Kent State Golden Flashes
From Hoopedia
Kent State University (also known as Kent, Kent State or KSU) is a major public research university located in Kent, Ohio, United States, which is about 40 miles southeast of Cleveland, 12 miles east of Akron, and 30 miles west of Youngstown. With 33,630 students across eight campuses, it is the third largest university in Ohio after the Ohio State University (57,748) and the University of Cincinnati (35,364). Regional campuses include Ashtabula, East Liverpool, Geauga, Salem, Stark, Trumbull and Tuscarawas. Kent State serves as one of the largest employers in northeast Ohio.
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Men's Basketball
The Kent State Golden Flashes Men's Basketball team competes in the Mid-American Conference East Division and last played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2006. The Golden Flashes are currently coached by Jim Christian.
History
Started in 1913, the men's basketball team is Kent State's oldest collegiate team, started just three years after the school was established in 1910 as the Kent State Normal School and just one year after the first classes were held in 1912. In fact, Kent State had a men's basketball team ten years before Wills Gymnasium, the Flashes home for nearly 30 years, would be built in 1923. In 1952, the team moved to their current home, known originally as the Men's Physical Education Building, later to be known as Memorial Gym (1956-1992) and currently as the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center. The year prior saw Kent State join the Mid-American Conference.
The team existed in relative anonymity for most of its existence. They made their first appearance in the MAC Tournament Championship game in 1984, losing a close 42-40 game. They would make the title game again in 1987 and 1989, losing both 64-63 and 67-65 respectively. The Flashes made their first post-season appearance in the 1985 National Invitation Tournament (NIT), losing in the first round. They returned to the NIT in 1989 and 1990, losing in the first round both times.
Beginnings of Success
In 1996, Gary Waters was hired as head coach and began to build what would become the longest run of success in Mid-American Conference history. In 1999 the Flashes won over 20 games and defeated the Miami RedHawks in the MAC Tournament Championship game in Toledo to win their first MAC Tournament title and make their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. The following season, the Flashes again won over 20 games and their first MAC East Division title, but failed to win the conference title and received their first NIT invitation since 1990. The Flashes hosted the first round game against Rutgers and recorded their first-ever post-season win, a 73-62 victory. Kent State would win their second-round match-up at Villanova before falling in the quarterfinals at Penn State. The experience in the NIT proved to be valuable as the following season Kent State returned to the NCAA Tournament and scored their first win, a 77-73 upset win over the Indiana Hoosiers. At the end of the 2000-2001 season, Waters accepted the head coaching job at Rutgers University. While at KSU, Waters overall record was 92-60. He was succeeded at Kent State by Stan Heath, setting the stage for the most memorable season in Kent State basketball history.
2001-2002 Season
Kent State enjoyed its best season in 2001-2002, led by seniors Trevor Huffman, Andrew Mitchell, Demetric Shaw, and Eric Thomas and junior transfer Antonio Gates. The season saw MAC records set in overall wins (30), conference wins (17), and longest winning streak (21). After beginning the season a mediocre 4-4, Kent State dramatically turned their season around by winning 20 of their next 21 games. Following their only MAC loss of the season (a 66-65 loss at Buffalo), they proceeded to win 15-straight games to close the regular season at 24-5 with a 17-1 record in the MAC and winning their first-ever MAC regular season title. After winning the MAC Tournament, the Flashes found themselves seeded tenth in the South regional bracket. After scoring a mild upset of the seventh-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Flashes gained national attention by defeating second-seeded SEC champion Alabama to advance to the Sweet Sixteen and followed that win with a 78-73 overtime win over third-seeded Pitt to become the first MAC team to advance to the Elite Eight since Ohio in 1964, when the tournament contained only 22 teams. The Flashes 21-game winning streak and dream season came to an end in the Elite Eight with an 81-69 loss to Indiana. Following the season, Stan Heath accepted the head coaching job at the University of Arkansas, leaving after just one season and a record of 30-6. Assistant coach Jim Christian was hired later that year as the next head coach.
Jim Christian Era
The Flashes have continued to be successful under Jim Christian, winning over 20 games in every season he has been coach, along with MAC East titles in 2003, 2004, and 2006, a MAC overall title in 2006, and winning the MAC Tournament again in 2006. In both 2003 and 2004, Kent State lost in the MAC Tournament championship game and received bids to the NIT. Following their 2006 MAC Tournament title, they advanced to the 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament where they lost in the opening round. In 2004, Kent State broke the MAC record for consecutive seasons with twenty or more wins by posting their sixth consecutive season. The streak is currently at nine as the 2006-2007 team posted a regular season record of 20-10. In addition, Kent State broke the record for consecutive seasons with ten or more conference wins in a season by posting their ninth consecutive season of ten or more conference wins in 2006-2007, breaking the previous record of eight.
Women's Basketball
The women's basketball team, which began play during the 1975-1976 season, also plays home games at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center. Currently, they are coached by Bob Lindsay, who has been with Kent State for 18 seasons. They have seven MAC East titles (most recent in 2006), six MAC overall titles (most recent in 2002), and three MAC tournament titles (1998, 2000, 2002). In addition, they have five NCAA tournament appearances (last in 2002) and one WNIT appearance (2004). Kent State has appeared in eleven MAC Tournament championship games (tied for most appearances with Toldeo), including seven in a row from 1996-2002. In fact, the 1996-2001 MAC title games all featured Kent State vs. Toledo. In 1998, Kent State became one of only two MAC schools (Bowling Green being the other) to complete the regular season and tournament with a perfect record, going 21-0. Prior to the start of the 2006-2007 season, Kent State had an overall record of 511-353 and a MAC record of 264-163.
