March Madness: 5 Reasons No. 14 Kent State Can Upset No. 3 UCLA
Offensive rebounding
Cinderella lost her glass slipper, and Kent State specializes in cleaning the offensive glass.
That aforementioned game against Texas? Kent State had 20 offensive rebounds in the contest.
The Golden Flashes are so gritty on the offensive glass, they’re averaging 14.97 offensive rebounds per game, which is second in the entire nation, according to NCAA.com. North Carolina is first, with 15.7 offensive boards per game.
If the Flashes are going to be Cinderella, they’re going to need to be peasy on the boards to create second-chance opporuntinues for Hall, Walker and Edwin.
Offensive rebounds and the creation of those second chances can be deflating for the team on the other side. Lots of Kent fans are Cavs fans, and enjoy watching Tristan Thompson torture teams with his offensive rebounding ability come playoff time.
It won’t be easy, as UCLA is the sixth best defensive rebounding program in college basketball this season, according to NCAA.com, but if being part of one of the biggest upsets in NCAA history were easy, every mid-major would be doing it.