Feb. 6, 2007

Contact: Brian McCann

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GAME 26
Butler (22-2, 10-1) at Cleveland State (8-17, 2-10)
Date: Thursday, Febuary 8, 2007
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
Site: Goodman Arena (8,500), Wolstein Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Sponsor: SportsTime Ohio
Promo: Green-Out Night -- All CSU fans asked to wear green. First 750 fans through the door receive free t-shirt, courtesy of SportsTime Ohio.
TV: SportsTime Ohio (Mike Cairns & Franklin Edwards)
(Game will be replayed at 10:30 p.m. on Thursday (Feb. 8) and 4:00 p.m. on Friday (Feb. 9).
(Highlights available on The Viking Basketball Report, which airs weekly on SportsTime Ohio.)
Radio: WKNR, 850 AM (Al Pawlowski)
(Streaming available at www.WKNR.com)
Series: Butler leads, 20-5
Last Meeting: @Butler 70, CSU 45 (12/2/06)
Tickets: $8, $10 & $14

SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State closes its current three-game homestand when the Vikings host ninth-ranked Butler on Thursday, Feb. 8 beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center. The game will be televised throughout Ohio on SportsTime Ohio and in the Indianapolis area on Comcast with Mike Cairns and Franklin Edwards providing the commentary. The Vikings have played better than their 8-17 overall and 2-10 league mark shows, owning the halftime lead in 14 of the 25 games this season. CSU dropped home games to Loyola (61-57) and UW-Green Bay (79-66) last week. Butler (22-2, 10-1) is the first Horizon League team to ever earn a top 10 ranking, entering the week ranked ninth in the ESPN/USA Today and 10th by the Associated Press. The Bulldogs have won eight straight games, owning an 11-2 mark in games away from home this season.

PREVIEWING CLEVELAND STATE: The Vikings hedad into the final weeks of the Horizon League schedule with just nine healthy scholarship players, each of whom factor into the playing rotation. CSU did receive a big boost when guard Victor Morris (7.3 ppg, 2.2 apg) returned to play after missing eight contests with a broken foot suffered against Ohio State on Dec. 5. The starting unit is led by senior guard Raheem Moss (10.6 ppg) and forward Patrick Tatham (4.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg), sophomore forward J'Nathan Bullock (13.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg) with freshman Joe Davis (9.3 ppg) and sophomore Bahaadar Russell (6.2 ppg) filling the two guard spots. Junior Breyohn Watson (2.5 ppg) and sophomores Tristan Crawford (1.6 ppg) and Renard Fields (2.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg) provide depth off the bench.

GREEN-OUT PLANNED FOR BUTLER: With 9th-ranked Butler set to invade the Wolstein Center on Feb. 8, Viking fans are being encouraged to wear green when they attend the contest. To help things out, SportsTime Ohio is teaming up with the CSU athletic department to pass out free green t-shirts to the first 750 fans through the gate. The gates open at 6:00 p.m.

HARVEST FOR HUNGER: National City Bank, Cleveland State Athletics and Harvest for Hunger are "Teaming for our Community" during the February 8 CSU men's basketball game vs Butler. Fans bringing a canned good to the matchup will receive a buy-one, get-one free voucher for the CSU men's and women's doubleheader versus Youngstown State on Feb. 24, and will be eligible to win a fantastic grand prize courtesy of SportsTime Ohio. More importantly, your donation will assist in providing more than 8 million meals to the hungry in Northeast Ohio.

HEAD COACH Gary Waters: A 32-year collegiate coaching veteran, Gary Waters took over as the head coach of the Vikings in the spring of 2006, bringing with him to Cleveland a head coaching history that included six trips to the postseason in his first 10 years as a head coach. He posted a 92-60 record in five seasons at Kent State, making NCAA appearances in both 1998-99 and 2000-01 and becoming the third coach in Mid-American Conference history to be named league coach of the year in successive years. Waters moved to Rutgers in 2001-02, compiling a 79-75 mark in five seasons, including three trips to the NIT.

