Kent State Men’s Basketball Releases Full 2019-2020 Schedule
9/4/2019 1:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
KENT, Ohio- The Kent State University men's basketball program released its 2019-20 non-conference schedule in conjunction with the Mid-American Conference schedule, head coach Rob Senderoff and the league announced Wednesday afternoon.
"We have put together a very challenging non-conference schedule," said head coach Rob Senderoff. "These 13 games give us not only the opportunity to get better as a team but to prepare us for conference play of the season."
The Flashes' 13-game non-conference campaign consists of teams across 10 conferences, including three teams that won 20 or more games. In addition, seven teams advanced to postseason play with two making NCAA tournament appearances, one National Invitation Tournament (NIT) birth and one CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT).
Kent State opens the 2019-20 season at home against Hiram on Wednesday, Nov. 6 which will serve as a tune-up before departing for two games with Towson (Nov. 11) and NIT participant Wright State (Nov. 16). The Flashes return home Nov. 19 to host Purdue Fort Wayne before closing out the homestand with Concord on Thursday, Nov. 21.
"The game at Towson will be special as their head coach Pat Skerry started the Autism Awareness Program. Because of his involvement, and Kalin a member of our team, this will be a very meaningful game for us."
Next, Kent State will face Ohio State in Columbus on Nov. 25. The two teams last met back in 2006. The Buckeyes finished 20-15 last season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Flashes will host Stetson (Nov. 30) and a pair of Horizon League members with Detroit Mercy (Dec.3) and Cleveland State (Dec. 7).
"Having Cleveland State at home and playing at Ohio State is great for our fans and local fans. Ohio State will be a great challenge for us and a great opportunity. Detroit Mercy returns the nation's leading scorer and will pose as challenging matchup as we saw from playing them last season."
Following the homestand, Kent State will compete in the 58th Annual WestStar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational Dec. 16-17. The Flashes open with UC Irvine on Monday, Dec. 16 while taking on either NC A&T or UTEP Tuesday night (Dec. 17). This will be Kent State's third appearance in the tournament as the Flashes last played in it back in 2014.
The Flashes finish the month of December hosting CIT participant Hampton on Dec. 21 and will close the non-conference schedule on the road at Mississippi State on Dec. 30. Mississippi State finished last season 23-11 and made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament before being defeated by Liberty in the Round of 64.
"This year has been a challenge getting our schedule ready and that is part of the reason why it's being announced now. We look forward to bringing an exciting season to our fans and have everyone get out to our games."
Kent State opens MAC play on the road at Bowling Green Friday, Jan. 3. This year's MAC schedule includes East/West crossover division series with Toledo (home, Jan. 7 and away, Jan. 28) and Northern Illinois (home, Jan. 21 and away, Feb. 8). The Flashes are also scheduled to play Central Michigan (Jan. 11), Western Michigan (Jan. 18), Ball State (Feb. 4) and Eastern Michigan (Feb. 18) of the MAC West division.
As usual, the MAC East division teams remain the same but the lineup gets shuffled. The Flashes will see home and away divisional battles with Miami (away, Jan. 14 and home, Feb. 25), Buffalo (away, Jan. 24 and home, Feb. 22), Akron (home, Jan. 31 and away, March 6), and Ohio ( home, Feb. 15 and away, Feb. 29). Kent State will host Bowling Green for its last home game of the season on Tuesday, March 3. Kent State's games against Buffalo (Jan. 24) and Akron (Jan. 31) will be broadcasted on national television on the CBS Sports Network.
This year's MAC Men's Basketball Tournament will begin Monday, March 9th with first round games on campus before moving to Cleveland's Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse (March 12-14). The MAC Men's Basketball Semifinal games will once again air on CBS Sports Network, while the Championship Game will be played on Saturday, March 14th (ESPN2).
Season tickets can be purchased on KentStateSports.com or by calling the Ticket Office at (330) 672-4455.Â
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