Kent State Heads to ULM For Start of CIT
Story Courtesy of Kent State Sports Information
KENT, Ohio- The Kent State University men's basketball team will open the 2019 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament with a first round game at ULM at 8 p.m. on Thursday at the Fant-Ewin Coliseum.
FLASH FACTS
Kent State will be making its 17th postseason appearance in 21 years, as the men's basketball team has accepted a bid to the 2019 CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT).
The Flashes make their fifth appearance in the CIT. Kent State advanced to the quarterfinals in 2015 by winning on the road at Middle Tennessee State and Texas A&M- Corpus Christi before falling to Northern Arizona, 74-73 in overtime.
The Flashes are first in conference stats in fewest turnovers (365) and rank 49th in the nation and a 16.1 turnover percentage on possessions ranking 28th in the country.
- Jaylin Walker ranks 13th in the country in 3-point FG per game and leads the conference with 3.46. He ranks 19th in the country in points per game (21.9) and is the conference leader, while also ranking second in the conference in 3-point field goals made (90) ranking 41st in the nation.
- Walker moved into the No. 2 spot in all-time points with 1,789 career-points. He needs 32 points to pass the all-time leader, Trevor Huffman (1,820).
- Avery leads the nation with a 5.13 assist/turnover ratio.
- On the season, the Flashes are shooting 43.2percent (850-1967) from the floor, and 249-743 from long range (33.5 percent). ). The Flashes have four players averaging in double-figure scoring with Walker leading the team averaging 21.8 points per game, Jalen Avery with 11.1, Williams with 11.7, and Philip Whittington with 11.0. Whittington also leads the team averaging 8.2 rebounds per game and has 261 total on the season. Defensively, Kent State has held its opponents to 72.8 points per game on 45.4 percent shooting from the field and 33.6 percent from long range.
- ULM, a member of the Sun Belt Conference, is under the direction of 9-year head coach Keith Richard. The Warhawks finished the regular season at 16-14, 9-9 while advancing to the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Championship. The No. 7 seed took on Appalachian State in the first round and advanced to round 2 with a 89-80 win. ULM took on Coastal Carolina in the second round and came away with a 80-50 victory before falling to Georgia Southern, 81-67.
- ULM is making its 13th postseason appearance in program history. It marks the Warhawks' fourth trip to postseason play in the last five years, including their third appearance in the CIT (2016 at Furman and 2018 at Austin Peay).
- ULM's starting lineup features four double-figure scorers, Daishon Smith (21.2 points, 104 3-pointers), Michael Ertel (15.3 ppg, 76 3-pointers), Travis Munnings (14.6 ppg, 7.7 rpg) JD Williams (12.3 ppg).
- Defensively, the Warhawks have limited their opponents to score 74.3 points per game on 45.4 percent shooting from the field and 35.5 percent from downtown allowing 8.3 made 3-pt FG per game. ULM has 373 turnovers (11.3 tpg) while collecting 191steals (5.8 stl/g). On the glass, the Warhawks have been out-rebounded their opponents 1126-1099 for a +0.9 margin.
