2014 MAC Tournament Preview: Kent State at Miami

Monday night Kent State takes on the Miami RedHawks in a game that will decide who gets to move on to Cleveland. The RedHawks and Flashes have done battle twice this year so far and have split both. The RedHawks were able to grab a win in Kent and the Flashes a win in Oxford.

In the earliest meeting this year, the Flashes beat Miami by 12 thanks in large part to an offensive explosion by Kris Brewer. Brewer scored 28 points including going a perfect 7-for-7 from downtown. The Flashes outscored Miami a remarkable 50-14 off the bench. Overall the Flashes landed 15-of-26 threes which confirms their style of play, but not quite their performance. The Flashes have lived and died by the three. Unless they are unstoppable like they were in Oxford, they will more than likely go home packing.

In the second matchup just six days ago, the Flashes were a disaster out of the gate. The RedHawks had a 24 point lead before the Flashes eventually made it respectable. This time it was the 'Hawks who were landing threes. Miami scored 21 points in the first half off the three and Will Felder ended up with 26. Unlike game one, Brewer was able to score only two points and the Flashes shot an underwhelming 25 percent from three.

So who is going to take this one back in Oxford? Clearly the Flashes enjoyed the bounces in game one but the RedHawks dominated everything in game two. At the end of this day, the Flashes will determine who wins by their percentage of threes they can knock down. If they can only hit five threes like they did six days ago, the RedHawks will advance. If Kent State can get hot like they have a couple times this year, then not only can they win this game, but they can make a serious run.