Kent State University
Northern Illinois
Flashes Return Home for Matchup With NIU
1/20/2020 5:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
KENT, Ohio-Â The Kent State men's basketball team returns home and looks to bounce back from back-to-back losses as the Flashes host Northern Illinois on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at the M.A.C. Center.
THE GAME
Kent State (13-5, 3-2 MAC) vs. Northern Illinois  (9-9, 2-3 MAC)
Tuesday, Jan. 21 | M.A.C. Center  | Kent, Ohio | 7:00 PM
BROADCAST
TV: ESPN+
Radio: Dan Griffin (pbp), WHLO 640 AM (flagship), iHeart Radio
NORTHERN ILLINOIS HEAD COACH
Mark Montgomery
Record at Northern Illinois: 114-158 Â (9th season)
KENT STATE HEAD COACH
Record at Kent State: 174-114 (ninth season)
SERIES HISTORY
Kent State leads the all-time series with a 38-21 record.
Kent State is 21-7 when playing in Kent
Kent State is 7-4 against the Huskies under head coach Rob Senderoff.
Last season the two teams met in Kent on Jan. 18 with the Flashes coming away with a 78-68 victory.
LAST TIME OUT
The Kent State men's basketball team dropped to 13-5 overall and 3-2 in conference play after a 67-63 loss on the road at WMU. The Flashes used a 17-2 run in the second half to take a 53-43 lead with 9:35 left to play. Western Michigan answered back with an 11-3 run that tied the game at 58 with three minutes remaining. Kent State was held scoreless in the final four minutes of the first half and then went the final 4:39 of the second without a field goal. The result spoiled yet another fine outing by sophomore Anthony Roberts who went 8-12 with 19 points in 27 minutes. Senior Antonio Williams added 15 points while senior Troy Simons rounded out the double-figure scoring with 12 points. Junior Danny Pippen led the team with six boards to go with his nine points.
On the season, the Flashes are shooting 46.1 percent (518-1124) from the floor and 164-458 (35.8 percent) from long range. Williams leads the team averaging (14.2ppg) and Pippen leads the team in rebounds averaging 6.6 boards a game.
FLASH FACTS
- Senior Phil Whittington is just five points away from hitting 1,000 career-points.
- The Flashes have five players averaging in double-figure scoring with Troy Simons (13.3 ppg), Anthony Roberts (13.3 ppg), Antonio Williams (14.2 ppg), Danny Pippen (13.4 ppg), and Phil Whittington (10.1).
- Kent State ranks 28th in the country and third in the conference in scoring offense (79.0 ppg).
- As a team, Kent State ranks 60th in the country and leads the conference with 4.4 blocked shots per game.
- Danny Pippen leads the team with 33 total blocks, five of which he had against Towson. Kent State ranks 55th in the nation in total blocked shots (79) and lead the conference. Pippen also ranks 50th in the nation and is second in conference stats averaging 1.83 blocked shots per game.
- Troy Simons ranks 25th in the nation in 3-point FG per game (3.11) and is second in conference stats.
-Kent State ranks 43rd in 3-point FG per game (9.1) and ranks 3rd in conference stats.
- As a team, Kent State ranks 78th in field goal percentage defense limiting teams to 40.3 percent from the field. Â
-Flashes rank 48th in the country and lead the conference with a +10.3 scoring margin. Kent State ended the non-conference schedule with the highest scoring margin during the non-conference schedule in 20 seasons. (+12.5).
- Defensively, the Flashes have held its opponents to 68.7 points per game on 40.3 percent shooting from the field and 33.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
- Kent State has forced 264 turnovers (14.7 tpg) while collecting 131 steals (7.3 stl/g). On the glass, the Flashes have out re-bounded their opponents 668-663Â for a +1.9 margin.
SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS
The Huskies, stand 9-9 overall and 2-3 in MAC play under 9-year head coach Mark Montgomery. NIU came up short against Bowling Green, 66-64 .Tied at 60 with a minute to play, Bowling Green scored five-straight to slip past NIU, 66-64. NIU was led by 19 points from Eugene German, Trendon Hankerson scored 13 points while Noah McCarty scored 10 points and grabbed a team-best eight rebounds.
NIU held Bowling Green to just 32.8 percent (19-of-58) shooting from the field, including 28 percent (7-of-25) from three-point range. The Huskies are led by German who averages 20.2 points per game. James Lacey leads the team in boards averaging 7.7 per game.
Defensively, NIU has held its opponents to score 65.1 points per game on 39.7 percent shooting from the field and 29.4 percent shooting from beyond the arc. The Huskies have 233 turnovers (12.9 tpg) while collecting 105 steals (5.8 stl/g) On the glass, NIU has out-rebounded their opponents 718-637 for a +4.5 margin.
FOLLOW ALONG
Flash fans unable to attend the game can watch the game on ESPN+, listen through iHeart Radio and Tune-In and follow along with live stats via sidearm. All the links are located below.
Watch: http://www.espn.com/watch?id=6a637871-a1fa-4fa5-8a7a-2d00fe69cc3b
Listen: https://www.iheart.com/live/640-whlo-3520/
Live Stats: https://kentstatesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
