# 2001–02 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team

The 2001–02 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team represented Kent State University in the 2001–02 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by head coach Stan Heath, the Flashes finished their best season in program history, posting a 30–6 record and advancing to the Elite Eight of the 2002 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament after defeating seventh-seeded Oklahoma State, upsetting second-seeded Alabama and third-seeded Pittsburgh, before falling to eventual national runners-up Indiana. The team set program and Mid-American Conference (MAC) records for overall number of wins in a season with 30 and conference wins at 17, while the team's 21-game winning streak set the MAC and team records for both overall winning streak and single-season winning streak.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-Conference Games ||||||
| 11/19/01* | | Mercyhurst | W 90–68 | 1–0 | MAC Center (4,216) Kent, OH |
| 11/23/01* | | vs. Hofstra | L 64–67 | 1–1 | Charles L. Sewall Center (1,824) Pittsburgh, PA |
| 11/24/01 | | vs. Robert Morris | W 83–55 | 2–1 | Charles L. Sewall Center (1,416) Pittsburgh, PA |
| 11/25/01* | | vs. UC Irvine | W 75–64 | 3–1 | Charles L. Sewall Center (1,214) Pittsburgh, PA |
| 11/28/01* | | vs. No. 13 Kentucky | L 68–82 | 3–2 | Firstar Center (10,352) Cincinnati, OH |
| 12/1/01* | | Chattanooga | W 75–56 | 4–2 | MAC Center (4,155) Kent, OH |
| 12/15/01* | | at Youngstown State | L 70–75 | 4–3 | Beeghly Center (3,168) Youngstown, OH |
| 12/20/01* | | at Xavier | L 56–62 | 4–4 | Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH |
| 12/22/01* | | at Illinois State | W 61–48 | 5–4 | Redbird Arena (4,802) Normal, IL |
| 12/29* | | vs. Cleveland State | W 66–62 | 6–4 | Gund Arena (10,276) Cleveland, OH |
| 12/31/01* | | St. Bonaventure | W 93–82 $^{OT}$ | 7–4 | MAC Center (4,318) Kent, OH |
| Conference Games ||||||
| 1/2/02 | | Ball State | W 81–54 | 8–4 (1–0) | MAC Center (5,073) Kent, OH |
| 1/5/02 | | at Marshall | W 73–70 | 9–4 (2–0) | Cam Henderson Center (5,753) Huntington, WV |
| 1/9/02 | | at Buffalo | L 65–66 | 9–5 (2–1) | Alumni Arena (1,584) Buffalo, NY |
| 1/12/02 | | Ohio | W 71–56 | 10–5 (3–1) | MAC Center (5,418) Kent, OH |
| 1/16/02 | | at Akron | W 78–54 | 11–5 (4–1) | James A. Rhodes Arena (3,838) Akron, OH |
| 1/19/02 | | Western Michigan | W 75–72 | 12–5 (5–1) | MAC Center (4,213) Kent, OH |
| 1/22/02 | | Buffalo | W 91–53 | 13–5 (6–1) | MAC Center (4,177) Kent, OH |
| 1/26/02 | | at Bowling Green | W 70–67 | 14–5 (7–1) | Anderson Arena (4,735) Bowling Green, OH |
| 1/29/02 | | at Eastern Michigan | W 82–62 | 15–5 (8–1) | Convocation Center (1,581) Ypsilanti, MI |
| 2/2/02 | | Toledo | W 79–52 | 16–5 (9–1) | MAC Center (5,117) Kent, OH |
| 2/4/02 | | Bowling Green | W 76–64 | 17–5 (10–1) | MAC Center (5,350) Kent, OH |
| 2/9/02 | | at Central Michigan | W 96–66 | 18–5 (11–1) | Rose Arena (4,927) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| 2/13/02 | | at Northern Illinois | W 73–61 | 19–5 (12–1) | Chick Evans Field House DeKalb, IL |
| 2/16/02 | | Miami (OH) | W 73–57 | 20–5 (13–1) | MAC Center (5,782) Kent, OH |
| 2/19/02 | | Marshall | W 116–76 | 21–5 (14–1) | MAC Center (5,102) Kent, OH |
| 2/23/02 | | at Ohio | W 70–67 | 22–5 (15–1) | Convocation Center Athens, OH |
| 2/25/02 | | Akron | W 67–57 | 23–5 (16–1) | MAC Center (6,209) Kent, OH |
| 3/2/02 | | at Miami (OH) | W 70–67 | 24–5 (17–1) | Millett Hall (5,012) Oxford, OH |
| MAC Tournament ||||||
| 3/7/02 | (1) | vs. (8) Marshall MAC Tournament Quarterfinal | W 82–70 | 25–5 | Gund Arena Cleveland, OH |
| 3/8/02 | (1) | vs. (4) Toledo MAC Tournament Semifinal | W 86–61 | 26–5 | Gund Arena Cleveland, OH |
| 3/9/02 | (1) | vs. (3) Bowling Green MAC tournament championship | W 70–59 | 27–5 | Gund Arena (14,106) Cleveland, OH |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| 3/14/02* | (10 S) | vs. (7 S) No. 20 Oklahoma State First Round | W 69–61 | 28–5 | BI-LO Center Greenville, SC |
| 3/16/02* | (10 S) | vs. (2 S) No. 9 Alabama Second Round | W 71–58 | 29–5 | BI-LO Center (13,962) Greenville, SC |
| 3/21/02* | (10 S) | vs. (3 S) No. 8 Pittsburgh Sweet Sixteen | W 78–73 | 30–5 | Rupp Arena (22,338) Lexington, KY |
| 3/23/02* | (10 S) | vs. (5 S) Indiana Elite Eight | L 69–81 | 30–6 | Rupp Arena (22,435) Lexington, KY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. All times are in Eastern. ||||||