2022–23 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team represented Kent State University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Golden Flashes, led by 12th-year head coach Rob Senderoff, played their home games at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center, also known as the MAC Center, in Kent, Ohio as members of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).^[1] As the second seed they defeated Northern Illinois, Akron, and top-seeded Toledo to win the MAC tournament.^[2][3][4] Kent State was placed as the 13th seed in the Midwest Regional where they lost to Indiana in the first round of the NCAA tournament.^[5][6]

2022–23 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball
MAC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	28–7 (15–3 MAC)
Head coach	Rob Senderoff (12th season)
Associate head coach	Julian Sullinger (5th season)
Assistant coaches	Randal Holt (2nd season) Jon Fleming (1st season)
Home arena	MAC Center
Seasons ← 2021–22 2023–24 →

2022–23 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Toledo	16	–	2		.889			27	–	8		.771
Kent State †	15	–	3		.833			28	–	7		.800
Akron	13	–	5		.722			22	–	11		.667
Ball State	11	–	7		.611			20	–	12		.625
Ohio	10	–	8		.556			19	–	14		.576
Buffalo	9	–	9		.500			15	–	17		.469
Northern Illinois	9	–	9		.500			13	–	19		.406
Miami (OH)	6	–	12		.333			12	–	20		.375
Bowling Green	5	–	13		.278			11	–	20		.355
Eastern Michigan	5	–	13		.278			8	–	23		.258
Central Michigan	5	–	13		.278			10	–	21		.323
Western Michigan	4	–	14		.222			8	–	23		.258
† 2023 MAC tournament winner

Previous season

Main article: 2021–22 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team

The Golden Flashes finished the 2021–22 season 23–11 overall, 16–4 in MAC play, to finish in second place in the conference.^[7] They lost to Akron in the final of the MAC tournament.^[8]

Offseason

Departures

Departures

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Mike DiGiulio	G	6'0	170	Freshman	Buffalo, New York	Transferred to Canisius
Jeremiah Hernandez	G	6'4	175	RS-Freshman	Chicago, Illinois	Transferred to Southern Indiana
DeVale Johnson	F	6'7	185	RS-Junior	Brooklyn, New York	Entered transfer portal
Jon King	F	6'5	195	Sophomore	Akron, Ohio	Entered transfer portal
Jarred Logan	F	6'5	199	Freshman	Elyria, Ohio	Entered transfer portal
Tervell Beck	F	6'7	231	RS-Senior	Cleveland, Ohio	Exhausted eligibility
Justyn Hamilton	F	6'11	208	RS-Senior	Charlotte, North Carolina	Exhausted eligibility
Andrew Garcia	G	6'5	224	Grad	Harlem, New York	Exhausted eligibility

^[9][10][11]

Incoming transfers

Transfers

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Mike Bekelja	G	6'1	180	Freshman	Solon, Ohio	Duquesne
Miryne Thomas	F	6'8	215	RS-Junior	Cleveland, Ohio	Ball State
Robert Carpenter	F	6'7	210	Junior	Detroit, Michigan	Mississippi Valley State

^[9][10]

Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Brendon Moss SG	Rockford, Illinois		6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:    ESPN grade: NR
Magnus Entenmann F	Columbus, Ohio		6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	210 lb (95 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
London Maiden C	Cleveland, Ohio		6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	N/A
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Delrecco Gillespie F	Benton Harbor, Michigan		6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2022–23 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 0 Julius Rollins 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 189 lb (86 kg) So Chicago, Illinois F 1 VonCameron Davis 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 216 lb (98 kg) RS So Columbus, Ohio G 2 Malique Jacobs 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 194 lb (88 kg) RS Sr Wilmington, North Carolina G 3 Sincere Carry 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Sr Solon, Ohio F 4 Chris Payton 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Bloomington, Illinois G 5 Brendon Moss 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Rockford, Illinois G 11 Giovanni Santiago 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 164 lb (74 kg) RS Jr Bayamón, Puerto Rico G 13 Jalen Sullinger 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Columbus, Ohio F 14 Magnus Entenmann 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Columbus, Ohio G 15 Mike Bekelja 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Solon, Ohio F 21 Robert Carpenter 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr Detroit, Michigan C 22 London Maiden 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 258 lb (117 kg) Fr Cleveland, Ohio F 23 Delrecco Gillespie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Benton Harbor, Michigan F 33 Miryne Thomas 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Sr Cleveland, Ohio F 34 Akeem Odusipe 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS So Lagos, Nigeria C 42 Cli'Ron Hornbeak 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 224 lb (102 kg) So Toledo, Ohio	Head coach Rob Senderoff (Albany/Miami (FL)) Assistant coach(es) Julian Sullinger (Kent State) Randal Holt (Kent State) Jon Fleming Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: September 13, 2022

