Kent State (9-7, 1-2) will travel to Kalamazoo, MI to face the Western Michigan Broncos on Saturday at 2 PM EST. The Flashes are fresh off of two consecutive MAC loses, including a highly disappointing loss to Northern Illinois (10-6, 2-1) at home on Tuesday. Kent State lead by 13 points in the second half only to blow the lead and ultimately lose to the Huskies in overtime, 74-70. Kent got a great game from Jaylin Walker, who tied a career high with six three pointers and 22 points.
The Western Michigan Broncos (5-10, 1-2) are coming off of their biggest win of the season, after upsetting Toledo (9-7, 2-1) at home on Tuesday. The Broncos shot 70% percent from the field and blitzed the favored Toledo club 90-74. The Broncos victory broke the Rockets five game winning streak and handed them their first conference loss. Western Michigan was led by their back-court play as they got terrific performances from freshman guard, Reggie Jones and Junior point guard Thomas Wilder. The Broncos win signified their first MAC victory of the 2016-17 campaign.
Saturday’s game between Kent State and Western Michigan is the only meeting between the two schools this season. It is 117th meeting between the two schools with Kent State leading the all-time battle 61-55. The Flashes have won 9 of the last 11 meeting including last season’s game, hosted by Western Michigan. Kent State’s Jimmy Hall sent the game to overtime with a crucial late game steal and led his squad to a nice road win with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Western Michigan’s ability to match-up with Hall will play a huge part of Saturday’s game. Hall dominated the game last season and Western Michigan’s strength is in their back-court. The Broncos will throw 6-10 junior Drake Lamont and 6-8 freshman forward Brandon Johnson at Hall defensively. The Flashes have talent in the back-court and on the wings but would be prudent to ride Hall as far as they can take them on Saturday.
When: 2 PM EST, January 14th, 2017
Where: University Arena, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Watch: ESPN3 or stream via the WatchESPN app
Radio: Kent- WHLO/IHeart WMU- Z96.5 WZOX
Line: Western Michigan -2