Kennesaw State Men's Basketball: A New Era of Excellence at Kennesaw State

November 9, 1985 - The Beginning

Under the team's first head coach in Phil Zenoni, the Owls opened their first-ever men's basketball season on Nov. 9, 1985 with a 76-74 loss at Lee (Tenn).

December 4, 1985 - First Victory

Kennesaw State saw its struggles as a first-year program, but would record its first win in school history with a 73-66 home victory over Shorter. Two games later the Owls claimed win No. 2, a 91-62 victory over Baptist (Ga.). The Owls would finish 7-21 in their inaugural season.

1988-89 - First Winning Season

For the first time in school history, the Owls claimed a winning season both overall and in league play, as KSU finished 17-14 and 11-7 in the GIAC. The Owls also earned a berth in the NAIA District Tournament for the third straight year.

1990-91 - First Postseason Victory

KSU notched its third straight winning season in 1990-91, which was highlighted by a 97-83 win in the NAIA District Tournament first round at Webber, the first-ever postseason win in program history.

March 5, 1993 - First Postseason Tournament Championship

While the season marked the beginning of a two-year transition into Division II for the Owls, Kennesaw State was still shinning at the NAIA level. After starting the year 0-4, the Owls rebounded to win 16 of 17 games in a late season stretch. That included three straight wins to claim the NAIA District Tournament, hosted by KSU. In the championship game on March 5, the Owls routed Berry by a 90-70 score to claim the tournament title and earn a trip to the NAIA National Tournament. KSU would fall in the fist round to No. 3 seed and eventual national champion Hawaii Pacific in their opening game.

November 19, 1994 - Division II Era Begins for Owls

Kennesaw State made its debut as a Division II program with a 73-67 victory over Clayton State on Nov. 19. The Owls would finish at 8-19 in their first year at their new level, and were 5-13 in their first year in the Peach Belt Conference. KSU did claim a 98-94 overtime win over USC Aiken in the PBC Tournament to reach the second round before falling at Armstrong State to finish the season.

November 20, 1996 - Fast Start Leads to 20-win Season

Greg Yarlett took over as the team's second head coach in program history after four years as the top assistant, and promptly led the Owls to a 6-0 start, and a school-record 20-7 mark at the Division II level. The Owls also went 12-6 in league play to finish third in the Peach Belt.

The 1996-97 Owls finished with a 20-7 record, 12-6 in the Peach Belt.

April 28, 2000 - Tony Ingle Takes Over

Dalton, Ga. native and former BYU assistant Tony Ingle was named the third coach in school history following the end of the 1999-00 season. The young Owls were just 11-15 in Ingle's first year, but a foundation was set for what would be the best 10-year stretch ever at KSU.

March 14, 2003 - Owls Make First-Ever NCAA Appearance

It took just three years for Ingle to make history at Kennesaw State, as the Owls reached the NCAA Tournament for the first-time ever. KSU finished the season with a 25-10 record, that stood as the most wins for the Black and Gold for 20 years. An almost new-lineup, blostered by a group of transfers led by eventual Hall of Famer Terrance Hill, led KSU to second place in the PBC with a 14-5 conference mark. The Owls fell to Columbus State in the PBC championship game, but still earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Regional, where KSU knocked off Virginia Union 74-55 on March 14, 2003, before falling to Bowie State in the next round.

The 2002-03 Owls claimed KSU's first-ever win in a NCAA Basketball Tournament with a 74-55 win over Virginia Union in Columbus, Ga.

February 28, 2004 - Owls Run the Table for First-Ever Conference Title

After starting the season 0-2 and standing at 5-3, the Owls knew they had a good squad but knew their was room to improve. And improve they did. After a four-game win streak, KSU dropped a 74-71 contest at Lenior-Rhyne on Jan. 2. That would be the final loss of the season, as the Owls reeled off 17 straight regular-season victories, becoming the first-ever team in Peach Belt Conference history to go undefeated with a 16-0 mark. This marked the first-ever league title for the Owls in school history, capped by a 66-52 win at North Florida on Feb. 28.

