That home-court advantage that the Kennesaw State basketball team has built did not come by accident. It takes a lot of hard work — and a little bribery.
Each day visitors to the school’s student center are likely to encounter a player or two handing out fliers in one hand and doughnuts in the other. Anything to encourage fans to pack the house.
“Man, I’m going broke buying doughnuts,” KSU coach Antoine Pettway said with a laugh. “Me, my staff, my players, we pass out doughnuts and flyers on campus to show they’re as much a part of this as anybody. We talk about that record at home, but we’re not at home without our students coming and supporting us, so we pass out doughnuts and tell the student, ‘Hey, we’ll see you at the game.’”
The strategy has helped build enthusiasm and made the 3,800-seat KSU Convocation Center a tough place for the opposition. The Owls are 9-0 at home, the 23rd-longest home win streak in the nation, and 33-5 at home over the past three seasons. Another packed house is expected over the next two games when Kennesaw State hosts Liberty on Thursday (8 p.m., CBS Sports Network) and Florida International on Saturday.
Kennesaw State (12-8, 4-3) is one game out of the three-way tie for first place in Conference USA behind Texas-El Paso, Middle Tennessee and Jacksonville State. The Owls are tied with Liberty (16-4, 4-3), an opponent they haven’t faced since the 2023 Atlantic Sun Championship game, which KSU won.
“We’re looking forward to that game,” Cottle said. “It’s going to be fun and we expect to have a great atmosphere.”
Kennesaw State has become the surprise team in the conference. The Owls were picked to finish last in the league by the coaches in the preseason poll, largely because of their last of experience. But the fact that Pettway starts three freshmen hasn’t slowed their ascent in the standings, and their victory over Big Ten-member Rutgers on Nov. 24 meant they could no longer hide in anonymity.
“We’re taking it one game at a time to be sure, but I’m happy with where we are,” Pettway said. “We could be in a better spot without some of those turnovers and if we made our free throws at a higher rate, but with all that said we’re not far away.”
The veteran presence is supplied by junior Simeon Cottle, who leads the team in scoring (18.4 points), 3-point baskets (61) and is shooting 91.4% from the line. Cottle fractured his face in the offseason and later suffered a broken nose, so he is wearing a mask as a precautionary measure.
“His leadership has been tremendous,” Pettway said. “He’s the guy who brings guys together. I think one of the main reasons we’ve had some form of success early on has been because of his leadership.”
The Owls start three freshman — Adrian Wooley (18.1 points, 4.9 assists) from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Braeden Lue (10.8 points, 5.8 rebounds) from Douglas County’s Alexander High School and Jamil Miller (8.2 points, 5.8 rebounds) from Seattle. Those three help make Kennesaw State one of the younger starting lineups in NCAA basketball.
“All three of them can play,” Cottle said. “They’re all very good.”
Wooley, a 6-foot-5 scoring machine, got on Pettway’s radar when he was on staff at the University of Alabama.
“I’ve been knowing him since middle school,” Pettway said. “He has approached every single day, from the day he stepped on campus until now, to getting better and better. And he keeps getting better and better as the season goes on. He’s a champion in everything he does.”
That includes the classroom, where Wooley has a 3.8 GPA.
“He’s as good as any player I’ve coached and it has to do with his work ethic. I knew he’d be good for us, but he’s exceeding my expectations for sure.”
Pettway said it no longer is fair to call the trio freshmen. Each has started all 19 games and they have played a combined 1,704 minutes.
“They’ve already played more than the average freshman,” Pettway said. “I tell they’re really sophomores so it’s time to take that next step and they’ve done it. We could have gone in the portal and gotten players but we wanted to get talented freshmen we can mold and who would want to come and be part of something special.”
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