Kent State University
Ball State University
First Place Flashes Begin Road Stretch Tuesday Night at Ball State
1/18/2016 8:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes Video Live Stats Audio
Kent State (12-5, 3-1 MAC) starts a stretch of four of five games on the road Tuesday when it visits Ball State (12-5, 3-1 MAC) in a matchup of Mid-American Conference division leaders at 7 p.m.
The Flashes stepped up their defensive intensity in the second half to slow down a high-powered Ohio offense and earn an 89-82 victory Saturday night to finish the homestand at 2-1. Kent State trailed most of the first half, but closed out with a 4-0 run to take a 38-37 lead into the locker room. The Flashes extended their lead to 16 at the 6:02 mark before having to close it out at the free throw line after the Bobcats cut it to four twice in the final minute. Xavier Pollard scored a game-high 23 points and Kellon Thomas added 20, including 10-for-13 at the charity stripe. Jimmy Hall recorded his second double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Kent State's bench outscored Ohio's, 30-16, with Jaylin Walker (16 points) leading the way.
The frontcourt of Jimmy Hall (15.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg), Khaliq Spicer (6.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and Chris Ortiz (8.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg) has helped Kent State control play around the basket. The Flashes own a +3.8 rebounding advantage while outscoring opponents 35.6-26.8 in the paint and 12.2-9.2 on second chance opportunities.
The Golden Flashes' backcourt is led by Xavier Pollard, who is averaging 12.5 points and a team-best 3.1 assists per game off the bench. Kellon Thomas has played well in his return to the court after being sidelined for all but eight games during the 2014-15 season and is averaging a career-high 11.9 points per game. Jaylin Walker (7.6 ppg) eclipsed the 100-point mark vs. Buffalo t become the first Kent State freshman to hit the century mark since Eric Gaines during the 2010-11 season. In the Flashes' game against #18 SMU on December 22, Walker turned in the first 20-point performance by a freshman since all-time leading scorer Trevor Huffman dropped 21 against Miami on January 20, 1999. Deon Edwin has played terrific since being inserted into the starting lineup, averaging 8.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals over the last three games.
Scouting Ball State
Ball State has been one of the top defensive teams in the MAC this season, allowing a league-low 62.9 points per game to rank 20th in the country and holding opponents to shoot just 39.4-percent from the field. Offensively, the Cardinals rely on the three-point shot with 39.3-percent of their field goals attempts coming from long range. They average 8.0 three-pointers per game and shoot the three-ball at a 37.0-percent rate.
Youngstown State transfer Ryan Weber averages a team-high 12.9 points per game to go with 4.3 rebounds per game. The 6'6" forward is a dangerous three-point shooter and shoots 46.1-percent with 2.3 makes per game. Francis Kiapway (8.2 ppg) shoots 47.4-percent from long range and averages 2.1 three-pointers per game to join Weber as one of the top three-point shooting duos in the MAC. Point guard Naiel Smith (3.5 ppg) does not look for his own shot but has a 2.03 assist-to-turnover ratio and averages 1.6 steals per game.
Despite being undersized in terms of height, Franko House and Bo Calhoun are very productive on the interior for the Cardinals. House averages 11.4 points per game on 56.8-percent shooting to go with 5.3 rebounds per game. Calhoun ranks fifth in the MAC at 8.1 rebounds per game and scores 10.6 points per game with the ability to make shots from the perimeter (17 three-point field goals).
Quick Flashes
• Five Golden Flashes have scored at least 20 points in a game this season.
• Kent State has taken care of the ball and ranks 35th in the country in turnovers per game (11.1) and 95th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.20).
• The Golden Flashes rank 108th in the country in defensive rebounding percentage (.717), 59th in offensive rebounding percentage (.342) and 84th in rebound margin (+4.3).
• Jaylin Walker posted career-highs with 20 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists vs. #18 SMU (Dec. 22) to become the first Kent State freshman with a 20-point performance since all-time leading scorer Trevor Huffman (21 vs. Miami, 1/20/99)
• The Golden Flashes outrebounded YSU, 53-34, on in the season-opener. The 53 rebounds are the most by a KSU team since Dec. 20, 2003 at Boston College.
Series History
• Kent State is 41-38 all-time vs. Ball State and owns a 12-game winning streak in the series.
• The Golden Flashes own a 12.5-point average margin of victory over the last 12 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 27-11 as the home team in the series, but the Golden Flashes have won five straight visits to Muncie by an average of 10.5 points.
• Head coach Rob Senderoff is 5-0 vs. Ball State.
FLASHback to Last Meeting
• Playing without All-MAC forward Jimmy Hall for the fifth consecutive game, Kent State turned in a gritty defensive performance to secure the season sweep of Ball State in a 58-53 victory at the M.A.C. Center on February 18, 2015.
• The Cardinals scored on their first four possessions, which included 3-for-3 from the three-point line, to jump out to an 11-4 lead.
• That lead grew to eight points at 15-7 before the Flashes went on a 13-0 run to take lead for good.
• Kent State led by as much as 11 before taking a 32-25 lead into the locker room at halftime.
• Ball State shot just 10-for-31 (31.3%) in the second half, but crashed the glass hard to outscore the Flashes, 28-26, over the final 20 minutes. The Cardinals had more offensive rebounds (12) than Kent State had missed field goals (11) in the second half.
• The Flashes held the Cardinals to 19-for-55 (34.5%) shooting overall and just 8-for-26 (30.8%) from the three-point arc. The Flashes defended well without fouling, as the Cardinals attempted just 11 free throws in the contest.
• Devareaux Manley scored 19 points, which included 5-for-9 from the three-point line, to lead all scorers.
• Khaliq Spicer notched his first career double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds to go with 2 steals and 2 blocked shots.
• Gary Akbar (7 points) and Kris Brewer (6 points) led Kent State to a 13-0 bench scoring advantage. Brewer added 4 assists.
• Bo Calhoun's 18-point, 8-rebound night led the way for Ball State. Franko House and Jeremiah Davis added 10 points each for the Cardinals.
TV / Radio
Joel Godett and David Eha will have the call on ESPN3, while Ty Linder and David Carducci will bring you the action on the Golden Flashes iHeartRadio channel and 640 WHLO.
Next Up For Kent State
The Golden Flashes finish a back-to-back road week on Saturday at Bowling Green.
