Kent State (15-6, 6-2 MAC) enters February in a familiar spot—atop the Mid-American Conference standings—and goes back on the road to face a Central Michigan team (12-9, 5-3 MAC) that was selected by the media to cut down the nets at the conference tournament in March. Both teams shared the 2015 regular season championship with Buffalo and the Chippewas returned all five starters and 90-percent of its scoring, while the Golden Flashes lost their entire backcourt from last season.
The frontcourt of Jimmy Hall (16.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg), Khaliq Spicer (6.