NCAA Basketball: Top 25 NCAA Tournament cinderellas since 2000
By Adam Childs
14) 2002 Kent State Golden Flashes, No. 10-seed
Record: 30-6, Elite Eight
Beat: (7) Oklahoma State Cowboys, (2) Alabama Crimson Tide, (3) Pittsburgh Panthers
The Kent State Golden Flashes would start just 9-5 in the 2001-02 season. It looked like it would be just another sub-par season for Kent State, but then they started winning and winning and winning some more.
All told, the Golden Flashes would win 21 straight games before their loss to the Indiana Hoosiers in the Elite Eight. It was the best run in school history and one that would carry them to a memorable run in the tournament.
They were led by Trevor Huffman and some guy named Antonio Gates, who both averaged 16 points per game for the Golden Flashes. Huffman you may have never heard of, but Gates would go on to be drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the NFL and is a future Pro Football Hall of Fame player. That may not have happened had Gates and Kent State not made their run in the tournament.
Kent State swept through the MAC, losing just one game to the Buffalo Bulls, easily winning the MAC Tournament. Even with their incredible winning streak and great play, they were still just a No. 10-seed and an underdog against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the first round. They would get by them by eight before handling the No. 2-seed Alabama Crimson Tide by 13.
In the Sweet 16, Kent State would take on the No. 3-seed Pittsburgh Panthers and their great defense. The Flashes did a great job handling their tenacious defense and turned the ball over just 12 times.
Gates would lead the team with 22 points and Kent State upset the Panthers by five in overtime. It was the first time in school history that they would make the Elite Eight.
Kent State’s fairy tale run would end at the hands of Indiana. They just couldn’t handle the outside shooting of the Hoosiers and could not re-create their upset a second year in a row, as they beat Indiana in the first round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament.
While Indiana was also a great story because of where they had come from, most of the country was rooting for the Golden Flashes. They put up a good fight, but came up just short. The nation was introduced to Gates and the world got to root for another underdog. It was a great run by Kent State and one they will never forget.