NCAA Tournament scouting report: Kent State

Kent State celebrates its MAC championship win over Akron that secured its trip to the NCAA Tournament. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

Might there be more March magic for Kent State?

The Golden Flashes earned their bid to the NCAA Tournament by knocking off each of the top three seeds in the Mid-American Conference Tournament in back-to-back-to-back games last week. They’ve won nine of their past 10 games, eight of which came after trailing at halftime.

UCLA will try to cool off Kent State’s hot streak Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Sacramento (6:57 p.m. PT, truTV).

No. 14 seed Kent State (22-13) relies on a key trio for scoring; Jimmy Hall, Jaylin Walker and Deon Edwin have scored 61 percent of their team’s total points. Hall leads the way with 18.9 points per game while also averaging 10.5 rebounds. The senior forward was named to All-Mid-American First Team for the third straight year this season. Walker scores 15.6 points per game, followed by Edwin’s 13. The next closest teammate is Kevin Zabo, who averages just 5.4 points per game. 

Kent State is the second-best offensive rebounding team in the country. Its 14.97 offensive boards per game trails only North Carolina.

The highest-scoring game in MAC Tournament history propelled the Golden Flashes to their first NCAA Tournament since 2008. In the first round of the conference tournament, Kent State knocked off Central Michigan in overtime 116-106. Central Michigan missed an easy layup and an open 3-pointer at the end of regulation before Kent State scored 25 points in overtime to win. Hall scored a career-high 33 points.

The Golden Flashes then got close victories over the conference’s No. 3 seed Buffalo and No. 2 Ohio before knocking off No. 1-seeded Akron in the final. Each of their past three wins have been by five points or less.

NCAA Tournament, South Regional first round
UCLA vs. Kent State, approx. 6:57 p.m. PT Friday
Where: Sacramento, Golden 1 Center
TV/radio: truTV/AM 570 or 1150