Kent State elects to not participate in post-season play

The Kent State Golden Flashes had a solid year.  After being predicted to finish 2nd in the MAC East, they 19-12 in the regular season, and finished behind the Akron ZIps and Ohio Bobcats in a stacked East Division.  However, they were promptly bounced by the Bowling Green Falcons in the first round of the MAC Tournament, to end their year on a disappointment.

Yet, with the slew of post-season tournaments, it appeared that the Golden Flashes would continue their season beyond that loss, with a chance to get to 20 wins.  However, Rob Senderoff has elected to keep his team home this year, and will not partake in any of the tournaments.

.@KentStMBB Chooses Not to Participate in 2016 Postseason https://t.co/KnmOzWkdcW

— Kent State Athletics (@KentStAthletics) March 14, 2016

The announcement was made after the NCAA Tournament and NIT fields were set, meaning the Golden Flashes chose not to take part in the CIT, CBI, or newly founded Vegas 16 (or Vegas 8, depending on how the rumors of a smaller field play out).  Outside of the Vegas 16, these tournaments have been known to take a financial toll on both the teams that host these games, and the teams that travel for these games, despite being a great experience booster for underclassmen.  The Vegas 16 tournament has said that they'd host and house the teams partaking in the tournament, but recent rumors have stated that the tournament has limited their field to 8 teams due to financial struggles.

Kent State ends the year at 19-13 and will look to build around First Team All-MAC forward Jimmy Hall next year, as they lose solid players in Khaliq Spicer, Chris Ortiz, and Xavier Pollard to graduation.