March 7, 2004 - Peach Belt Championship Sweep

The win streak kept rolling for KSU, though they had to work for it as the Owls needed a pair of nail-bitting victories, including a three-pointer with two seconds left in the championship game for a 72-70 win over Columbus State on March 7, 2024 on the Cougars' home court. That gave KSU its first-ever PBC Tournament title and an automatic bid to the NCAA DII Tournament.

March 14, 2004 - Win Streak Continues Through NCAA Regional

The Owls kept the win streak rolling, increasing it to 23-straight wins as they rolled through their three games in the South Atlantic Regional, held in the Spec Landrum Center in Kennesaw. The Owls were never seriously threatened on their home court, with wins over Catawba (78-63), Columbus State (70-55) and Francis Marion (82-73) in the regional final on March 14, 2024. That win moved KSU to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first-time as a program.

March 27, 2004 - History Happens!! Owls Are National Champions!

There's no doubt the Owls were being overlooked when they came into the Elite Eight, held in Bakersfield, Calif., as most outsiders viewed the KSU squad as a team that was just happy to be there. Coach Ingle and KSU had different plans though, knowing they had a team that was capable for winning it all. They opened everyone's eyes after racing out to 51-35 halftime lead over a Pfeiffer team that had averaged almost 109 points in it's past six games. The Owls finished the game with an 86-79 victory, setting up a meeting with Humboldt State. KSU turned a four-point halftime lead into a 14-point advantage in the second half, holding on for the 81-67 win and a spot in the national championship game. Playing on national TV for the first time, the Owls struggled in the opening minutes, falling behind Southern Indiana 10-2. KSU quickly rebounded though, going into the half with a 30-24 advantage. It was all Black and Gold in the second half, as the Owls blitzed Southern Indiana 54-35 for am 84-59 victory. The 25-point win mark was the second-highest in tournament final history, and this remains as the state of Georgia's only NCAA national men's basketball title at any level.

February 2005 - Repeat PBC Champions

The Owls posted another successful season following their championship run, as the Owls finished 24-6, third-most wins ever as a program. The Owls won their first four games to extend the win streak to 30 before falling at Montevallo, and then won another eight straight after that for a 12-1 start. KSU finished the regular season at 13-3 in Peach Belt play to claim a second straight regular season title in the Owls' last season as a Division II squad.

November 18, 2005 - Division I Era Begins

The Owls played their first-ever games as a Division I program, competing in the BP Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska. Kennesaw State also claimed its first-ever win as a D1 program in the event, as on the second day (Nov. 19) the Owls topped Lamar by a 79-60 score.

KSU would go 1-2 in the BP Top of the World Classic in what was their first-ever trip to the state of Alaska.

December 1, 2005 - Start of the Atlantic Sun Era

The Owls opened their first-year in the Atlantic Sun Conference in exciting fashion, as Kennesaw State's Andre Morgan grabbed an offensive rebound and sank two free throws with a second on the clock for a 67-66 victory over Lipscomb in the Convocation Center in KSU's opening game as a member of the conference. KSU would finish that year with an impressive 10-10 record in Atlantic Sun play, but as they were at the beginning on a mandatory five-year NCAA transition period, the Owls were not allowed to earn bids in the conference tournament until 2010.

Men's Basketball 2005-06 Group Action Shot

The Owls celebrate their first-ever victory in the Atlantic Sun, a 67-66 win over Lipscomb.

March 3, 2010 - Historic Upset

Kurtis Wood scored 19 points, including five unanswered in the final minute to give eight-seed Kennesaw State a huge 72-69 upset over top-seed Lipscomb in the 2010 Atlantic Sun Tournament Quarterfinals. Making the win even bigger, the Owls were playing in their first-ever postseason game as a Division I squad as the ASUN at that time did not allow reclassifying teams to participate in the conference tournament. Woods made five three-pointers in the game, while the Owls as a team connected on 11 total in the victory.

The Owls were finally eligible for Division I postseason play in the 2009-10 season and made the most of their opportunity with a huge upset over top-seed Lipscomb in the 2010 ASUN Tournament.

