GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) -- Stan Heath is Kent State's basketball
coach, not a fortune teller.
But if his hunch about the team is right, the Mid-American
Conference champions aren't anywhere near finished making a
statement in the NCAA Tournament.
Has Kent State proved yet that the Mid-American Confernce can play with the big guys? The SEC was the best confernce in college basketball this year, but mid-major Kent State upset the No.2 seed Alabama who hails from the mighty SEC.
Led by Trevor Huffman's 20 points, Andrew Mitchell's play on the perimeter, and Antonio Gates' inside game, the Golden Flashes shut down the Crimson Tide. Kent State held Maurice Williams to three for 10 shooting and forced him into six turnovers. This one was all Kent State from the first tip, and a terrific performance from Stan Heath's kids. Former Tom Izzo assistant Heath is, without a doubt, the diaper dandy coach of the year! The Golden Flashes have their sights set on more than the Sweet 16 -- and they just might be right.
The 10th-seeded Golden Flashes ousted second seed Alabama 71-58
Saturday in the second round of the South Regional, extending the
nation's longest winning streak to 20.
"We're in uncharted waters right now," Heath said. "But I
like to read eyes in the locker room, and I wasn't looking at a
bunch of guys who were saying: `Hey, our season is over. We've
accomplished what we want to accomplish.
"I saw some eyes of players that said we're doing some special
things. That's the attitude of my players, and I'm certainly not
satisfied right now as a coach."
Kent State (29-5) advanced to a regional semifinal for the first
time with their third tournament upset in two years. The Golden
Flashes beat No. 7 seed Oklahoma State in the first round.
"They are not here by fluke," Alabama coach Mark Gottfried
said. "(Oklahoma State's) Eddie Sutton would agree with me, and
probably a whole lot of other coaches, too."
Trevor Huffman scored 20 points, and Antonio Gates had 18 to
pace the Golden Flashes, who methodically built a 12-point halftime
lead before blowing it open in the first 10 minutes of the second
half.
Alabama (27-8), the Southeastern Conference regular-season
champions, became the highest-seeded school to exit the tournament.
The Crimson Tide also struggled in a first-round victory over
Florida Atlantic and shot just 38 percent in Saturday's loss.
"I thought they were going to be a tougher team," Huffman
said. "I felt like when we put it together, I don't think they
expected us to be that good."
Rod Grizzard led Alabama with 17 points, but most came after the
game was out of hand. SEC player of the year Erwin Dudley had 12
points and 10 rebounds, but freshman star Mo Williams was limited
to 12 points after scoring a career-high 33 in the first round.
Alabama drew motivation all season from being left out of the
NCAA field a year ago, when the Crimson Tide finished with 25
victories and reached the NIT final.
Kent State was 4-4 at one point this season, but have won 25 of
their last 26 games -- the lone setback being a one-point loss at
Buffalo on Jan. 9.
Five MAC teams have made it to regional semifinals since 1990,
and the Golden Flashes insisted it didn't feel like underdogs
against Oklahoma State in the first round or Alabama, which was in
the tournament for the first time since 1995.
Alabama was hurt by poor shooting Saturday. The Crimson Tide
missed nine of their first 12 shots, fell behind 18-8, and finished
the half 8-for-26 (30.6 percent.)
To make matters worse, Kent State held its own on the backboards
against Alabama's larger, more physical frontcourt and disrupted
the Crimson Tide's offense by forcing 11 first-half turnovers.
"I don't think energy was a problem for us," Williams, the SEC
freshman of the year, said. "We were sky high for this one, up to
the roof. It was a case of hitting shots, plain and simple. They
made more shots than we did."
Heath felt one of the keys for Kent State would be getting off
to a strong start. The Golden Flashes weren't as sharp as they were
in building an early 15-point lead over Oklahoma State in the first
round, but their persistence produced a 36-24 halftime lead.
Gates led the way, bolstering his team's confidence with each
shot he made.
The 6-foot-5, 240-pound forward had 10 points at the break and
had six more during the nine-minute stretch in which the Golden
Flashes build their lead to 58-34.
Huffman made two 3-pointers during the 22-10 surge. When Alabama
went on a 14-4 run to pull within 62-48, Kent State answered with
jumpers by Gates and Huffman to regain control.
The Golden Flashes are the first MAC team to advance to the
final 16 since Wally Szczerbiak led Miami of Ohio there in 1999.
Last year, Kent State upset Indiana in the first round, but was
routed by Cincinnati in the second.
Like Williams, Grizzard shrugged off a suggestion that Alabama
didn't play with emotion.
"If we would have folded," the Crimson Tide star said, "they
could have won by 40."
