Nila Blackford shares the Kent State lead in scoring average with Lindsey Thall at 11 points a game. (Photo from KSU website.)
Kent State finally gets to play its home opener Friday.
The Flashes will take on Ohio at 2 p.m. in a game postponed from last Saturday. No reason was given by the Mid-American Conference, but it likely was COVID-19 related.
COVID protocols won’t allow fans at the game, but it will be live streamed through the Kent State website. Audio on the game is available on Tune-In Radio, with David Wilson announcing.
Kent State is 0-2 after its 67-64 loss at Saint Francis Wednesday. Here’s link to game story.
Ohio is 2-0 but has been idle since it beat Notre Dame 86-85 on Nov. 27. It earlier beat Liberty, which was picked to finish second in the Atlantic Sun Conference but is 2-3 so far.
Friday’s game is also the MAC opener for both teams. Conference play usually begins after New Year’s, but the league went to a 20-game schedule this season and shuffled its schedule to give more flexibility if games are postponed because of COVID.
Ohio, KSU coach Todd Starkey has said, “may be the best team in the conference.”
OU was picked second in the league to Central Michigan. But CMU lost by 18 to Power 5 opponent Michigan.
The Bobcats have two of the best guards in the MAC, if not in the country. Cece Hooks (25 points per game) and Erica Johnson (27.5) average more points than any two players on the same team in Division I. Both were preseason all-MAC selections and first-team all-MAC last season.
Ohio is ranked fifth in this week’s Mid-Major Top 25 and got six votes in the latest AP poll.
For the second straight game, Kent State will have a significant size advantage with a front line of 6-4 Linsey Marchese, 6-2 Lindsay Thall and 6-2 Nila Blackford. But the Flashes were outrebounded 43-30 by a smaller Saint Francis team.
Notes
- Through two games, Blackford and Thall lead Kent State in scoring with 11.0 averages. Guard Mariah Modkins averaged 8.5. Thall leads in rebounding at 6.0 per game, with Blackford and Clare Kelly at 5.0.
- Ohio and Kent State tied for the MAC East title last season. The teams split their two games, with Ohio winning 63-57 in Athens and the Flashes winning 81-77 in Kent. Ohio and Kent were supposed to play in the conference tournament semifinals when the pandemic ended last season.
- The last five games between the teams have been decided by six points or fewer.
- Live statistics during the game are available on the KSU website.
Sunday at Toledo
Kent State plays its second conference game at 2 p.m. Sunday at Toledo. The Rockets are 3-0 with wins over Oakland and Detroit Mercy. They edged Northern Illinois 82-79 at home Thursday night.