Wednesday, February 24, 1999
Miami faces Kent for outright MAC crown
No. 1 tourney seed also at stake
BY JOHN FAY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
When Miami and Kent meet tonight at 7 at Millett Hall, it's a big game for Miami.
But it's a bigger game for Kent.
If Miami wins, it clinches its 20th Mid-American Conference title; if Kent wins, it clinches its first MAC title.
“How big is it?” Kent coach Gary Waters asked. “It's the biggest thing to happen at Kent in years?”
And for Miami?
“It's a must game,” MU star forward Wally Szczerbiak said. “We want to win the MAC outright. This is the only way to do it.”
Miami enters at 19-6 overall and 14-3 in the MAC. Kent comes in 20-5 and 13-4. With a win, Miami not only wins the MAC outright but also the top seed for the MAC tourney. With a win, Kent ties Miami for the overall league title and gets the top seed, by virtue of a season sweep of the RedHawks.
“The last game of the year for the championship,” Miami coach Charlie Coles said.“That doesn't happen too often in the MAC.”
The winner plays Ball State in the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament. The loser plays Ohio, Marshall, Toledo or Bowling Green, depending on how the tiebreakers work out.
While Miami would like to win the MAC and the top seed, the biggest concern is getting back to
playing well after losing back-to-back games to Toledo and Bowling Green.
“We've got to start playing well,” Coles said. “I will say I don't think this team has peaked. I don't think we've played our best basketball game ... We may not play it all year. But we've got to play well.”
One problem against Toledo and Bowling Green was that Szczerbiak and Damon Frierson didn't get enough help.
Against the Falcons Saturday, Miami's two stars were a combined 14-for-27 from the field while the other three starters were 6-for-26. And everyone but Szczerbiak and Frierson got gun-shy down the stretch.
“That happens on the road,” Szczerbiak said. “You have a tendency to not shoot as well on the road. Damon and I don't shoot as well on the road. There's a lot you have to fight through on the road.”
Tonight, the RedHawks will be in the friendly confines of Millett Hall, with a near-sellout crowd urging them on. Miami is 10-0 at home this year and has won 12 straight overall.
Waters' biggest concern is not Szczerbiak — he will concede the points to him — but Frierson.
“Special players get special energy for the big games,” Waters said. “We must stop him.”
Frierson has played well lately. He is shooting 48.8 percent over his last four games.
He and point guard Rob Mestas are particularly important tonight because Kent plays a full-court pressure defense. The Golden Flashes also pressure in the half court.
“Our defense has bit a lot of people because they don't see many like it,” Waters said.
Offensively, Kent is balanced. John Whorton, 6-foot-8 center, is the leading scorer at 13.2 points a game. Kyrem Massey is next at 11.3 ppg.
“They're very talented,” Coles said.
Even though Miami has blown its two previous chances to clinch the MAC, Coles wants his team to be loose tonight.
“Everybody says Kent caught us,” Coles said. “They didn't catch us. We all started the same place. It's just that time of year. It comes down to this. I don't want our guys to be tight.
“I want them to go out and play. Have fun.”
KENT at MIAMI
• When: 7 p.m. today
• Where: Millett Hall (9,200), Oxford.
• Records: MU 19-6 (14-3 in MAC), Kent 20-5 (13-4)
• TV: None
• Radio: WCKY-AM (1360), WMOH-AM (1450), WFMG-FM (101.3)
BY THE NUMBERS
• 0: Number of MAC titles Kent has won since joining the league in 1952
• 7: Number of points Wally Szczerbiak needs to surpass Eric Newsome and move into third place on Miami's all-time scoring list
• 21: Number of free throws Miami has made in a row
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