There’s no way around it for Kent State men’s basketball fans. Last year’s ending was tough. A season of ups and downs, inconsistent play mixed with flashes of the team that was expected, mixed with some unmet expectations both individually and team wise, combined with a rash of injuries unlike any other season in the Rob Senderoff era, including a frontcourt that was decimated by injuries.
A streak of 25 seasons without a losing record was very much on the line. After a Chris Payton broken wrist late in the season, even the most die hard Flashes fan may have lost some hope for the rest of the season. After squeaking in the MAC Tournament as the number eight seed, the Flashes had to match up with top seed Toledo, who had beaten KSU by double digits both times during the season. Then the Kent State magic happened, the Senderoff coaching staff did a great job getting the team to buy in after a Sunday evening film session showed the correctable mistakes made against the top seeded Rockets. “Just make it to Cleveland. Just get to Cleveland.” Have a chance to defend your title.
Down go the Rockets, then Kent State beats Bowling Green in the semifinals. Back to the MAC Championship for the third straight season! Of course, the Zips were waiting. An absolute heartbreaking loss followed. Now this revamped Flashes roster, with six seniors, is back and hoping to get back to the MAC’s spotlight in downtown Cleveland.
Senderoff was recently a guest with Ryan McIntyre with the The College Basketball Experience Podcast’s Summer School Coaches Tour and discussed the motivation heading into 2024-2025.
“We’ve really emphasized the date, which is 3-15, that’s the date of our conference championship game this coming year. We’ve been in the conference championship game three straight seasons which I think has happened three or four times in the history of our conference. As you know and everybody knows, we lost a heartbreaker of all heartbreakers last year to go to the NCAA tournament, so everything we’ve talked about since that end.. and we’ve recruited a lot of new guys and brought guys back, spent the whole summer, and everything that we’re building towards is trying to get ourselves back to that date.”
After a dismal loss in the 2021-2022 MAC Championship game, the locker room code at the MAC Center was the final score of the game that March evening. That quiet motivation was a daily reminder that helped fuel a MAC Championship in 2023. Kent State fans are hoping for a similar situation this year.
“So that date is 3-15, I wouldn’t normally know the day when the conference tournament championship game is next year, but right now I do,” Senderoff said. “I’ve known it, it took me a couple days to get over last year but from that point forward thats what weve been sort of getting ourselves ready for and understanding I have a mature group and an older group as a lot of teams do now, there’s a lot that goes in, a lot of luck, a lot of work, a lot of things that go into getting yourself back there but that’s our whole goal is to try to get ourselves back to that night and hope that we can finish it out this year if we’re fortunate enough to play that night.”
If Kent State is going to get back to that point, other than the obvious things that Senderoff alluded to, health and luck, there are tangible things that the team will look to do, like so many Kent State teams of the past have done. Physicality both offensively and defensively, playing for each other and making simple plays will be key for the veteran Flashes to get back to Saturday Night Live in the rock and roll city.
“3-15”, the code that will drive the Flashes this season.
FLASHES AT AUBURN: Senderoff confirmed in a text message this week that Kent State will play at Auburn on Wednesday, November 13. The Tigers, led by veteran coach Bruce Pearl are expected to be a top 15 team this year. It will be a big night for KSU athletics as Kenni Burns and the football program heads to Miami to battle the Redhawks.
Kent State is looking to solidify one more non-conference game to round out the schedule, which will hopefully be released on or around September 1.
BLUE AND GOLD COLLECTIVE UPDATE: The hats have arrived for “Blue” members of the Blue and Gold Collective. Join the Blue and Gold Collective to help support the men’s basketball program today.