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 7, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Northern Kentucky	W 79–57	1–0	20 – Carry	13 – Hornbeak	7 – Carry	BB&T Arena (2,785) Highland Heights, KY
November 10, 2022* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		Baldwin Wallace	W 76–55	2–0	31 – Carry	8 – Payton	7 – Carry	MAC Center (1,141) Kent, OH
November 14, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Portland	W 77–65	3–0	21 – Jacobs	10 – Hornbeak	4 – Jacobs	MAC Center (1,575) Kent, OH
November 16, 2022* 11:00 a.m.		Arkansas–Pine Bluff	W 94–68	4–0	17 – Tied	13 – Thomas	7 – Carry	MAC Center (381) Kent, OH
November 19, 2022* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Chicago State	W 88–59	5–0	17 – Thomas	7 – Hornbeak	5 – Carry	MAC Center (811) Kent, OH
November 23, 2022* 6:00 p.m., FloHoops		at College of Charleston	L 72–74	5–1	25 – Carry	7 – Davis	5 – Carry	TD Arena (3,954) Charleston, SC
November 26, 2022* 2:30 p.m., ESPN+		at No. 2 Houston	L 44–49	5–2	14 – Davis	7 – Jacobs	4 – Santiago	Fertitta Center (7,378) Houston, TX
December 2, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3		South Dakota State	W 83–62	6–2	23 – Carry	10 – Hornbeak	7 – Jacobs	MAC Center (1,244) Kent, OH
December 5, 2022* 9:00 p.m.		at No. 18 Gonzaga	L 66–73	6–3	16 – Thomas	5 – Tied	6 – Carry	McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA
December 10, 2022* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Cleveland State	W 67–58	7–3	18 – Jacobs	7 – Jacobs	6 – Carry	Wolstein Center (2,120) Cleveland, OH
December 18, 2022* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		Concord	W 106–56	8–3	16 – Carry	8 – Gillespie	7 – Carry	MAC Center (578) Kent, OH
December 21, 2022* 7:30 p.m., ESPN+		vs. New Mexico State Sun Bowl Invitational	W 73–63	9–3	17 – Jacobs	9 – Thomas	3 – Carry	Don Haskins Center  El Paso, TX
December 22, 2022* 9:30 p.m.		at UTEP Sun Bowl Invitational	W 47–46	10–3	15 – Carry	6 – Carry	3 – Carry	Don Haskins Center (5,705) El Paso, TX
MAC regular season
January 3, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Western Michigan	W 80–72	11–3 (1–0)	18 – Sullinger	8 – Tied	8 – Jacobs	MAC Center (2,113) Kent, OH
January 7, 2023 3:30 p.m., ESPN3		at Miami (OH)	W 69–66	12–3 (2–0)	31 – Carry	9 – Hornbeak	4 – Jacobs	Millett Hall (4,091) Oxford, OH
January 10, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Toledo	W 75–63	13–3 (3–0)	22 – Thomas	13 – Thomas	5 – Carry	MAC Center (1,626) Kent, OH
January 13, 2023 6:30 p.m., CBSSN		at Ohio	W 70–65	14–3 (4–0)	17 – Thomas	9 – Thomas	6 – Jacobs	Convocation Center (4,713) Athens, OH
January 17, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Eastern Michigan	W 77–63	15–3 (5–0)	14 – Tied	8 – Tied	5 – Carry	George Gervin GameAbove Center (2,212) Ypsilanti, MI
January 20, 2023 6:30 p.m., CBSSN		Ball State	W 86–65	16–3 (6–0)	18 – Curry	9 – Hornbeak	5 – Jacobs	MAC Center (5,660) Kent, OH
January 24, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Northern Illinois	L 76–86	16–4 (6–1)	17 – Sullinger	7 – Thomas	7 – Carry	Convocation Center (837) DeKalb, IL
January 27, 2023 9:00 p.m., ESPNU		Buffalo	W 74–68	17–4 (7–1)	24 – Carry	9 – Jacobs	7 – Carry	MAC Center (3,021) Kent, OH
January 31, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Central Michigan	W 81–69	8–14 (3–6)	18 – Payton	12 – Payton	6 – Carry	MAC Center (2,235) Kent, OH
February 3, 2023 9:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Akron	L 55–67	18–5 (8–2)	15 – Carry	5 – Tied	3 – Tied	James A. Rhodes Arena (5,821) Akron, OH
