The Akron Zips and Kent State Golden Flashes are separated by approximately 10 miles. Many college basketball and football prospects who do not get into Ohio State or Cincinnati end up going to one of these schools. Regardless of what sport it is, the trash that is talked between the two fan bases has also been known to get those in surrounding communities of northeast Ohio involved.
I am a Cleveland State man myself, but have been known to throw a rock at one of their glass houses before.
Akron fans typically love going to the “Kent read…Kent write…Kent State card.” Kent students typically have a retort with something based on a meth lab, which somehow a large bust seems to always happen in Akron.
Duke and North Carolina are even closer together, but you would never see one stooping to these levels.
After taking down Ohio in the semifinals of the Mid American Conference (MAC) tournament on Friday night, four Kent State players posted a video to Instagram throwing profanities towards their rival, knowing they would be meeting Saturday for an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. DJ Johnson was suspended indefinitely, while Cli’Ron Hornbeak, Julius Rollins and starting point guard Malique Jacobs were suspended for the first half of the championship game.
Jacobs played 20 minutes, scoring only seven points, as Akron crushed Kent State 75-55. The Zips are a 13-seed in the East Region, matching up with UCLA in Portland on Thursday night. Kent State gets Southern Miss in the opening round of the NIT as a consolation prize.
Only 25 of Kent’s points came from starters, as guard Andrew Garcia and forward VonCameron Davis ended up fouling out. In fact, reserve Justice Hamilton was the only Golden Flash to score in double-digits, finishing with 19 points in 35 minutes.
Akron fell behind 11-3 within the first six minutes of the contest. After the first TV timeout, the Zips took their first lead since the opening basket on a layup by Michael Wynn, going up 18-16. Akron never trailed again, leading 34-25 at the half. Kent closed the gap to 34-33 within the first four minutes of the second half, but the Zips went out to send a message.
Akron’s Ali Ali even made a three with 21 seconds left and his team up 17 as an exclamation point. Kent State did their talking online, Akron straight up punched their rivals a ticket to irrelevance. The Golden Flashes finished 16-4 in MAC play during the regular season, second only to Toledo’s 17-3 mark. Akron’s 14-6 record was fourth-best. Had Kent won, they potentially been seeded as a 12 or better…typically a ranking for those worthy of an at-large bid by the committee. Instead, Akron likely will send the MAC out in the opening round for the first time since 2017, when UCLA beat Kent State of all teams.
I have never understood the concept of suspending players for a quarter or a half at the collegiate level. If you dress for a game, you should be eligible for the entire contest. What if Max Scherzer was told he could not enter the game until the fourth inning on his scheduled starting day because he skipped a post game media session that night before? What if Dustin Johnson had to play 36 holes on day two of a tournament because the PGA Tour said he was ineligible for the first round?
I agree with the punishment of the Kent players wholeheartedly. Jacobs and Johnson will be seniors next season, while Hornbeak and Rollins will be sophomores. Some lessons you cannot teach in a classroom. Rule #1…do not give your arch rival bulletin board material the night before a playoff game.
The ass-kicking is never worth it, should it backfire.
-JC24