Twelve days ago, Kent State beat Eastern Michigan 67-60 in the MAC opener at Eastern Michigan.

Wednesday the teams meet again in Kent.

Eastern is 2-1. Kent State is 1-2.

That’s something we didn’t expect.

When the two teams played before, Eastern had the MAC’s worst record (4-8) and lowest RPI in non-conference play. It had finished with the league’s worst record last season. KSU was 7-5 in the preseason and is the defending MAC East champion.

But since the opener, the Flashes (9-7) let an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter get away in an 81-79 loss at Northern Illinois and never led in a 66-61 loss at home to Western Michigan.

Eastern (6-8) beat Bowling Green at BG for the first time since 2005, 54-52, then came home to beat Toledo 70-57. Both Bowling Green (8-6) and Toledo (10-5) have solid winning records.

So who’s favored Wednesday? Probably still Kent State because it’s a home game. But Eastern’s two-game winning streak shows what kind of conference the MAC is this season.

“If you look at every conference in the country, Power Five included, at the bottom of the league you have some easy wins,” KSU coach Todd Starkey said after Saturday’s loss to Western. “In this league, you don’t. There’s no there’s no game that you can go into and not play well and win.”

The MAC has the seventh best RPI of the 31 Division I conferences in the country, according to WarrenNolan.com, the service I follow most closely. The league is ahead the Atlantic 10, the Colonial, the Ivy League, the West Coast Conference — and the American Athletic Conference, home of No. 1 Connecticut. (Here are conference rankings.) RPI is a ranking system that takes into account a school’s record and strength of schedule.

That’s the best the league has ever done. Eight of the 12 MAC teams have RPIs in the top 100 (of 349 teams). Three MAC teams are in the top 10 in the latest Mid-Major Poll. 

About the only thing that will keep the MAC from getting two teams into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 20 years is the possibility that the league schools will beat up on each other so badly that no one will have a great record. Here’s how MAC teams are doing:

East Division

1. Buffalo: 11-3, 2-1 in MAC, 28 RPI, 10th in the Mid-Major Poll.
2. Ohio: 8-6, 2-1, 92 RPI.
3. Miami: 9-5, 2-1, 102 RPI.
4. Kent State: 8-7, 1-2, 138 RPI
5. Bowling Green: 8-6,0-3, 153 RPI.
6. Akron: 6-8, 0-3, 226 RPI.

West Division

1. Central Michigan: 11-3, 3-0 in MAC, 43 RPI, ninth in Mid=Major Poll.
2. Ball State: 13-1, 2-1, 24 RPI, seventh in Mid-Major Poll.
3. Northern Illinois: 10-4, 2-1, 95 RPI
4. Western Michigan: 9-6, 2-1, 68 RPI.
5. Eastern Michigan: 6-8, 2-1, 237 RPI.
6. Toledo: 10-5, 1-2, 77 RPI.

Eastern brings a pressure defense to Kent that gave the Flashes trouble in the teams’ first game. KSU had 21 turnovers in that game that led to 25 Eastern Michigan points. For the season, Kent State is last in the conference in turnover margin at minus-3.13 per game, though the Flashes had their best game of the season in that category against Western Michigan Saturday. The Flashes equaled a season high with nine steals and forced 22 WMU turnovers. KSU committed 14 turnovers.

Eastern averages 11.9 steals per game, third in the MAC and 31st in the country, and 16.0 offensive rebounds, first in the MAC and 24th in the country.

The Eagles’ leading scorers are redshirt junior Danielle Minott and freshman Courtney Lewis, both of whom average 12.6 points a game. Senior Sasha Daily is first in the MAC and 12th in the country with 3.43 steals a game.

Kent State had five players averaging better than eight points a game, led by senior forward Jordan Korinek at 19.7. That’s third highest in the MAC. Redshirt sophomore guard Megan Carter has averaged 16 points a game in the three games since she became eligible after Christmas. Grad student and forward McKenna Stephens averages 9.8, sophomore guard Ali Poole 8.5 and junior guard Alexa Golden 8.2.

To follow the game

Action starts at 7 p.m. at the MACC.

Video is on ESPN3. You can follow it online if your subscribe to ESPN on cable or on satellite.

Audio starts at about 6:45 p.m. on Golden Flash iHeart Radio and WHLO 640.

Live statistics will be available through the Kent State website

Kent State women’s basketball website, including links to statistics, roster, schedule/results, record book and more.

Preview from the Eastern Michigan website, including links. Here are the Eagles’  detailed game notes.

