Men’s basketball looks to end losing streak
January 20, 2010
Changes may be on horizon for tonight’s game vs. Buffalo
Coach Geno Ford said change may be a necessity in order for his team to avoid a third-straight loss tonight, after falling to Bowling Green on Sunday.
Kent State (10-7, 1-2 MAC) welcomes Buffalo to the M.A.C. Center tonight at 7 for its third Mid-American Conference game.
Kent State hasn’t lost two straight home games to a MAC team since the 1996-97 season, but the team will have to take down Buffalo (10-4, 3-0 MAC), the MAC East Division leader, to avoid it.
The Flashes have a 22-5 record all-time against the Bulls, with a perfect 12-0 record at home. Senior guard Chris Singletary has averaged 10 points in two career games.
After Sunday’s Bowling Green game, Kent State coach Geno Ford said the starting lineup needed to change.
“We’re going to look at some line-up changes — we won’t start the same five guys,” he said. “We may not start any of them.”
Bowling Green defeated Kent State 76-70. Ford said the players lacked a defensive presence in the game, which needs to change in order to send Buffalo home with its first MAC loss.
“We’ve got to get after it on defense,” Ford said. “We’ve got to get better on the defensive end. We’ve got to get better. The frustration for me is the fact is it’s simple stuff.”
Although the Flashes failed to show up defensively, the offense has not been a problem in the team’s game play.
The Flashes are the only MAC team with four players averaging double-digit point totals: Sophomore forward Justin Greene (13.0), senior guard Tyree Evans (11.8), junior guard Rodriquez Sherman (10.9) and Singletary (10.0).
Evans is third in the MAC with 37 3-pointers and has scored in double figures in eight of the last nine games. Greene has a 10.8 points per game scoring improvement from last season, which is best in the MAC.
But Buffalo has offensive talent of its own, which will be tough for the Kent State defense to contain.
Rodney Pierce, reigning MAC East Player of the week, had 31 points in his last game and he averages a team high 19.8 points per game this season.
The Flashes will finish a three-game home stretch against rival Akron at noon Saturday.
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