February 7, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Bowling Green	W 87–64	19–5 (9–2)	17 – Jacobs	6 – Tied	7 – Tied	MAC Center (1,695) Kent, OH
February 10, 2023[12] 6:00 p.m., ESPN2		at Buffalo	W 72–65	20–5 (10–2)	19 – Miryne	9 – Payton	10 – Carry	Alumni Arena (4,207) Buffalo, NY
February 14, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Western Michigan	W 82–58	21–5 (11–2)	21 – Davis	7 – Tied	6 – Jacobs	University Arena (1,381) Kalamazoo, MI
February 17, 2023 6:00 p.m., CBSSN		Eastern Michigan	W 81–54	22–5 (12–2)	17 – Carry	6 – Tied	6 – Carry	MAC Center (2,095) Kent, OH
February 21, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Ball State	L 70–82	22–6 (12–3)	21 – Carry	6 – Tied	3 – Jacobs	Worthen Arena (5,573) Muncie, IN
February 25, 2023 5:00 p.m., ESPN3		at Bowling Green	W 79–69	23–6 (13–3)	19 – Jacobs	10 – Davis	7 – Carry	Stroh Center (2,194) Bowling Green, OH
February 28, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Ohio	W 82–75	24–6 (14–3)	23 – Carry	6 – Payton	5 – Jacobs	MAC Center (1,998) Kent, OH
March 3, 2023 6:00 p.m.[13], ESPNU		Akron	W 89–84 OT	25–6 (15–3)	35 – Carry	8 – Thomas	4 – Tied	MAC Center (6,327) Kent, OH
MAC tournament
March 9, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN+	(2)	vs. (7) Northern Illinois Quarterfinals	W 76–57	26–6	19 – Jacobs	14 – Thomas	6 – Carry	Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (3,852) Cleveland, OH
March 10, 2022 7:30 p.m., CBSSN	(2)	vs. (3) Akron Semifinals	W 79–73	27–6	24 – Thomas	10 – Payton	3 – Carry	Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (9,295) Cleveland, OH
March 11, 2022 7:30 p.m., ESPN2	(2)	vs. (1) Toledo Championship	W 93–78	28–6	26 – Carry	13 – Jacobs	6 – Jacobs	Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (8,375) Cleveland, OH
NCAA tournament
March 17, 2023* 10:36 p.m., TBS	(13 MW)	vs. (4 MW) No. 21 Indiana First round	L 60–71	28–7	15 – Carry	9 – Jacobs	7 – Jacobs	MVP Arena (13,989) Albany, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Source^[14]

References

1. "ROB SENDEROFF". Kent State Athletics. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
2. "Northern Illinois 57, Kent State State 76". ESPN. March 9, 2023. Retrieved March 9, 2023.
3. "Akron 73, Kent State 79". ESPN. March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
4. "Toledo 78, Kent State 93". ESPN. March 11, 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
5. Bozich, Rick (March 12, 2023). "Indiana men open NCAA Tournament push against Kent State Friday". WDRB. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
6. Horner, Scott (March 18, 2023). "LIVE: Indiana basketball beats Kent State in March Madness action". Indianapolis Star. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
7. "MAC Basketball Standings - 2021-22". ESPN. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
8. "Akron rocks rival Kent State 75-55 for MAC title, NCAA berth". ESPN. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
9. "2022-23 Men's Basketball Roster". Kent State Athletics.
10. "2022 D1 Basketball Transfers". Verbal Commits. Retrieved September 7, 2022.
11. "2021-22 Men's Basketball Roster". Kent State Athletics.
12. "Two MAC Men's Basketball Matchups Selected For Television".
13. "Three MAC Men's Basketball Matchups Selected For Television".
14. "2022-23 Men's Basketball Schedule". Kent State Athletics. Retrieved February 23, 2024.