MAC statistics, including standings. Top games Wednesday are Northern Illinois at Western Michigan and Ohio at Toledo.

Statistically, Western Michigan and Kent State were very close going into Saturday’s game at the M.A.C. Center, but Western won just about every battle and the game, 66-61.

The teams had identical records of 8-6 overall, 1-1 in the MAC going into the game.

The key stats on Saturday:

Field goal percentage: Western Michigan 47.2 percent, Kent State 35.0. (Before the game, WMU averaged 40.3, Kent State 39.7.)

Rebounding: Western Michigan 40, Kent State 27. (WMU had been plus-four in rebounding margin, Kent State plus-six.)

Blocked shots: Western Michigan 9, Kent State 0. (WMU had averaged 3.3, Kent State 3.1.)

Points in the paint: Western Michigan 38, Kent State 22. (There are no season statistics in that category, though KSU’s strength is working the ball to all-MAC forward Jordan Korinek, who averages almost 20 points a game.)

Korinek had 22 Saturday, but had to work hard against 6-2 Western Michigan center Marley Hill, who blocked six shots in the game. At least four came against Korinek. I can’t remember four blocks against Korinek before.

“They were playing pretty physical defense,” coach Todd Starkey said after the game. “We had a hard time getting to the spots where we typically get the touches on the offensive end.”

Western Michigan jumped to a 10-2 lead (“We weren’t the aggressor,” Starkey said) and never trailed in the game.

Kent State closed the score to 39-37 at the end of the third quarter, but Western scored the first nine points of the fourth.

“We gave back everything we had fought so hard for in a matter of a minute and a half,” Starkey said. “We settled for contested jump shots, and they drove right down our throat. You just can’t do that in MAC play against a good team.”

Notes

• Neither team shot a free throw in the first half. For Kent State. That hasn’t happened in Starkey’s two years in Kent. Last season KSU was third in the country in made free throws and won about 10 games at the free throw line. For the game, the Flashes were 13 of 14 (Korinek was seven of seven and Carter six of seven). Western was 13 of 18, though nine of those free throws came in the last three minutes when Kent was fouling to get the ball back.
• Megan Carter had 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal. She made only one turnover; she had a total of 11 in the previous two games. In the three games since she became eligible at the end of fall semester, she’s averaged 15.3 points a game.
• Kent State, which has struggled with turnovers all season, had one of its better games in that category. The Flashes committed 14 to Western Michigan’s 22, but they scored only 17 points off of them while WMC had 14 points off of KSU turnovers.
• Ali Poole had three three-pointers for nine points for KSU. She has seven three-point baskets in her last two games. She also had three assists, two steals and one turnover in the game.
• Point guard Deja Wimby led Western with 17 points. All-MAC forward Breanna Mobley had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Broncos. Hill had 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals to go with her six blocks.
• Western, which has 12 players averaging more than 10 minutes a game, had only seven play that much Saturday. So did Kent State.

Kent State stays home to play Eastern Michigan Wednesday. The Flashes beat Eastern at Eastern 67-60 in their conference opener, but the Eagles have won both their games since. Saturday they beat Toledo (10-5, 1-2), 70-57, in Ypsilanti. Eastern is 6-8 on the season and 2-1 in the MAC.

Other MAC scores

• Central Michigan has the league’s only 3-0 record. The Chippewas (11-3 overall) beat Miami (9-5, 1-2) in Miami, 84-66.
• Buffalo (11-3,, 2-1) lost its first game, 86-84, in overtime at Northern Illinois. Northern, which beat Kent State 81-79 on Wednesday at home, is 10-4, 2-1 in the MAC.
• Ball State (13-1, 2-1) beat Bowling Green (8-6, 0-3) at Bowling Green, 84-73.
• Ohio (8-6, 2-1) beat Akron (6-8, 0-3), 70-67, in overtime in Athens.

MAC standings

Box score

MORE TO COME

Western Michigan dominated Kent State inside and beat the Flashes 66-61 in Kent.

Western outrebounded KSU, 40-27, blocked nine Kent State shots and outscored the Flashes in the paint 38-22.

Kent State drops to 8-7 on the season and 1-2 in the Mid=American Conference. Western is 9-6 and 2-1 in the conference.

Western led almost the entire game. Kent State pulled within two points at the end of the third quarter, but the Broncos scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter. KSU got within six twice in the last two minutes.

Western jumped to a 10-2 lead and never trailed.

Jordan Korinek had 22 points for Kent State, 18 in the second half. Megan Carter had 15 and Ali Poole nine.

