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Golden Flashes earn No. 9 seed in Midwest
By Stephanie Storm
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Monday, Mar 17, 2008
KENT: Kent State officials must have underestimated the popularity of their men's basketball team.
Fresh off winning the Mid-American Conference Tournament Saturday night at Cleveland's Quicken Loans Arena, the Golden Flashes were greeted by wall-to-wall people — fans, cheerleaders and various media — at a packed Water Street Tavern as they awaited word of their NCAA Tournament fate Sunday evening.
With players struggling to get through the throng of people to their seats in front of the widescreen TV, the local fire marshal stopped by to check on safety concerns.
He was still there about 6:15 p.m., when the place erupted in loud cheers as Kent State (28-6) learned it had been placed in the tournament bracket's Midwest Region as a ninth seed. The Flashes will play No. 8-seed University of Nevada-Las Vegas in Omaha, Neb., in the first round Thursday at the Qwest Center.
''We're obviously real proud to get such a high seed,'' Kent State coach Jim Christian said. ''It's the highest seed Kent's ever had, and these guys deserve it. They earned the right to play a great basketball team in UNLV.''
They earned the honor by knocking off rival Akron for a third time this
season in the league title game on Saturday, claiming the MAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament's field of 65.
''We conquered one goal,'' senior forward Mike Scott said afterwards, a freshly cut net hanging around his neck as proof. ''Before this season, I told this team we were going to make history.''
And the next goal?
''Win the first game in the NCAA Tournament,'' he said with a wide grin.
Kent State's NCAA bid is its fifth in the past 10 years, the Flashes having also competed in the midst of March Madness in 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2006. The Flashes' biggest moment came in the 2001-02 postseason, when they advanced to the Elite Eight round.
Thursday's game (time to be determined) will be the first meeting between the Flashes and the Mountain West Conference champion Rebels (26-7), who upset top-seeded and No. 24 BYU in their conference championship to claim their second consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.
''We really don't care who we play,'' sophomore guard Chris Singletary said not long after Kent State's name flashed on the TV screen. ''We're just glad to be in it and still playing basketball somewhere. If we stay focused and just play Kent State basketball, we are ready for anybody.''
The winner of Thursday's game will face the winner of the top-seeded Kansas/No. 16 Portland State game on Saturday.
But the Flashes won't be looking past Thursday's big game.
''The only thing on our minds right now is to get ready and play in the first round,'' said junior guard Al Fisher, who won the MAC's Player of the Year award in his first season with KSU as a transfer from Redlands Community College in Oklahoma.
Christian, in his sixth year as KSU coach, doesn't want his team to settle for just being happy to be in the tournament.
''This time of the year, you just gotta believe anything can happen,'' he said.
Stephanie Storm can be reached at sstorm@thebeaconjournal.com.
KENT: Kent State officials must have underestimated the popularity of their men's basketball team.
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