Auburn men’s basketball returns to Neville Arena after the team's upset victory over the Houston Cougars on Saturday and is set to face the Kent State Golden Flashes.
Auburn and Kent State will meet on the court for the first time, marking the Tigers' first matchup against a Mid-American Conference opponent in over a decade. The Golden Flashes are off to a 2-0 start, with a 70-66 victory over Louisiana and a 98-53 win against Miami-Hamilton.
It has been quite some time since Kent State defeated a ranked opponent. The last time the program defeated a ranked team was in 2008, when the Golden Flashes took down No. 23 Saint Mary’s 65-57.
Kent State looks to break the Tigers’ 55-game winning streak at home against non-conference opponents.
Here is a breakdown of the Golden Flashes.
Head coach
Head coach Rob Senderoff leads the Golden Flashes and is in his fourteenth season with the program after having no head prior head coaching experience. He has brought the program to two NCAA tournament appearances — with the program's most recent appearance being in the 2022-23 season — but the Golden Flashes have never won a game in the tournament.
After winning the conference tournament in the 2022-23 season and finishing the year with a record of 28-7, the team struggled in the 2023-24 season. The Golden Flashes finished the year 17-17 with an 8-10 record in the MAC conference, the lowest number of conference wins for the program in the last decade under Senderoff.
Offense
The offense is led by All 2024-MAC tourney forward VonCameron Davis, the fifth-year senior who has spent his entire collegiate career with the team and is reaping the benefits of sticking with Senderoff.
Davis has had an impressive start to the season, averaging 13.8 points per game, 5.1 rebounds per game, and 1.4 assists per game in the 2023-24 season and 17.5 PPG through the first two games.
Kent State and Auburn are tied early in the season, averaging 84 PPG, an improvement from the 2023-24 season, when Kent State averaged 74.8 PPG.
The team ranks 118th nationally in 3-pointers attempted per game with 26 and currently shoots 34.6% from behind-the-arc as a team.
The Golden Flashes will provide the Tigers with a well-rounded test offensively.
Defense
The Kent State defense impressed through the first two games, with an average of 59.5 points allowed between the two contests. Last season, the team allowed 71.3 PPG and an average of 67.4 PPG over the last three seasons.
In the 2023-24 season, the team forced the second-most turnovers in the MAC, with 451, finishing behind the conference leader Ohio. This surplus of forced turnovers can be attributed to their 234 steals.
This season, the Golden Flashes have averaged 17.5 turnovers and 8.5 steals per game and will try to slow down a red-hot Auburn who is coming off one of its biggest wins in program history.
The No. 5 Auburn Tigers will face the Kent State Golden Flashes on Wednesday, Nov. 13. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CST and will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
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Craig Noyes is a senior from Kensington, Maryland, majoring in journalism. He joined The Plainsman in January 2023.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @CraigNoyes58
