Kyle Borland Coaching Legacy (CH2K8)

[kblu54]

KSU going Dancing

Freshmen lead the way as Flashes qualify for Big Dance
Kent State Basketball News

Kent State earned redemption for a tough 1st season under head coach Kyle Borland as they cruised past #1 seed Bowling Green 60-44 in the MAC Tournament final to win the MAC Tournament title and punch their ticket to the Big Dance. It was the younger guys leading the way, as freshmen PF E.J. Dukes and SG L.L. Wong had great all-around games to help the Flashes pull the upset.

Final Score:
#3 Kent State, 60
#1 Bowling Green, 44

Kent State Top Performers:
E.J. Dukes, PF --- 17 pts, 7 rebs, 2 blks
L.L. Wong, SG --- 13 pts, 4 rebs, 5 asts, 2 stls

This will be Coach Borland's 3rd trip to the NCAA Tournament and his 1st at the helm of Kent State. He has a 1-2 record in NCAA Tournament games.

Who will the Flashes face in the 1st round?

Current Record: 18-13 (14-5 MAC) *MAC Tournament Champions*
Next Game: TBD --- NCAA Tournament

[kblu54]

KSU in as #13 seed

Flashes earn #13 seed, will face Texas Tech in 1st round
Kent State Basketball News

Kent State learned their place in this year's NCAA Tournament following Selection Sunday, as they earn the #13 seed in the South Region. They will face #4 seed Texas Tech in the 1st round.

The Flashes (18-13) handily defeated the MAC #1 seed Bowling Green 60-44 to win the MAC Tournament and earn the NCAA automatic bid. The loss burst Bowling Green's bubble, as they are headed to the NIT.

"I am very excited for the opportunity to coach this team in the tournament," Coach Borland said in a press conference today. "They have been an exciting team to coach, and they are really coming along learning the system. I am looking forward to competing with a tough Texas Tech team."

Tech began the season as the preseason #20, but a tough Big 12 schedule knocked them out of the Top 25, before a winning streak put them back in. They enter the NCAA Tournament as a #4 seed and carry a 22-8 record.

In other NCAA news, Coach Borland's former team Eastern Illinois qualified for the NCAA Tournament after winning the OVC regular-season and Tournament titles. They enter the Tournament as the #12 seed in the Midwest Region and will face #5 seed Villanova in the 1st round.

Current Record: 18-13 (14-5 MAC)
Next Game: #4 Texas Tech vs. #13 Kent State (NCAA Tournament --- 1st Round)

[kblu54]

KSU wins

Flashes upset Texas Tech, move on to 2nd round
Kent State Basketball News

Coach Borland couldn't hold back the smile following his #13 seed Flashes' upset of #4 seed Texas Tech in the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament.

"I can't believe it," Coach Borland said. "We have had a crazy rollercoaster ride this season, but I've been enjoying it every step of the way."

Kent State began the season with a tough non-conference schedule and only managed a 4-8 record. The Flashes then got a spark in the MAC, opening conference play with 5 straight wins and at one point held an 10-2 conference mark. Kent State needed to win only 2 out of their final 4 games to win the MAC title, but they unfortunately went 1-3 and fell to 3rd place. But the Flashes turned it around again, cruising to the MAC Tournament title and an NCAA Tournament berth. And now, they're sitting pretty after upsetting the Red Raiders.

"I knew this team had the talent to compete with the big boys," Coach Borland stated. "We have all the pieces in place and we could be very dangerous, not only this season but for the next few years."

The Flashes built an early lead but saw the Raiders jump ahead and take a 38-34 lead into halftime. In the 2nd half it was all Kent State, as the Flashes rode the coattails of junior SF Deon Diggs (14 pts, 2/2 3PT) and senior PG Dallas McBride (12 pts, 3 asts) to a 62-56 victory.

