orris split time at point guard for the Huskies. Baker averages 6.3 points per game and Orris, a transfer from Kansas State, averages 4.5 points per game. Both players have a team-high 31 assists.
Quick Flashes
• Kent State ranks 31st the nation in 3-point shooting vs. Division I opponents (.389).
• The Golden Flashes are outscoring opponents by an average score of 31.7-29.9 in the second half.
• Kent State is getting 21.6 points per game from its bench compared to just 12.3 points per game for its opponents' bench.
• Redshirt sophomore Jimmy Hall, a transfer from Hofstra, has scored in double-figures in 11 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.
• 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.
• Redshirt sophomore Jimmy 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 33-19 record all-time vs. Northern Illinois.
• The series dates back to the 1963-64 season and a 60-51 Kent State win at home on Feb. 26, 1964.
• The Golden Flashes have won 16 of the last 19 matchups with the Huskies, including a 73-64 overtime victory in their visit to the NIU Convocation Center last season.
• Kent State is 14-13 as the road team in the season. The game has come down to the wire the last two matchups in DeKalb. A year ago, the Flashes came away with an overtime victory, while the Huskies made a shot in the final seconds to win two years ago.
TV / Radio
Ty Linder will bring you the action on 640 AM WHLO and the Golden Flashes iHeartRadio channel. The game will be streamed on ESPN3.
Next Up For Kent State
The Golden Flashes will host Eastern Michigan in the first of three consecutive home games at the M.A.C. Center on Wednesday January 14.