November 15, 2010 - Knocking off the Yellow Jackets

In a game that will never be forgotten by KSU fans, in the second game of the 2010-11 season, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets came to Convocation Center. In front of a then-record crowd of 3,784 that was watching the Owls host their first-ever Power 5 opponent, KSU jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never looked back, on the way to a convincing 80-63 win over their Atlanta Metro rival. Spencer Dixon scored 27 points in the victory, the first-ever for KSU over a power conference opponent.

The Owls celebrate at mid-court after their first-ever win over a power conference team with the 80-63 win over the Yellow Jackets.

April 18, 2019 - Amir Abdur-Rahim era starts at Kennesaw State

Cobb County native Amir Abdur-Rahim became the seventh coach in Kennesaw State history, and his approach to rebuilding the program from the bottom up turned the Owls into the class of the Atlantic Sun while he left the school as KSU's all-time winningest coach (percentage) in the school's Division I history.

Amir Abdur-Raheem, who played at nearby Wheeler High in Marietta, would set a standard of excellence in men's basketball at KSU.

March 1, 2022 - Postseason Success

The Owls' rebuild under Abdur-Rahim continued in year three, as KSU claimed its most conference wins in seven years, giving the Owls a home game in the first round of the 2023 Atlantic Sun Tournament. Playing in the first-ever Division I postseason game in Kennesaw, the Owls claimed a thrilling 82-73 victory over Eastern Kentucky to reach the quarterfinal round, in a game that foreshadowed the success of the following season. Spencer Rodgers paced the way for KSU in the win, scoring 22 points while hitting six of nine from three-point land.

November-December, 2023 - The start of a championship season

Riding the momentum of the end of the previous season, the Owls roared out to a school-record 4-1 start to the season, and finished with a school-record 8-5 non-conference mark, which included a big road win at Appalachian State, while the Owls came up just short of a huge upset at VCU before falling 64-61. Among the big wins was a 66-63 victory at Mercer, KSU's first win at the Bears since 2010.

Kennesaw State set a new DI era school record by going 15-1 on its home court during the 2022-23 season.

January, 2023 - Conference contenders?

Riding a 8-5 start, the Owls felt confident about being one of the challengers for the Atlantic Sun title. As the month went on, the wins kept pilling up and the Owls all of a sudden found themselves as one of two front runners in the league for the first time in program history. It all started with a two-game sweep at home to open the season, including a big 79-75 win over eventual third-place Eastern Kentucky. Following a setback at North Florida, KSU reeled off three straight wins before heading into the Stetson-FGCU road trip. Facing a pair of teams that had outstanding non-conference resumes, KSU played perhaps the best back-to-back road games in program history, starting with an 82-81 overtime victory at Stetson, and followed by a 65-63 win at FGCU. The win over the Eagles, on Jan. 21, set a new KSU mark for most wins ever as a Division I program at 15, which brought Kennesaw State all kinds of national attention for the first time at this level. The team wasn't done yet, as the Owls followed with two more home wins for a 9-1 ASUN record at the end of January.

Kennesaw State Men’s Basketball vs Eastern Kentucky 01022023

Chris Youngblood was one of the top scorers in the Atlantic Sun during the 2022-23 season on the way to earning First Team All-ASUN and First Team All-NABC District honors.

February, 2023 - Regular Season Champions

It was essentially a two-team race the entire month of February for the Atlantic Sun regular season championship, between the preseason favorite Liberty Flames and the upstart Kennesaw State Owls. Both teams would match win for win in the first few weeks of February, leading to a huge showdown in the Convocation Center on Feb. 16, as both teams came into the contest at 12-2 in ASUN play. This was also the only meeting for the two teams in the regular season, leaving the winner with a potential tiebreaker. In what would go down as an instant classic, KSU rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit for a thrilling 88-81 win, their first-ever over the Flames, and first-ever over a top-50 team in the NET. KSU did drop its next game but closed out with two more road victories (North Alabama, Central Arkansas) to claim both a share of its first-ever Atlantic Sun regular season championship as well as the key No. 1 seed to the postseason conference tournament.

The Owls pose at Central Arkansas after claiming their first-ever Atlantic Sun regular season championship title.

