Kent State Basketball VS UCLA March Madness: Everything You Want To Know

CLEVELAND, OH - It's a familiar theme for Northeast Ohioans. The Kent State Golden Flashes will be returning to the big dance, the NCAA Men's basketball tournament, on March 17. The team upset the University of Akron in the MAC tournament to win an automatic berth to the NCAA tourney.

Now, the Golden Flashes will get ready for tournament play.

Who: 13-Kent State vs 4-UCLA
When: March 17 at 9:57 p.m.
Where: The Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California
How to Watch: TruTV, Golden Flashes Radio
Fun Stats: This is Kent's first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2008.

Kent was 22-13 on the year and was squaring off against their rival, the ascendant Akron Zips. Akron had put together a sterling season, finishing 26-8 on the year and marching to the MAC Championship game. It was there that Akron's season would come to an end and the Golden Flashes would once again return to March Madness glory.

The Flashes won the MAC Championship on March 11, beating Akron 70-65 inside Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland. However, their joyous celebration of their tournament berth and victory over Akron will be short-lived.

Their opponent, UCLA, has one of the most high-powered offenses in all of college basketball. Driven by future top-5 pick Lonzo Ball, the team is currently the top-ranked offense in NCAA Division I, averaging 90.4 points per game. Six of their players average at least 10 points per game.

The stat that will surely make your eyes pop is that UCLA leads Division I college basketball in assists per game, according to the NCAA. Not eye catching in and of itself, until you realize that 21.5 apgs, UCLA is a full three assists ahead of the next closest team (which is North Carolina with 18.2 assists per game).

Given the potency of UCLA's offense, it's going to be crucial that Kent State win the rebounding battle to have any chance at a March miracle. Luckily, Kent currently ranks 24th in the nation in rebounding percentage. By way of comparison, UCLA ranks 54th.

The margin for error for Kent State will be incredibly slim in this match-up. UCLA likes to move the ball up and down the court, pushing the pace, and increasing the number of opportunities their stars (Ball, TJ Leaf, and Bryce Alford) have to put the ball through the hoop. Kent would be well-served to slow down, punish ball handlers and cutters (a la the way the Cleveland Cavaliers harass Warriors guard Steph Curry), and try to win the war of the glass.

Even if things go perfectly for Kent, they may still be outclassed. Take a look at UCLA's Pac-12 tournament performance against in-state rival USC.

UCLA photo from YouTube Screen Capture, Kent picture from Google Earth, Basketball photo from Shutterstock, Hoop Photo from Pixabay