The Golden Flashes finished the 2016 – 17 season 22 – 14 , 10 – 8 in MAC play to finish fourth in the MAC East division . As the No. 6 seed in the MAC Tournament , the Flashes defeated Central Michigan , Buffalo , Ohio , and Akron to win the tournament for the first time since 2008 . As a result , the Flashes received the conference 's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 14 seed in the South region . In the First Round , they lost to UCLA
MAC Tournament
2017 MAC Men's Basketball Tournament
2017–18 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team