TV TIMEOUT: Thursday's game is the third of five games being televised throughout Ohio on SportsTime Ohio. STO is a Northern Ohio regional sports network designed to offer a variety of sports programming produced for the Ohio sports fan, with its initial venture being the largest television package in Cleveland Indians team history. Additional programming is geared specifically toward Ohio-area sports fans and the passion that makes this region the greatest sports community. STO has previously televised the games against West Virginia Tech (Dec. 30) and at Youngstown State (Jan. 20) and will do the Feb. 14 contest at Wright State. The package closes on Saturday, Feb. 24 when STO will air the regular season ending men's and women's doubleheader against Youngstown State. Mike Cairns and Franklin Edwards will provide the commentary.

IT'S ONLY A NUMBER: Butler comes to Cleveland ranked ninth in the ESPN/USA Today poll and 10th in the AP poll, making them the highest ranked team to play CSU in the Wolstein Center since the Vikings lost to No. 7 Michigan on Nov. 30, 1996, the third game of the Rollie Massimino coaching era at CSU. Cleveland State is just 1-25 all-time against ranked opponents, including an 0-6 mark in games played in the Wolstein Center and 0-7 in games played in Cleveland (CSU played Michigan State at Public Hall in 1983-84). The Vikings are 0-2 against ranked opponents this year (Ohio State & Butler). The last time CSU hosted a ranked opponent came on Nov. 29, 2003 when the Vikings lost, 82-76, to North Carolina (No. 9 AP, No. 10 ESPN/USA Today).

CSU DRAWS CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE IN THE BRACKETBUSTERS: Cleveland State has drawn Cal State Northridge of the Big West Conference as its opponent in the 2007 O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters. The Vikings will travel to Northridge, Calif. on Saturday, Feb. 17 to take on the Matadors beginning at 7:00 p.m. PST (10:00 p.m. EST). This years' BracketBusters lineup consists of 102 schools from 16 conferences. Thirteen games will be televised over two days (Feb. 16-17) with the remaining 38 pool games being played on Saturday, Feb. 17. This is the fourth year that CSU is taking part in the event. The Vikings hosted Eastern Michigan in 2004, played at Central Michigan in 2005 and hosted Delaware last season. CSU is 1-2 in the games, defeating Delaware last year. Cal State Northridge begins the week with a 10-12 overall record and in sixth place in the Big West with a 3-6 mark.

THE TURNOVER TALE: One area that the Vikings have shown a considerable improvement in this year is taking better care of the ball. CSU is averaging 14.1 turnovers a game this year, two fewer turnovers a game from last year's 16.1 average. The Vikings have been even better lately, averaging just 10.8 miscures over the last four games. CSU has committed 10 or fewer turnovers in a game six times this year, including a season-low eight in the win at UIC on Jan. 27.

BULLOCK'S FREE THROW REVERSAL: J'Nathan Bullock has undergone a metamorphosis at the foul line since late last season. Bullock shot just .597 from the line as a freshman (83-139), including a dismal .511 in the first 22 games (47-92). He finished the year strong, shooting .766 over the last six games (36-47) and then carried that improvement over to this season as he has made 102 of his 138 attempts this year (.739) to rank 10th in the league. Bullock was nine-for-10 from the line against Wright State and 10-for-12 against Miami (Fla.), including a five-for-six effort in the final four minutes. Over his last 31 games, Bullock is 138-185 from the line (.746).

. . . A BETTER EXAMPLE OF THE IMPROVEMENT: A better way to show Bullock's improvement at the foul line is that the sophomore enters the week having taken one less free throw this year than a year ago (138 to 139) but he has already made 19 more free throws this season (102 to 83).

NOT A BAHAAD SUBSTITUTE: With Carlos English out of the lineup the last seven games, sophomore Bahaadar Russell has made the most out of his starting opportunities. Russell, who moved into the starting lineup for the Detroit game despite having scored just 10 points this season and 23 in his career, has been on fire, averaging 13.6 points to become one of the team's top offensive options. Against Detroit on Jan. 13, he obliterated his previous career scoring high (of five) by totaling 21 points to key the win over the Titans. Russell connected on seven of his 13 field goal attempts and both of his free throws to lead CSU in scoring for the first time in his career. He came back on Jan. 18 to add 17 points against Wright State and 11 vs. Youngstown State on Jan. 20. He keyed the win at UIC on Jan. 27, scoring nine of his team-high 15 points in the last three minutes to seal the win. At UW-Milwaukee on Jan. 29, he scored 20 points to lead CSU back from a 12-point first half deficit and force overtime. In his seven starts this season, he is shooting .352 from the field (31-88) and .339 from three-point (21-62), averaging 31.4 minutes a game. In his first 27 games, he was just 3-for-29 from behind the arc (.103).

