All-Time vs. Northwestern: 1-1

Last Meeting: 12/29/84 66-54 W

Tickets: nusports.com

Radio: Sports Radio 99.1 FM

Play-By-Play: Al Pawlowski, Ed Daugherty (Host)

TV: Big Ten Network

Play-By-Play: Mike Hall, Shon Morris

SETTING THE SCENE

The Cleveland State Men's Basketball team returns to Chicago for the second time in the first seven days of the 2025-26 regular season as the Vikings get set to take on Northwestern. Cleveland State is 1-1 after a home win over Capital on Thursday night to claim its first victory of the season. Northwestern is playing its third straight home game as the Wildcats are off to a 2-0 start opening with wins over Mercyhurst and Boston University. 

THE CLEVELAND STATE/NORTHWESTERN SERIES

This will be the third all-time meeting between Cleveland State and Northwestern with the series tied one game apiece. The two teams met for a home-and-home series over 40 years ago. Each team won on its own home floor as Northwestern took the first meeting in December, 1983 and Cleveland State claimed the second meeting in December, 1984 66-54 at Woodling Gymnasium. The game is part of the 2025 Skechers Greenbrier Classic as both teams will next head to the historic Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia for two neutral site games. 

CLEVELAND STATE CLAIMS FIRST VICTORY OVER CAPITAL

Cleveland State opened the home slate at the Wolstein Center with a victory over Capital University on Thursday night. The Vikings prevailed 71-70 and the win marked the first for head coach Rob Summers in his Cleveland State career. Cleveland State shot 44 percent from the field and 39 percent from three-point range in the win. The Vikings had three in double figures with Tre Beard leading the way with 13 points. Dayan Nessah added 11 and Chevalier Emery finished with 10. Cleveland State led for over 32 total minutes in the game and held on after a last-second Capital three-point attempt missed. 

VIKINGS FALL IN NAIL BITER AT LOYOLA

Cleveland State went on the road to start the 2025-26 season and gave host Loyola all it could handle in taking the Ramblers to the final buzzer in a thrilling season opener in Chicago. Loyola prevailed 91-88 thanks to a last second three-point shot on the game's final possession. The game went back and forth with 20 lead changes and nine ties as both teams had chances in the final minute to emerge with the victory. Dayan Nessah led the way for the Vikings with 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead all scorers and notch his first collegiate double-double. Josiah Harris finished with 20 points, Tre Beard chipped in 13 and Kamari Jones made it four in double figures as he finished with 12 points. 
 

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

Northwestern is 2-0 on the season after winning home games against Mercyhurst and Boston University to begin the 2025-26 season. The Wildcats took both games handily winning each by 20-plus points. Northwestern is led by senior forward Nick Martinelli who has scored in double figures in 20 consecutive games dating back to last season. Martinelli was named to the preseason watch list for the Naismith Player of the Year award, the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year award, and a preseason First-Team All-Big Ten selection. NU is led by Chris Collins who is in his 13th season as head coach. Collins has led Northwestern to the NCAA Tournament three times during his tenure.

ROB SUMMERS BEGINS FIRST SEASON AS HEAD COACH

This season marks the first for Rob Summers as Cleveland State head coach. Summers was named the 18th head coach in program history in April. Summers is a familiar face to Cleveland State after serving as an assistant coach under Dennis Gates from 2019-22. During that time the Vikings won two Horizon League regular season titles and one tournament title, making postseason appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 2021 and the NIT in 2022. Following his three-year stint in Cleveland Summers spent two seasons as an assistant at Miami(OH) and then reunited with Gates as an assistant at Missouri this past season. Summers is a Columbus, Ohio native and played collegiately at Penn State and West Virginia, helping the Mountaineers advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in 2006. 

SUMMERS ADDS FIVE TO COACHING STAFF

Rob Summers has added an experienced group of five assistant coaches to his first Cleveland State staff. Associate head coach Frank Young comes to Cleveland after six seasons at Appalachian State. Young and Summers were teammates at West Virginia for their final two collegiate seasons. Veteran assistant Louis Rowe brings almost two decades of coaching experience and most recently was an assistant at Oregon. Rowe and Summers coached together at James Madison where Rowe was the head coach for four seasons. Assistant coach Michael Hunter comes to Cleveland after two successful seasons of head coaching experience at Shawnee State University. Hunter coached under Summers at Urbana University. Assistant coach Casey Perrin brings almost a decade of experience at three Division I programs. Perrin most recently was an assistant at Louisiana for the past three seasons. Dalon King returns to his alma mater as an assistant coach. King was on staff with Summers for all three seasons of his first stint at Cleveland State and went on to Missouri where the two worked together again last season.  

FRESH FACES

Cleveland State features a brand new roster this season. The Vikings added 15 new players this offseason who will be suiting up in the green and white for the first time. Cleveland State is one of six teams in Division I with all new players. The Vikings are one of ten teams in the country with zero returning points and one of eight teams with zero returning scholarship players. 

ROSTER BREAKDOWN

Cleveland State's roster features 14 transfer student-athletes and one incoming freshman. Among the transfers, 11 of them are upperclassmen. The roster includes five seniors and six juniors, along with three sophomores and one freshman. Among the transfers, seven of them have Division I playing experience. 

LOCAL FLAVOR

Among the Cleveland State newcomers are some familiar names who have had success in the high school and college ranks in the Northeast Ohio region. Junior Josiah Harris comes from Akron where he played in six games last season before suffering a season-ending injury. Harris played his high school basketball at Richmond Heights, located on Cleveland's east side. Harris was a Northeast Lakes Division All-District IV first team selection. Manny Hill is another local product who is a familiar face as he follows in his older brother's footsteps. Yahel Hill played four years for the Vikings and graduated in 2023. Manny has made stops at Notre Dame College, Cuyahoga Community College and most recently Heidelberg University. Hill will play his final season of college basketball at Cleveland State. 

SAME COLORS, NEW TEAM

Foster Wonders is another familiar name to Horizon League fans as he comes to Cleveland after two seasons at Green Bay. Wonders began his career at Southen Illinois before transferring to Green Bay for his sophomore and junior seasons. At Green Bay he played in 57 career games and averaged just under seven points per game. The Iron Mountain, Michigan native was one of the top scorers in Michigan Upper Peninsula basketball history finishing with over 2,200 points in his high school career. 

CHALLENGING NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE AWAITS

Rob Summers has assembled a difficult non-conference slate in his first season in charge of the CSU program. The Vikings will match up with Loyola and Northwestern in the season's first week. Later in November, Summers will reunite with his mentor, former Cleveland State head coach Dennis Gates, as the two will square off when the Vikings visit Missouri. A trip to the historic Greenbrier Resort as well as a matchup with UAB are also on the schedule. Cleveland State will take on five teams that won 20 or more games last season and four who made postseason appearances in either the NCAA Tournament or NIT.  

CLEVELAND STATE TABBED EIGHTH IN HORIZON LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL

The Horizon League released its preaseason poll which is voted on annually by coaches, media members and Sports Information Directors from each of the league's 11 institutions. Cleveland State was picked eighth in the rankings. Cleveland State received 217 total points, just shy of Wright State who is seventh with 221. Milwaukee has been picked as the preseason favorite finishing with 24 first place votes.

UP NEXT

Cleveland State travels to the historic Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia for two games in the Greenbrier Classic. The Vikings will take on Kent State and Radford in two neutral site contests with the first game on Saturday and the second game on Sunday.