03/17/08
With spring break turning Kent State's campus into a ghost town, the Golden Flashes decided to celebrate their upcoming trip to the NCAA Tournament downtown by watching CBS' "selection show" with 200-plus fans in a jam-packed Water Street Tavern.
Just after 6 p.m., the Flashes learned they had received their best-ever seeding in "March Madness."
KSU will open tournament play Thursday in Omaha, Neb., as a No. 9 seed facing eighth-seeded UNLV. The game will start 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Kansas-Portland State match that begins at 12:25 p.m.
That's one seed better than the No. 10 the Flashes received in the magical Elite Eight season of 2002.
The Flashes were a No. 11 seed in 2001, a 13 seed in 1999 and a 12 seed in 2006.
"It's a great tribute to what has been a great season," said Kent State head coach Jim Christian. "Now we have to try to keep this season going."
If the Flashes can beat UNLV, it would most likely set up a Saturday meeting with Kansas, the top seed in the Midwest Region. Kansas faces No. 16 Portland State on Thursday. Kent State has never played UNLV, Kansas or Portland State in its 92-year history of men's basketball.
Tournament sessions involving Kent State will be played at Omaha's Qwest Center, the home of Creighton University and the site of a Kent State victory over the Blue Jays during the 2004-05 season.
Kent State will practice in Kent Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning, then fly to Omaha Tuesday afternoon.
###
David Carducci
The Record Courier