2001–02 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team

The 2001–02 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team represented Kent State University in the 2001–02 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by head coach Stan Heath, the Flashes finished their best season in program history, posting a 30–6 record and advancing to the Elite Eight of the 2002 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament after defeating seventh-seeded Oklahoma State, upsetting second-seeded Alabama and third-seeded Pittsburgh, before falling to eventual national runners-up Indiana. The team set program and Mid-American Conference (MAC) records for overall number of wins in a season with 30 and conference wins at 17, while the team's 21-game winning streak set the MAC and team records for both overall winning streak and single-season winning streak.[1]

2001–02 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball
MAC Tournament Champions
MAC Regular Season Champions
MAC East Division Champions
NCAA Tournament, Elite Eight
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionSouth
Ranking
CoachesNo. 12
2001–02 record30–6 (17–1 MAC)
Head coachStan Heath (1st season)
Assistant coachJim Christian
Home arenaMemorial Athletic and Convocation Center
2001–02 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
East
Kent State†17–1 .944  30–6  .833
Bowling Green12–6 .667  24–9  .727
Ohio11–7 .611  17–11  .607
Miami9–9 .500  13–18  .419
Marshall8–10 .444  15–15  .500
Buffalo7–11 .389  12–18  .400
Akron5–13 .278  10–21  .323
West
Ball State12–6 .667  23–12  .657
Toledo11–7 .611  16–14  .533
Western Michigan10–8 .556  17–13  .567
Northern Illinois8–10 .444  12–16  .429
Central Michigan5–13 .278  9–19  .321
Eastern Michigan2–16 .111  6–24  .200
† 2002 MAC Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Roster
2001–02 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
C 2 Nate Gerwig 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)260 lb (118 kg) Fr Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
G 10 Demetric Shaw 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)195 lb (88 kg) Sr Fort Worth, Texas
G 12 Andrew Mitchell 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)160 lb (73 kg) Sr Detroit, Michigan
G 13 Bryan Pellegrino 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)195 lb (88 kg) Fr Solon, Ohio
F 15 Jonathan Merritt 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)200 lb (91 kg) Fr West Bloomfield, Michigan
G 22 Eric Haut 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)195 lb (88 kg) So Lansing, Michigan
G 24 Trevor Huffman 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)190 lb (86 kg) Sr Petoskey, Michigan
G 32 Brian Howard 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)210 lb (95 kg) So Troy, Michigan
G 32 Anthony Wilkins 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)215 lb (98 kg) Jr Cleveland, Ohio
F 34 Bryan Bedford 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)230 lb (104 kg) So Racine, Wisconsin
F 40 Eric Thomas 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)205 lb (93 kg) Sr Springfield, Ohio
F 44 Antonio Gates 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)240 lb (109 kg) Jr Detroit, Michigan
C 54 John Edwards 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)275 lb (125 kg) So Hudson, Ohio
Head coach

Stan Heath

Assistant coach(es)