Final Score:
#13 Kent State, 62
#4 Texas Tech, 56

Kent State Top Performers:
Deon Diggs, SF --- 14 pts, 3 rebs, 3 asts, 2 blks, 2/2 3PT
Dallas McBride, PG --- 12 pts, 3 asts, 2/5 3PT

Kent State will look ahead to the 2nd round, where they will take on a talented #5 seed Florida State. The Seminoles beat #12 seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the 1st round 68-56, but they are rated lower than the Red Raiders. A surprise trip to the Sweet 16 might be in the cards for the Flashes.

The remaining results from the NCAA Tournament are below.

East Region

First Round

#1 Kansas, 64
#16 UAB, 58

#9 Providence, 59
#8 Boston College, 55

#4 Virginia Tech, 81
#13 Columbia, 56

#5 Tennessee, 59
#12 George Mason, 43

#3 Connecticut, 80
#14 UC-Riverside, 48

#11 St. John's, 63
#6 UCLA, 59

#7 Washington, 64
#10 Utah State, 52

#2 Syracuse, 78
#15 UNC-Greensboro, 53

South Region

First Round

#1 N.C. State, 81
#16 Lipscomb, 29

#9 Oklahoma, 53
#8 Vanderbilt, 52

#13 Kent State, 62
#4 Texas Tech, 56

#5 Florida State, 68
#12 Fairleigh Dickinson, 56

#3 Saint Louis, 68
#14 Colgate, 62

#6 Arizona, 95
#11 Miami (FL), 90

#7 Duke, 84
#10 Louisiana Tech, 69

#2 West Virginia, 65
#15 Creighton, 40

Midwest Region

First Round

#1 Louisville, 58
#16 North Texas, 28

#8 San Diego State, 62
#9 Loyola Marymount, 50

#4 Illinois, 81
#13 Texas A&M - Corpus Christi, 56

#12 Eastern Illinois, 58
#5 Villanova, 53

#3 Alabama, 77
#14 UW-Green Bay, 56

#6 Michigan State, 75
#11 Arizona State, 71

#10 George Washington, 61
#7 Nevada, 48

#2 Florida, 82
#15 UNC-Asheville, 40

West Region

First Round

#1 Oregon, 64
#16 Mississippi Valley State, 41

#9 USC, 55
#8 St. Joseph's, 50

#4 California, 91
#13 Niagara, 56

#12 Boston University, 58
#5 Pittsburgh, 55

#3 UNLV, 72
#14 MD-Eastern Shore, 46

#6 Texas, 76
#11 Memphis, 62

#10 Northwestern, 53
#7 LSU, 51

#2 Texas A&M, 54
#15 Montana State, 35

Can the Flashes continue their hot streak and move on to the Sweet 16?

Current Record: 19-13 (14-5 MAC)
Next Game: #13 Kent State vs. #5 Florida State (NCAA Tournament --- 2nd Round)

[kblu54]

KSU loses

Flashes' season ends in 2nd round with loss to Florida State
Kent State Basketball News

Kent State's rollercoaster season came to an end this weekend, as they bowed out of the NCAA Tournament with a 2nd round-loss to #5 seed Florida State. The Seminoles jumped out to a 23-4 lead and never looked back, winning big 74-51.

"I'm so proud of these boys," Coach Borland said following the game. "They fought hard this season and adjusted well to the new system, just in time to win the MAC Tournament title and pull a 1st round NCAA upset. I can't ask for much more out of this team this season. I have great things to look forward to next season!"

The Flashes were paced by senior PG Dallas McBride, who poured in 14 points in his last game in a Kent State uniform.

Final Score:
#5 Florida State, 74
#13 Kent State, 51

Kent State Top Performers:
Dallas McBride, PG --- 14 pts, 3 rebs, 3 asts
Deon Diggs, SF --- 8 pts, 4 rebs

The Flashes finish 19-14 overall, and only lose 2 seniors as they look ahead to next season.