. . . RUSSELL HAS ALSO BEEN A STEAL: Russell has also more than made up for the defensive hole that was created in the lineup when English, who has made 68 steals in 48 career games, was sidelined. Russell has made 15 steals over the last six games, another considerable jump from the nine steals that he made in his previous 28 games.

WELCOME BACK VICTOR: The Vikings received good news on the injury front on Jan. 18 when senior guard Victor Morris returned to the lineup just 34 days removed from foot surgery. Morris suffered a Jones fracture in his right foot in the second half against Ohio State on Dec. 9 and had a screw implanted into his foot during surgery on Dec. 15. He was cleared to practice on Jan. 16 and has played 89 minutes in the five games since. He had his best post-injury performance against UW-Green Bay last week, scoring 16 points with five rebounds and five assists, making a career-high four three-pointers.

IT WAS A FIELDS DAY: Last Thursday's loss to Loyola overshadowed the most dominating performance in the young career of sophomore Renard Fields, who set career highs for points (12), rebounds (16), blocks (5) and steals (2) despite playing just 25 minutes off the bench. It was the first double-double of his career (his previous highs were only eight points and seven rebounds). The rebounding total was the most by a Viking since Pape Badiane's 18 rebound game at Florida A&M on Nov. 25, 2003.

OVERTIME: The overtime loss at UW-Milwaukee on Jan. 29 marked the third overtime game of the season for the Vikings, one shy of the school record four set in both 1986-87 and 1987-88. Overtime has unfortunately been a bad omen for CSU as the Vikings have dropped all three of those games. CSU lost at Central Michigan (78-76 on Dec. 17), at home against Chicago State (82-77 on Dec. 19) and at UW-Milwaukee (57-56 on Jan. 29). CSU was 2-1 in overtime games last season.

BULLOCK'S IN-N-OUT SPECIAL: Like the famed hamburger chain on the west coast, sophomore J'Nathan Bullock has become noted for his ability to turn out the double-double, recording the seventh of his career (and team-best fourth of the season) on Jan. 27 when he scored 14 points with 10 rebounds in the win at UIC. Bullock previously had double-doubles against Detroit (10 points, 10 rebounds), at Delaware (17, 11) and at home against West Virginia Tech (17, 14).

. . . AND ANOTHER 20-POINT EFFORT: Bullock's 21 point effort against Wright State on Jan. 18 was the sophomore's eighth career 20-point effort. Bullock was six-for-12 from the field and made nine of his 10 free throws to surpass the 20-point mark for the fifth time this season.

2,000 MINUTE MEN: Raheem Moss and Patrick Tatham each reached a career milestone in the games around the Christmas break, surpassing the 2,000-minute plateau for their collegiate playing careers. Moss leads the way with 2,365 career minutes played, 304 of which came in 2002-03 as a freshman at Bowling Green. All of Tatham's 2,312 minutes have come at Cleveland State as the senior forward has averaged 20 minutes a game in each of his four seasons. The duo joins teammate Victor Morris, who has played 416 minutes this year to raise his career total to 2,463.

. . . TATHAM STARTING STREAK HITS 60: Senior center Patrick Tatham enters the week having started in 60 straight games, the seventh longest streak in school history. That is quite an accomplishment, especially considering that the Brampton, Ontario native missed 13 of his first 44 games as a Viking because of various leg injuries. Tatham leads all active CSU players with 82 career starts. He needs to start three more games to catch Warren Bradley, who started 63 games from 1987-88.

CONSECUTIVE TREYS AT 257 & COUNTING: Cleveland State has made at least one three-pointer in all 25 games this season to extend its streak of consecutive games with at least one trey to 257, a streak that began following an 0-for-8 shooting effort in a 60-57 win over Detroit on Feb. 21, 1998. The men's milestone is nothing when it is compared to what the CSU women's team has accomplished. The women set an NCAA record by making a three-pointer in 408 straight games before being held without a trey on Feb. 3 vs. UIC.

