RedHawks to Meet No. 3 Kent State in MAC Tournament Semifinal

FRIDAY: Miami continues its stint in the 2025 Mid-American Conference Tournament with a semifinal contest versus No. 3 seed Kent State on Friday, March 14. The RedHawks play at 7:30 p.m. in the second game of the day. Miami is looking for its first win in the semifinal of the MAC Tournament since 2007. This season, the RedHawks are 3-0 in neutral site games. Entering the MAC Tournament, the RedHawks ranked fifth nationally in three-point percentage (.394), eighth in effective field goal percentage (.571), 15th in threes per game (10.5), 21st in field goal percentage (.485), 30th in turnovers forced per game (14.61), 31st in scoring offense (81.1) and 47th in turnover margin (2.4). Miami also led the MAC in six statistical categories, including steals per game (8.4).

ABOUT KENT STATE: Kent State is coming off a 17-17 (8-10 MAC) season in 2023-24. Head coach Rob Senderoff is in his 14th season with the Golden Flashes. Heading into the 2024-25 season, the MAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll picked the Golden Flashes to finish third in the conference.

Kent State is currently 22-10 (11-7 MAC), having won its last three games. The Golden Flashes most recently topped Western Michigan 73-66 in the quarterfinal of the MAC Tournament. Kent State has two players who average double figures in scoring, which include Jalen Sullinger (15.0) and VonCameron Davis (14.8). Davis also leads the team in steals per game (1.3), and Marquis Barnett follows closely behind (1.2). Cian Medley leads the team in assists per game (4.2), and Cli'Ron Hornbeak has recorded the most blocks per game (1.3). Delrecco Gillespie (7.5) and Hornbeak (6.1) lead the team in rebounds per game. Davis was named to the preseason All-MAC First Team, and Sullinger was named to the preseason All-MAC Second Team. Earlier this week, Davis received All-MAC First Team honors, Sullinger earned All-MAC Second Team honors and Hornbeak was named to the MAC All-Defensive Team. Before the start of the MAC Tournament, the Golden Flashes ranked first in the conference in free throw percentage (.763), field goal percentage defense (.420), rebound margin (5.0) and scoring defense (68.3).

THE SERIES WITH THE GOLDEN FLASHES: Friday will mark the 156th time Miami and Kent State have faced off. The RedHawks head into this game leading 95-60 in the series. The last time Miami faced off with the Golden Flashes, the RedHawks secured a 96-92 overtime win in Oxford on Feb. 21, 2025. Before that, the RedHawks claimed a 70-61 road win against Kent State on Jan. 18, 2025. The series in the MAC Tournament is tied 5-5.

TELEVISION & RADIO: Game two of the MAC Tournament semifinal will be broadcast on CBSSN at 7:30 p.m. In its sixth year of its partnership with Van Wagner, the Miami Sports Network continues its coverage of Miami men's basketball with a group of affiliates blanketing most of Southwest Ohio and Southeast Indiana. Tune in to one of Miami's gameday affiliates: WFMG-FM 101.3 (Richmond, Ind.), WMOH-AM 1450 (Hamilton, Ohio) or WONE-AM 980 (Dayton, Ohio)

UP NEXT: With a win on Friday, the RedHawks have the chance to advance to the MAC Tournament Championship for the first time since 2007. The Red and White would then compete on Saturday, March 15, at 7:40 p.m. in Rocket Arena against either No. 1 Akron or No. 4 Toledo.

SEASON SUCCESS: Miami has reached 24 wins in a season for the first time since 1998-99 and has also secured the program's most MAC wins since 2005-06. In their final home game, the RedHawks surpassed the program record for most team points scored in a single season. The Red and White also set a new record for the most consecutive home wins (15) in a single season and tied the program record for the most regular-season wins in program history (23).

ALL-MAC AWARDS: On Wednesday morning, the Mid-American Conference announced its postseason awards. Peter Suder was named First-Team All-MAC, and Kam Craft received Third-Team All-MAC honors. Brant Byers was recognized as the MAC Freshman of the Year and earned a spot on the MAC All-Freshman Team. Suder is the first RedHawk to receive First-Team All-MAC honors since Julian Mavunga in 2012, and Byers is the first Miami player to be recognized as the MAC Freshman of the Year since Nike Sibande in 2018.

RECENT ACTION: The second-seeded Miami University men's basketball team wore down seventh-seeded Eastern Michigan Thursday at Rocket Arena, using a 17-2 run late in the second half to rally from behind for an 81-75 victory. Miami outscored the Eagles 35-8 in bench points and set the tone with five offensive rebounds on a single-first half possession en route to a quarterfinal win, the RedHawks' first MAC Tournament victory in Cleveland since 2010. The Red and White moved into second all-time in team assists (524) and fifth all-time in team blocks (114) over the course of a season.

MID-MAJOR TOP 25 COACHES POLL: The Miami University men's basketball team was selected to the Mid-Major Top 25® Poll for the ninth consecutive week on Monday. The RedHawks are No. 22 in the most recent rankings. Now in its 26th season, the Mid-Major Top 25® is voted on by 31 Division I coaches.

SETTLING THE SCORE: Averaging 81.06 points per game, the RedHawks are averaging the most points by a team in 60 years since the 1964-65 season by a Miami team that averaged 82.2 ppg and was led by Jeff Gehring (17.1 ppg) and Charlie Coles (16.2 ppg). The current 81.06 average would rank third all-time by a team in program history behind the 1965 squad and the 1952-53 team that averaged 83.8 ppg that was led by Dick Walls (21.5) and a starting lineup that also included Darrell Hedric.

IT'S BEEN A WHILE:

It is only the second time a Miami team has amassed more than 900 field goals. The RedHawks own 934 field goals, second to the 950 during the 1985-86 season (led by Ron Harper).
Miami's 524 assists are just the third time in program history a team has eclipsed the 500-assist mark. The 1985-86 squad recorded 545 and the 1984-85 team posted 509. Both squads featured Ron Harper.
The RedHawks' seven 90+ point games this season equal the most since the 1990-91 and 1989-90 teams achieved the feat. The last time a Miami team had more than seven 90+ point games was in 1964-65 when the Red and White scored 90 or more points nine times.

SEASON WATCH:

Kam Craft is second in single-season three-point field goals made, as he has knocked down 89 this year (he needs just five more to claim a program record)
Antwone Woolkfolk is shooting 61.5% from the field, a mark that would rank him at fourth all-time if the season ended today
The Red and White are 17 field goals away from ranking first all-time in team field goals made over the course of a season
Miami has recorded a new team record for the most three-point field goals made in a season (337)
The RedHawks need 22 assists to claim the most team assists over a single season in program history
Miami needs five team steals to rank third all-time in program history for total steals in a season
With seven more team blocks, the Red and White would move into fourth in program history for blocked shots
Kam Craft, Mekhi Cooper, Peter Suder and Antwone Woolfolk are one start away from tying second in program history for games started

RedHawks to Meet No. 3 Kent State in MAC Tournament Semifinal

Players Mentioned

Brant Byers

Mekhi Cooper

Kam Craft

Peter Suder

Antwone Woolfolk

Related Videos