March, 2023 - We're Going Dancing

Thanks to earning the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Sun Tournament for the first time in program history, the Owls proceeded to win three straight games in the Convocation Center in front of a huge Black & Gold fanbase to claim the first-ever conference title in the team's Division I history. All three games were decided in thrilling finishes as well, starting with the Owls' opening quarterfinal matchup, where they held off ninth-seed and upset-minded Queens 67-66 on February 28. Playing in the semifinals for the first time since 2017, the Owls used a huge fadeaway shot from Chris Youngblood at the shot clock buzzer in the last minute to pull away for an 80-71 win over Lipscomb on March 2. That lead another showdown with the Liberty Flames in the championship game on March 5, in the first-ever nationally televised game from the Convocation Center (ESPN2). This time it was a defensive battle, as the Owls completely shutdown Liberty standout and ASUN Player of the Year Darius McGhee. The game was still tied in the final seconds though until ASUN Tournament MVP Terrell Burden drove the lane and was fouled with under a second to play. He sank the first and intentionally missed the second, giving KSU the 67-66 victory, their first-ever ASUN Tournament title, and earning the first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament in the Owls' Division I era. KSU officially became one of the quickest turnaround programs in NCAA history, as the Owls are the only team to ever reach the NCAA Tournament in just three years following a one-win season.

The Owls claimed the championship sweep with a 67-66 victory over Liberty in the ASUN Tournament title game.

March 17, 2023 - March Madness

Kennesaw State made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament a memorable one. After earning a No. 14 seed, the Owls were matched up against third-seed Xavier in nearby Greensboro, N.C., allowing a huge contingent of Owl fans to make the trip. After a slow start to the contest for the Owls in which they fell behind by nine, KSU quickly showed the Musketeers that it was going to be a battle. Two separate 14-3 runs for KSU led to a 43-36 halftime advantage, and the Owls would eventually lead by as much as 13, 61-48, before Xavier managed to rally over the final 10 minutes. It was a tie game with under 20 seconds left when KSU was called for a foul on a putback attempt. Xavier made one-of-two at the line, then blocked the Owls' game-winning attempt at the other end to escape with the win.

The Owls took Xavier down to the wire in their first-ever NCAA Tournament Appearance.

April 12, 2023 - Start of the Pettway Era

After Abdur-Rahim moved on to South Florida at the end of the season, the Owls went on a national search for their next coach, but they didn't have to look far as Alabama legend Antoine Pettway was officially hired as the eighth-head coach all-time at KSU. The former Crimson Tide player and long-time assistant coach came to the Owls with a plan to turn the program into a fast-paced offensive style. Known as a top recruiter, he showed off his ability to bring in talent by securing the 27th-ranked class in the nation in his first year, the highest non-power conference class in the nation.

Antoine Pettway takes over as the newest head coach for the KSU men's basketball program on April 12, 2023.

December 2 & 5, 2023 - Owls Take Down Georgia State, UNC Asheville As Part of Record Start

The Owls got off to a hot start under Coach Pettway, and one of the biggest highlights of his first season was back-to-back wins over intra-city rival Georgia State and defending Big South champion UNC Asheville. On Dec. 2, in front of a Convocation Center record-tying crowd of 3,805, the Owls used a 17-0 first half run to completely dominate the Panthers in the first meeting between the Metro Atlanta schools in 34 years. Just three days later, the Owls played a thriller of a game against UNC Asheville, as they come up with a SportsCenter Top 10 Play on a block at the buzzer to force overtime, before Simeon Cottle drained a three at the buzzer for a 79-76 victory. That two-game run was part of a five-game win streak, as the Owls would put together a school-record 9-3 start to the season.

Simeon Cottle and the Owls pulled off impressive back-to-back victories over Georgia State and UNC Asheville.

January 12, 2024 - Burden at the Buzzer

The Owls made regular appearances on SportsCenter's Top Ten Plays of the Day in the 2023-24 season, with a school-record four plays being featured during the season. By far the best was the last one, as with the Owls trailing by three with under 20 seconds left, they hit three free throws to tie the game, and then Terrell Burden stole the ball, drove the length of the court before hitting a step-back three-pointer from the deep corner at the buzzer to stun FGCU 78-75. The reply of the shot was viral across the country over the next 24 hours, and not only moved KSU to 13-5 for the year, it marked the second-straight win in the series over the Eagles.

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