Kent State will bring in the new year and the start of Mid-American Conference play with a two-game road trip that starts Saturday at Eastern Michigan. The Golden Flashes will tip at 2 p.m. and then head to the greater Chicago area to prepare for Wednesday's contest at Northern Illinois.
Kent State (7-5) returns from a 10-day break that follows a dominant defensive performance in a 46-31 victory at Robert Morris on Dec. 19. The Flashes put together 40 minutes of stifling defense to allow the third-fewest points in program history and the fewest since Dec. 28, 1996 and held the host Colonials to just under half of their scoring average entering the contest on 25 percent shooting (13-for-52).