On the other hand, the Seminoles continue on as do the rest of the Tournament field. The 2nd round results are as follows.

East Region

Second Round

#1 Kansas, 66
#9 Providence, 63

#5 Tennessee, 72
#4 Virginia Tech, 55

#11 St. John's, 66
#3 Connecticut, 62

#7 Washington, 99
#2 Syracuse, 62

South Region

Second Round

#9 Oklahoma, 64
#1 N.C. State, 58

#5 Florida State, 74
#13 Kent State, 51

#3 Saint Louis, 72
#6 Arizona, 63

#7 Duke, 85
#2 West Virginia, 77

Midwest Region

Second Round

#1 Louisville, 77
#8 San Diego State, 71

#4 Illinois, 64
#12 Eastern Illinois, 52

#3 Alabama, 57
#6 Michigan State, 49

#2 Florida, 57
#10 George Washington, 52

West Region

Second Round

#9 USC, 68
#1 Oregon, 61

#4 California, 56
#12 Boston University, 47

#6 Texas, 66
#3 UNLV, 62

#2 Texas A&M, 53
#10 Northwestern, 40

Final Record: 19-14 (14-5 MAC)

[crques]

Re: Kyle Borland Coaching Legacy (CH2K8)

Congrats on a nice season. I found it interesting that both your former and current team advanced to the 2nd round of the tournament. Looks like you left your mark on the program their for sure.

[kblu54]

Sweet 16/Elite 8

East Region

Sweet Sixteen

#1 Kansas, 87
#5 Tennessee, 75

#7 Washington, 78
#11 St. John's, 59

Regional Final

#7 Washington, 67
#1 Kansas, 61

South Region

Sweet Sixteen

#5 Florida State, 63
#9 Oklahoma, 60

#7 Duke, 61
#3 Saint Louis, 55

Regional Final

#5 Florida State, 67
#7 Duke, 66

Midwest Region

Sweet Sixteen

#1 Louisville, 57
#4 Illinois, 56

#3 Alabama, 60
#2 Florida, 57

Regional Final

#1 Louisville, 66
#3 Alabama, 57

West Region

Sweet Sixteen

#9 USC, 63
#4 California, 47

#6 Texas, 77
#2 Texas A&M, 67

Regional Final

#6 Texas, 70
#9 USC, 66

Thus, the 2013-2014 Final Four has been set.

East Regional Champion
#7 Washington Huskies
vs.
West Regional Champion
#6 Texas Longhorns

South Regional Champion
#5 Florida State Seminoles
vs.
Midwest Regional Champion
#1 Louisville Cardinals

[kblu54]

NCAA/NIT Final Four

NCAA Final Four

National Semifinals

#7 Washington, 82
#6 Texas, 72

#1 Louisville, 67
#5 Florida State, 55

National Championship

#1 Louisville Cardinals, 76
#7 Washington Huskies, 65

The Louisville Cardinals have won the 2013-2014 National Championship.

NIT Final Four

Semifinals

Washington State, 52
Bowling Green, 41

Mississippi State, 81
South Carolina, 77

Final

Mississippi State Bulldogs, 75
Washington State Cougars, 46

The Mississippi State Bulldogs win the 2013-2014 NIT Championship.

National Awards

Player of the Year: Bud Burton, PG, Providence
2K Sports Player of the Year: Halston Casey, PF, Michigan State
Coach of the Year: Rick Pitino, Louisville

The wrap-up of the MAC end-of-season banquet and the recruiting results for Kent State is next on the schedule for Coach Borland and the Flashes.

[superjames1992]

Re: NCAA/NIT Final Four

Nice job getting to the second round. You're headed in the right direction!

[kblu54]

Re: Kyle Borland Coaching Legacy (CH2K8)

Hey sorry I haven't updated in awhile, I've been pretty busy.

I will hopefully update with the offseason stuff sometime this weekend.

Thanks to those who have followed! I will return!