The New Kent...

The MAC circus now takes Bowling Green to the MAC Center on the campus of Kent State University.  Hat tip to an excellent blog post from the BG Athletics Department, where it is noted that the Falcons won last year and are 4-4 at the MAC Center which is pretty good.  Kent is typically very difficult to beat at home (34-6 over the past 3 years).  Certainly, we're the underdogs.  On the other hand, I'm not sure there are any favorites in the MAC this year.

Anyway, it is a new regime in Kent.  In the past, they built an Elite Eight run on a bunch of seniors who had played together for four years.  Now, they are a transfer mill bringing eight new players into the fold this season.  It has not be an easy season off the court.  Earlier this year, three players were suspended after a brawl on campus and recently, Carlton Guyton, their second leading scorer, was suspended after he was arrested and accused of theft.  He has now missed four games and I am not aware of a date for his return.

These issues have not spilled over onto the court, however.  Kent is 9-6 against the 50th toughest schedule to date.  They have a really nice win over South Florida to go with Robert Morris, Furman, and @Iona.  Their worst loss is @Morehead State.  They have lost 3 of their 4 games since Guyton went out and they lost their MAC opener at the JAR to the Zips.

Despite all this, they are a strong team.  They feature Justin Greene, who is among the best players in the MAC but who has slumped in the time coinciding with Guyton being out.  Local media seems to indicate that Zeke Marshall got the better of him this weekend.  Greene is 5th in the MAC in scoring and 3rd in rebounding.  He's 5th in blocked shots and in the Top Ten in tons of stuff.  BG's newly minted paint game will get a test.

Rodriguez Sherman also scores and contributes a few assists and rebounds, though he misses a lot of shots.

Those two guys they had last year.

They also have Michael Porrini who started at Western Carolina, moved to Gulf Coast something or other in Florida, and then transferred to Kent.

Looking at the numbers, Kent is 6-1 at home this year.  They have played at about an even tempo with what BG has played.  They are really good on the boards and getting to the line.  They are 4th in FG% and 4th and 5th in the 3-point categories.

College Basketball

Now, those numbers are for the whole season...where Kent has played a tougher schedule, but where BG is not the team that generated most of the very poor early numbers.