Center Marley Hill had 15 points, six blocked shots, four rebounds and three steals for Western Michigan. All-MAC forward Breanna Mobley had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Point guard Deja Wimby led Western with 17 points.

Box score

DETAILED STORY WITH QUOTES WILL FOLLOW

Kent State returns to the M.A.C. Center for only its third game this season when it takes on Western Michigan at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

The game is the first game of a doubleheader with the KSU men, who will play Central Michigan about a half hour after the women finish.

The women split their two non-conference games at home. Before the season coach Todd Starkey agreed the road-heavy schedule wasn’t ideal but that he inherited contracts that forced more away games. The Flashes did go 4-1 in true away games and 2-4 in games at neutral sites.

It’s an important game for the women. Both teams are 8-6 and 1-1 in the MAC. (Six other teams are also 1-1.) The Broncos have an RPI of 82, sixth best in the conference. Kent State’s is at a season-high 130, ninth in the MAC, according to WarrenNolan.com.

If Kent State is going to contend for the MAC East title again, it’s going to have to win some games against good West Division teams. WMU is one of its best chances. The teams play only at Kent this season, and the Flashes beat Western in Kalamazoo last season in one of the key games in its championship season.

Junior Merissa Barber-Smith, the tallest player on the Kent State roster at 6-4, played a critical role in that game. She came off the bench and in the second half had 10 rebounds, helping neutralize Western’s Breanna Mobley, an all-MAC forward who is one of the top rebounders in the league. Mobley had one rebound in the half.  At the end of the season, Starkey credited Barber-Smith with making the difference in four KSU victories, the difference between KSU’s third seed n the MAC tournament and a seventh or eighth seed.

Barber-Smith has been the first post player off the bench for the Flashes but averages only 11.7 minutes a game. She played a total of only 14 minutes in KSU’s first two MAC games. Barber-Smith has the disadvantage of playing behind two four-year players — senior all-MAC forward Jordan Korinek and graduate student McKenna Stephens, who has started 72 games in her career.

Barber-Smith got the first start of her career against Michigan in December and played 29 minutes, scoring six points and grabbing five rebounds against a front line that included a 6-5 all-Big Ten center. I’d expect her to see considerable action against Western.

Besides Mobley, who is 6-1 and averages 14.6 points and 8.6 rebounds a game, Western starts 6-2 center Marley Hill, who averages 10.1 points and 5.7 rebounds. Off the bench, the Broncos have 6-4 sophomore Emma VanZanten and 6-foot freshman Leighah-Amori Wool, a two-time all-state player from Illinois.

They all play. Twelve different Western Michigan players average more than 10 minutes a game.

Kent State, on the other hand, has had only a seven-player rotation in its first two MAC games. Five KSU players average more than 30 minutes a game. A sixth, redshirt sophomore Megan Carter, has averaged 29 minutes in the two games she’s played since becoming eligible second semester.

Carter scored 16 points in her first game back and 17 against Northern Illinois Wednesday. She’s taken the role that MAC player of the year Larissa Lurken had last year as KSU’s leading perimeter scorer and the player with the ball in her hands at the end of the shot clock. She has averaged 14 shots in her two games, second only to Korinek. She also has had a team-leading 11 turnovers in those two games.

Turnovers have been Kent State’s biggest weakness all season. The Flashes had 21 against Eastern Michigan in their MAC opener and 17 against Northern Illinois. They had seven turnovers in the last eight minutes, when they lost a 69-61 lead Wednesday night. Their minus-3.93 turnover margin in worst in the MAC.

Western Michigan has a plus-1.21 turnover margin, seventh in the league.

To follow the game

Action starts at 4:30 p.m. at the MACC. One ticket gets you into both the women’s and men’s games.

Video is on ESPN3. You can follow it online if your subscribe to ESPN on cable or on satellite.

Audio starts at about 4:15 p.m. on Golden Flash iHeart Radio.

Live statistics will be available through the Kent State website

Preview from the Kent State website, including links to statistics, roster, schedule/results, record book and more. Here are detailed game notes for the media.

Preview from the Western Michigan website, including links. Here are the Broncos game notes.

MAC statistics, including standings. Top games are Buffalo (12-2, 2-0 in the MAC) at Northern Illinois (9-4, 1-1) and Central Michigan (10-3, 2-0) at Miami ((9-4, 1-1).

It was a very tough one to get away.

