page_title: Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball
section_title: Jim Christian
hierarchical_section_title: Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball / History / Jim Christian
caption_attribution_description: Interior view of the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center in Kent, Ohio.
context_page_description: The Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team represents Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, United States. The Golden Flashes compete in National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I level as a member of the Mid-American Conference East Division. The team was founded in 1913 and played their first intercollegiate game in January 1915. They joined the Mid-American Conference in 1951 and have played in the East division since the MAC went to the divisional format in 1997. Home games are held at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center, which opened in 1950 and is one of the oldest arenas in college basketball. Rob Senderoff was hired as head coach in 2011, the 24th coach in the program's history.
  The Flashes gained national attention in the late 1990s and early 2000s after earning their first bid to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 1999. Two years later, Kent State picked up their first tournament win, followed the next year by their run to the Elite Eight in 2002 as a 10th seed where the Flashes finished the season ranked 12th nationally.
context_section_description: The Flashes continued their success under Jim Christian, winning over 20 games every season he was coach along with MAC East titles in 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2008; MAC overall titles in 2006 and 2008; and winning the MAC Tournament again in 2006 and 2008.  In both 2003 and 2004, Kent State lost in the MAC Tournament championship game and received bids to the NIT.  Following their 2006 MAC Tournament title, they advanced to the 2006 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament as a 12th seed where they lost in the opening round.  In 2004, Kent State broke the MAC record for consecutive seasons with 20 or more wins by posting their sixth consecutive season.  The streak is currently at ten as the 2007–2008 team won their 20th game on February 12, 2008 at Central Michigan University.  In addition, Kent State broke the record for consecutive seasons with ten or more conference wins in a season by posting their ninth consecutive season of ten or more conference wins in 2006–2007, breaking the previous record of eight.  The 2007–2008 season has seen several firsts and milestones for the program.  On February 19, 2008, the Flashes recorded their 1,000th win in program history, a 76–66 win over the Buffalo Bulls at Buffalo's Alumni Arena.  On February 24, the Flashes scored their first-ever win against a ranked team in the regular season, defeating the Saint Mary's Gaels 65–57 in Moraga, California.  This was followed by Kent State's first-ever regular season ranking, rising to 23rd in the Associated Press poll and 24th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.  With their 61–58 win at Akron on March 9 to close out the regular season, Kent State set a program record for wins in the regular season with 25, breaking the previous record of 24 set in the 2001–2002 season. Following their fifth conference tournament title, Kent State earned the highest seed in school history, a ninth seed in the Midwestern region of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, where they fell to the UNLV Runnin' Rebels in the opening round.  On March 29 Jim Christian resigned to take the head coaching job at Texas Christian University.  He finished with a career record of 138–58 at Kent State.  Christian was replaced by his top assistant coach Geno Ford, who officially took over the program on April 2.
caption: KSU versus the Akron Zips on January 23, 2008, at the MAC Center
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