March Madness: 5 Reasons No. 14 Kent State Can Upset No. 3 UCLA

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Dec 27, 2016; Austin, TX, USA; Kent State Golden Flashes forward Jimmy Hall (35) and guard Deon Edwin (30) grab a rebound against the Texas Longhorns during the first half at the Frank Erwin Center. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports /

Can Beat A Major

Think this Kent State team has no shot against a power conference? Think again.

Kent State earned its biggest regular-season win of the year just after Christmas, upsetting Texas and coach Shaka Smart on the road.

Yes, Texas (11-22) stunk this season, but the preseason polls had high hopes for the Longhorns. Texas was ranked 21st in the AP poll, and 22nd in the preseason coaches poll. That turned out to be laughably wrong, but none-the-less, Kent State beat them on their home court when people still thought Texas could be something.

Walker was the star of this game, contributing 24 points

If Kent State can play like they did against Texas, they’ve, at the very least, got a shot against Texas.

Against the Longhorns, the Flashes forced 18 turnovers and held Texas to 2-of-18 from 3-point territory. Kent State also out rebounded Texas 47-32.

Kent’s defense also surrendered just seven assists. Basically, that’s what Lonzo Ball averages for the Bruins. If Kent limits UCLA to sing-digit assist numbers, lookout. You will see an exciting basketball game.

And for those who say Kent might not be able to keep up with UCLA’s high-octane offense, look no further than the Flashes first game in the MAC tournament.

Competing against Central Michigan (16-16), the Flashes put up 116 points in a 10-point victory. CMU was the nation’s third most prolific scoring offense this season, according to NCAA.com.

No, CMU is not one of the big boys and their defense pales in comparison to UCLA, but the point is Kent scored at a quick pace when it needed to.

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