Kent State had led Northern Illinois on its home floor for most of the game before the Flashes sagged at the end. As KSU struggled, Northern’s Courtney Woods finished a brilliant 39-point game with her team’s last nine points, and the Huskies came away with an 81-79 victory.

The Flashes led 76-72 with four minutes to go when Kelly Smith grabbed an offensive rebound and tapped it behind the three-point line. Eventually the ball went to Woods, who hit a three-point shot. Forty seconds later, Woods hit another three-pointer, then made two foul shots 40 seconds after that.

KSU missed a chance to tie the game at 80 with 55 seconds to go when Megan Carter missed her the only foul shot she missed all night (she was seven of eight).

“We had an opportunity to dive on a loose ball, and we didn’t,” coach Todd Starkey said in his postgame interview on Golden Flashes iHeart Radio. “We ended up leaning over for it and didn’t get it. They ended up tipping it out and getting that kick-out for the three.

“We had the game won and gave it away.  We made too many mistakes down the stretch. We got outhustled down the stretch.”

Kent State made four turnovers in those last four minutes, though the last one came on a baseball pass with 2.9 seconds to go. Even that was a close play. Kent State’s Jordan Korinek collided with a Northern Illinois player in the foul lane as both went for the ball. No foul was called. Neither player touched the ball, and it came back to Northern Illinois under its own basket.

“The turnover bug is just killing us right now,” Starkey said. “It’s something that we work on every single day. We emphasize it all the time. At some point, they’ve got to take care of the ball better. We’ve got to make sure that we don’t have 17 empty possessions against a team that doesn’t press.”

The turnover that really killed KSU Wednesday came with five seconds to go when Northern stole the ball on an inbound pass from under the Kent State basket.

For the game, Kent State gave up 23 points off 17 turnovers and scored 20 off of NIU’s 13 turnovers. The Huskies had only four turnovers in the second half.

The Flashes led NIU 41-35 at halftime. Northern tied it in the third quarter, and Kent State came back and led by as many as eight in the fourth.

But the Flashes had no answer for Woods, who made 7 of 10 three-point shots and 11 of 19 field goals overall. She was 10 of 12 from the foul line and had five rebounds, a block and a steal. Her 39 points tied her career high, set earlier this season, and was the second highest total for a MAC player this season.

Korinek led Kent State with 27 points, making nine of 15 field goals and eight of eight foul shots. Carter, playing her second game of the year after sitting out fall semester with academic problems, had a career-high 17 points. Her previous best was 16 against Eastern Michigan Saturday.

Ali Poole had 14, including four of six three-point shots, and McKenna Stephens had 10. Stephens led KSU with eight rebounds and had four assists.

The Flashes head back to Kent for their first MAC home game and only their third  home game of the season. They’ll play Western Michigan at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in the first of a double-header with the men’s team. Western also is 8-6 and 1-1 and lost to Buffalo 71-49 at Buffalo Wednesday.

Box score

Notes

• Northern Illinois’ 81 points was exactly its season average and 20 points more than Kent State had been allowing defensively. KSU’s 79 was 18 above its average.
• Northern made 49 percent of its shots and 50 percent of its three-pointers. Kent State was 27 for 60 for 45 percent from the field and seven of 18 from three-point distance. Both were their second-best performances of the season.
• The Flashes outrebounded NIU 38-26 and had 12 offensive rebounds to Northern’s five. But KSU had only six second-chance points while the Huskies had 10.
• Kent State made 18 of 20 free throws, its highest percentage of the season.
• The game was the second-closest loss in Starkey’s two years as head coach. The closest was also against Northern Illinois — 98-97 in Kent last season.
• The Flashes play Northern in Kent Feb. 3.

Other MAC scores

After two games, there are only two teams left undefeated in the MAC — West Division preseason favorite Central Michigan and East preseason favorite Buffalo. Eight  teams have 1-1 records. Wednesday scores:

• Central Michigan (10-3, 2-0 in the MAC) 82, Ohio (7-6, 1-1) 58 at Central.
• Buffalo (11-2, 2-0) 71, Western Michigan (8-6, 1-1) 49 at Buffalo.
• Eastern Michigan (5-8, 1-1) 54, Bowling Green (8-5, 0-2) 54 at Bowling Green on a last-second tip by Eboni Jackson.
• Toledo (10-3, 1-1) 60, Akron (6-7, 0-2) 54 at Toledo.
• Ball State (12-1, 1-1) 86, Miami (9-4, 1-1) 61 at Ball State.

MAC standings

Kent State let a four-point lead slip away in the last four minutes and lost at Northern Illinois Wednesday, 81-79.

