2016 – 17 Kent State Golden Flashes men 's basketball team represented Kent State University during the 2016 – 17 NCAA Division I men 's basketball season . The Golden Flashes , led by sixth year head coach Rob Senderoff , played their home games at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center , also known as the MAC Center , as members of the East Division of the Mid-American Conference . Kent State finished the regular 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
2016–17 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team