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Kent State
Road to the Final Four.............................................................................................
The Golden Flashes survived a rugged regular season to finish on top of the MAC East Division. They entered the conference tournament as the second seed, but did what the top seed Chippewas couldn't -- beat Miami (Ohio). Kent denied the Redhawks a NCAA bid for the fourth straight title game, earning the school's second trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Flashes had some nice wins early, beating St. Bonaventure and Northwestern on its own court. Kent plays hard, a reflection of its coach Gary Waters who has led the Flashes to 23 wins in each of the past three seasons.Player to Watch Trevor Huffman, who scored 27 in the MAC title game, averaged 16.8 points during the regular season but seemed to shine in the spotlight of the tournament. He scored 20 and 19 in the first two MAC tourney games and finished with 10 games of 20 or more points. At 6-1, 190 pounds, the guard can create his own shot by driving to the basket, or spot up and shoot. He was 35 percent from behind the arc and 38 percent overall, which is an odd stat to say the least. But he can shoot, hitting 85 percent of his free throws. With the Ball The guards set the tone for the Golden Flashes. Kent starts essentially four of them, with Huffman, and 6-3 junior Demetric Shaw getting the ball from 5-11 point Andrew Mitchell. Kyreem Massey is a 6-5 swingman and all four average double figures. Defending the Ball Shaw actually leads the team in rebounding at 6.9 per game and is the defensive stopper. Massey is a high-flyer who can hold his own against bigger players in the post. The middle may be the Flashes' Achilles heel, but nobody is going to out-work them on either end of the court.Seed Analysis Exceeding the Seed None. Playing to Expectations Falling Short None. BRACKETOLOGY SCORE: 1.0 (1.000 is playing exactly to a team's historical seeding) Bracketology Report1985-2000: The Golden Flashes are dancing for the second time in three years. These are the only NCAA appearances for Kent in school history, with the Flashes still looking for the first-ever NCAA victory. No. 11 Kent was waxed by No. 6 Temple in its 1999 tournament debut, but will try to continue a history of upsets by MAC representatives. The conference is only 22-57 all-time in the tourney, but is a more impressive 9-14 in the past decade. Roster
 NCAA Basketball Championship Week It's March, which means the madness has started and invitations are being reserved throughout Championship Week.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |  |
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