The Flashes led 76-72 before Courtney Woods scored NIU’s last nine points on two three-pointers and three foul shots, Woods had 39 points, the second highest in Mid-American Conference this season.

Jordan Korinek had 27 points for Kent State. Megan Carter had 17, Ali Poole 14 and McKenna Stephens 10.

Both teams are now 1-1 in the early league season. Overall Kent State is 8-6; Northern is 9-4.

The Flashes play their first home game of the MAC season at 4:30 p.m. Saturday against Western Michigan.

Box score

DETAILED STORY WITH QUOTES FROM COACH TODD STARKEY WILL FOLLOW

CORRECTION: Story has been updated to correct game time to 7 p.m. Kent time (6 p.m. Illinois time).

—

On paper, Kent State and Northern Illinois are very evenly match.

The Flashes are 8-5. The Huskies are 8-4.

KSU’s RPI is 139 with a schedule strength of 237. Northern’s is 138 with a schedule strength of 273.

Both teams lost one of the best players in their schools’ history to graduation. For Kent State it was Larissa Lurken, who set a single-season scoring record last season. For NIU, it was Aly Lehman, a two-time all-MAC player who holds 13 different school records.

A key factor, though, is that Tuesday’s game — second of the MAC season for both teams — is at Northern Illinois, where the Huskies are 3-0 this season and were 9-4 a year ago. NIU beat Kent State 93-72 in DeKalb last season two weeks after the Huskies won a 98-97 barnburner at Kent.

Kent State is 5-1 on the road this season and coming off a 67-60 victory at Eastern Michigan (4-8) Saturday. Northern Illinois lost 67-65 at Miami (9-3).

Under third-year head coach Lisa Carlsen, NIU features a fast-paced offense that scores a lot of points and doesn’t worry a lot about defense. The Huskies average 81.7 points, second best in the MAC, but give up 75.3, worst in the conference.

Kent State is pretty much the opposite. The Flashes lead the MAC in defense at 61.5 points a game but score the fewest points in the conference at 61.5.

Three NIU players average in double-figures — 6-2 junior wing Courtney Woods (18.1 points, 7.1 rebounds), 5-9 senior guard Mikayla Voigt (15.0 points, 4.1 assists) and 6-1 senior forward Kelly Smith (16.2 points, 5.8 rebounds). 6-2 sophomore forward Ally May averaged 9.3 points and 9.5 rebounds.

Jordan Korinek (18.9 points, 5.8 rebounds) and McKenna Stephens (10.2 points, 6.0 rebounds) are Kent State’s top scorers. Megan Carter had 16 points in her first game of the season at Eastern Michigan; she missed the fall semester because of academic issues.

Kent State stayed on the road after its win in Ypsilanti. The Flashes went from Ypsilanti to Illinois, where they practiced twice at Lewis University in Romeoville, about 35 miles from Chicago. The team had dinner Monday at the suburban Chicago home of the parents of Allison Seberger, the team’s director of operations.

The team took a 60-mile bus ride to DeKalb Tuesday, practiced and watched the KSU men play Northern Illinois last night.

To follow the game

Action starts at 7 p.m. Kent time (6 p.m. in Illinois).

Video is on ESPN3. You can follow it online if your subscribe to ESPN on cable or on satellite.

Audio starts at about 6:45 p.m. on Golden Flash iHeart Radio.

Live statistics will be available through the Northern Illinois website.

Kent State website, including links to statistics, roster, schedule/results, record book and more.

Preview from the Northern Illinois website, including links. Here are detailed game notes for the media.

MAC statistics.

Notes

Other scores of interest to KSU fans:

Ohio (7-5) routed Toledo (9-4) in Athens Sunday, 78-61. The outcome wasn’t a complete surprise — it’s hard to win on the road in the MAC — but the margin was.

Other home winners in Saturday MAC openers were Miami (9-3) over NIU (8-4) and Western Michigan (8-5) over Bowling Green (8-4), 67-58.

Central Michigan (9-3) got a big road win at previously undefeated Ball State (11-1), 69-65. Ball State shot poorly in the game and tied it in the last few minutes, but CMU held on.

Buffalo (10-2) beat Akron (6-6) at Akron, 89-66, and Kent State beat Eastern Michigan at Eastern.

Kent State opened its season with a 59-54 win at Northern Kentucky, a team that was 2-10 going into Saturday’s game with No. 19 Green Bay. In one of the bigger upsets of the women’s season, Northern beat Green Bay 62-54.