MOSS MOVES UP THREE-POINT CHART: Raheem Moss continues to make his mark as one of the most prolific three-point shooters in Viking history. He enters the week ranking fourth on the CSU charts in three-point field goals made (160) and attempted (441). Moss needs three three-pointers to catch third-place Jermaine Robinson (163 from 1999-04) and 36 attempts to reach third place Jamaal Harris (477 from 1998-02).

A STEADY STARTING FIVE: The Vikings have found some stability in their starting lineup, using just three different starting combinations in the 23 games this season. The lone changes being made when Victor Morris broke his foot in early December and then again on Jan. 13 when Carlos English was declared ineligible. The stability is quite an accomplishment, especially considering that the Vikings had 13 different starting combinations in 27 games last year. CSU used the same starting five in each of the first 11 games, going with guards Carlos English, Victor Morris and Raheem Moss along with forwards J'Nathan Bullock and Patrick Tatham. The lineup changed at Central Michigan on Dec. 17 when Morris was unable to play because of a foot injury and freshman Joe Davis started for the first time. The 11 straight games is the longest stretch with the same group of starters in the last four seasons, surpassing the nine straight games started by a combination last year. Over the previous three years, CSU used 36 different starting combinations in 83 games.

BULLOCK TAKES OVER SCORING ROLE: Forward J'Nathan Bullock has lived up to the preseason billing that made him a preseason second team All-Horizon League choice. He leads the Vikings and ranks 10th in the Horizon League in scoring (13.7), shooting .739 from the line (102-138).

. . . BULLOCK FINDS HIS MARK IN OTHER WAYS: One of the most impressive statistics about J'Nathan Bullock this year has nothing to do with shooting the basketball. In 25 games this year, Bullock has handed out 30 assists, including a career high five assists vs. West Virginia Tech, to surpass the assist total that he compiled during his entire freshman season. Last year, Bullock had only nine assists in 28 games (and 707 minutes).

WAITING IN THE WINGS: CSU fans may have to wait until next fall to see the true strength of the Viking recruiting class as three of the seven newcomers are transfers from other Division I schools and will have to sit out the 2006-07 season to meet NCAA transfer guidelines. The trio -- each of whom are juniors and will have two years of eligibility remaining -- includes guard Cedric Jackson and forwards Chris Moore and George Tandy. Jackson is the most experienced of the group, starting 35 games the last two years at Big East Conference member St. John's, while Tandy, a native of Indianapolis who played his senior year of high school at Cleveland's Lincoln West High, was named the Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year in 2004-05 while playing at Eastern Illinois. Moore, who lives in the Cleveland suburb of Lakewood and attended St. Edward High, returns home after playing two seasons at UC Santa Barbara.

. . . AND CSU ADDS THREE DURING EARLY SIGNING PERIOD: Keeping a promise that he made at his introductory press conference, head coach Gary Waters stayed local, signing three players from northeast Ohio, including two from the greater Cleveland area, during the early signing period. The signees included:

D'Aundray Brown (Youngstown, OH/Ursuline)
A 6-4 guard, Brown averaged 14.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game as a junior, earning first team all-league and all-district honors. He averaged 13.8 points and 6.3 rebounds as a sophomore.

Daitwan Eppinger (Garfield Heights, OH)
A 6-6 wing, Eppinger averaged 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocks a game as a junior, earning first team all-league and all-region honors. Eppinger, who is coached by former Viking standout Sonny Johnson, is ranked as one of the top five prospects in the city and among the top 15 players in Ohio by Prep Spotlight.

Joe Latas (North Olmsted, OH/St. Peter Chanel).
A 6-11 center, Latas averaged 11.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.1 blocks a game as a junior. He is rated as the No. 4 center in Ohio this year by Hoopscoop and was tabbed as a "Standout" at the 2005 Five Star Basketball Camp.

NEXT UP: The Vikings take to the road to open a three-game road swing, starting with a Wednesday, Feb. 14 contest at Wright State that will be shown live on SportsTime Ohio.