Jim Christian

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule and results
Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-Conference Games
11/19/01*
 Mercyhurst W 90–68  1–0
 MAC Center (4,216)
Kent, OH
11/23/01*
 vs. Hofstra L 64–67  1–1
 Charles L. Sewall Center (1,824)
Pittsburgh, PA
11/24/01
 at vs. Robert Morris W 83–55  2–1
 Charles L. Sewall Center (1,416)
Pittsburgh, PA
11/25/01*
 vs. UC-Irvine W 75–64  3–1
 Charles L. Sewall Center (1,214)
Pittsburgh, PA
11/28/01*
 vs. No. 13 Kentucky L 68–82  3–2
 Firstar Center (10,352)
Cincinnati, OH
12/1/01*
 Chattanooga W 75–56  4–2
 MAC Center (4,155)
Kent, OH
12/15/01*
 at Youngstown State L 70–75  4–3
 Beeghly Center (3,168)
Youngstown, OH
12/20/01*
 at Xavier L 56–62  4–4
 Cintas Center (10,250)
Cincinnati, OH
12/22/01*
 at Illinois state W 61–48  5–4
 Redbird Arena (4,802)
Normal, IL
12/29*
 vs. Cleveland State W 66–62  6–4
 Gund Arena (10,276)
Cleveland, OH
12/31/01*
 St. Bonaventure W 93–82 OT 7–4
 MAC Center (4,318)
Kent, OH
Conference Games
1/2/02
 Ball State W 81–54  8–4
(1–0)		 MAC Center (5,073)
Kent, OH
1/5/02
 at Marshall W 73–70  9–4
(2–0)		 Cam Henderson Center (5,753)
Huntington, WV
1/9/02
 at Buffalo L 65–66  9–5
(2–1)		 Alumni Arena (1,584)
Buffalo, NY
1/12/02
 Ohio W 71–56  10–5
(3–1)		 MAC Center (5,418)
Kent, OH
1/16/02
 at Akron W 78–54  11–5
(4–1)		 James A. Rhodes Arena (3,838)
Akron, OH
1/19/02
 Western Michigan W 75–72  12–5
(5–1)		 MAC Center (4,213)
Kent, OH
1/22/02
 Buffalo W 91–53  13–5
(6–1)		 MAC Center (4,177)
Kent, OH
1/26/02
 at Bowling Green W 70–67  14–5
(7–1)		 Anderson Arena (4,735)
Bowling Green, OH
1/29/02
 at Eastern Michigan W 82–62  15–5
(8–1)		 Convocation Center (1,581)
Ypsilanti, MI
2/2/02
 Toledo W 79–52  16–5
(9–1)		 MAC Center (5,117)
Kent, OH
2/4/02
 Bowling Green W 76–64  17–5
(10–1)		 MAC Center (5,350)
Kent, OH
2/9/02
 at Central Michigan W 96–66  18–5
(11–1)		 Rose Arena (4,927)
Mount Pleasant, MI
2/13/02
 at Northern Illinois W 73–61  19–5
(12–1)		 Chick Evans Field House 
DeKalb, IL
2/16/02
 Miami (OH) W 73–57  20–5
(13–1)		 MAC Center (5,782)
Kent, OH
2/19/02
 Marshall W 116–76  21–5
(14–1)		 MAC Center (5,102)
Kent, OH
2/23/02
 at Ohio W 70–67  22–5
(15–1)		 Convocation Center 
Athens, OH
2/25/02
 Akron W 67–57  23–5
(16–1)		 MAC Center (6,209)
Kent, OH
3/2/02
 at Miami (OH) W 70–67  24–5
(17–1)		 Millett Hall (5,012)
Oxford, OH
MAC Tournament
3/7/02
 (1) vs. (8) Marshall
MAC Tournament Quarterfinal		 W 82–70  25–5
 Gund Arena 
Cleveland, OH
3/8/02
 (1) vs. (4) Toledo
MAC Tournament Semifinal		 W 86–61  26–5
 Gund Arena 
Cleveland, OH
3/9/02
 (1) vs. (3) Bowling Green
MAC Tournament Championship		 W 70–59  27–5
 Gund Arena (14,106)
Cleveland, OH
NCAA Tournament
3/14/02*
 (10 S) vs. (7 S) No. 20 Oklahoma State
First Round		 W 69–61  28–5
 BI-LO Center 
Greenville, SC
3/16/02*
 (10 S) vs. (2 S) No. 9 Alabama
Second Round		 W 71–58[2][3]  29–5
 BI-LO Center (13,962)
Greenville, SC
3/21/02*
 (10 S) vs. (3 S) No. 8 Pittsburgh
South Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen		 W 78–73 OT[4] 30–5
 Rupp Arena (22,338)
Lexington, KY
3/23/02*
 (10 S) vs. (5 S) Indiana
South Regional Final – Elite Eight		 L 69–81[5]  30–6
 Rupp Arena (22,435)
Lexington, KY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South.
All times are in Eastern.

[6]

Rankings
Main article: 2001–02 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

References
  1. 2015–16 Men's Basketball Record Book (PDF). Mid-American Conference. December 2, 2015. p. 32.
  2. "The Guard That No One Wanted". The Washington Post. March 16, 2002. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  3. "COLLEGE BASKETBALL; Overlooked Kent State Overwhelms Alabama". The New York Times. March 17, 2002. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  4. "For Kent State, 'Validation'". The Washington Post. March 22, 2002. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  5. "Hot-shooting Indiana cools off Kent State with 81-69 victory". Baltimore Sun. March 24, 2002. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  6. https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/kent-state/2002-schedule.html
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