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Play-By-Play: Al Pawlowski, Ed Daugherty

TV: FloHoops

Play-By-Play: Hector Ledesma, Jennifer George

SETTING THE SCENE

The Cleveland State Men's Basketball team has earned a fifth consecutive trip to the postseason as the Vikings travel to Daytona Beach, Florida to compete in the Purple College Basketball Invitational. This is Cleveland State's third consecutive trip to Daytona Beach. The Vikings receive a bye in the first round and will play the winner of Queens and Northern Arizona in Monday's quarterfinals. Just like Cleveland State, both Queens and Northern Arizona reached their respective conference tournament semifinals and fell one step short of the conference championship game. The first two rounds of the CBI will be broadcast on FloHoops with the semifinals and finals airing on ESPN networks. 

FIVE STRAIGHT POSTSEASON TRIPS

Cleveland State is making its fifth consecutive postseason appearance, the first time in program history with five straight postseason trips. Cleveland State appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2021, followed by the NIT in 2022, and the CBI in the last three years. Cleveland State is 1-2 in the CBI in its previous two appearances, with the victory coming in last year's first round over fellow Big Sky opponent Northern Colorado. Cleveland State won by two on a last-second shot from current NBA G-League product Tristan Enaruna. The Vikings fell in the opening round in both the 2021 NCAA Tournament and the 2022 NIT. 

DANIYAL ROBINSON NAMED FINALIST FOR BEN JOBE AWARD

Head Coach Daniyal Robinson has been named a finalist for the 2025 Ben Jobe Award presented by collegeinsider.com. The award is presented annually to the top minority head coach in the country and honors the late Ben Jobe, who was a pioneer in the coaching ranks serving at several HBCUs throughout his career. Robinson is one of 25 coaches to be named to the list of finalists and earns the designation for the second time in his three seasons at Cleveland State. The winner of the award will be announced in San Antonio, Texas as part of Final Four Weekend. 

CLEVELAND STATE RANKED 23rd  IN COLLEGEINSIDER.COM MID MAJOR POLL

Cleveland State has garnered national attention as the Vikings moved into the rankings in the Collegeinsider.com Mid Major Poll. Cleveland State was ranked 23rd in the edition of the poll which was published on Monday, February 10. The Vikings were receiving votes in previous versions of the poll and climbed into the rankings four weeks ago at no. 24. The poll is comprised of a committee of mid-major head coaches from across the country. 

T...........O!

Cleveland State has made a habit of forcing turnovers and disrupting its opponents on the defensive end of the floor this season. The Vikings ended the regular season ranked first in the Horizon League and 13th nationally forcing 15.5 turnovers per game. The Vikings have turned it into a rallying cry with the bench forming the letters "T-O" after each opponent turnover. 

CLEVELAND STATE WELL REPRESENTED ON #HLMBB ALl-LEAGUE TEAMS

The Horizon League handed out its postseason awards this past week and Cleveland State was well represented on the all-league teams. Je'Shawn Stevenson took home the Freshman of the Year award as well as being named to the All-Freshman Team. Chase Robinson was named Sixth Man of the Year. Tevin Smith took home First-Team All-League honors and Dylan Arnett and Tahj Staveskie were each named to the third team. Reece Robinson was also named to the All-Freshman Team along with Stevenson. Smith and Arnett were also named to the All-Defensive Team. All totaled six Vikings earned all-league recognition, the most of any school in the league. 

VIKINGS BRING HOME 13TH WIN IN A ROW OVER PURDUE FORT WAYNE

Cleveland State won its 13th game in a row as the Vikings defeated Purdue Fort Wayne 68-58 in front of a nationally televised audience on ESPNU. Cleveland State led nearly wire-to-wire as the Vikings never trailed after the first minute of action. CSU held one of the league's top offenses to its lowest scoring output of the season in league play. Chase Robinson tied a career-high with 20 points, with 11 coming in the second half.

VIKINGS WIN 12TH STRAIGHT OVER GREEN BAY AT THE WOLSTEIN CENTER

Cleveland State began its 12-game win streak with a road victory at Green Bay on December 7. The Vikings have still yet to lose since, and continued the streak with a second victory in as many tries over the Phoenix, 81-66. The game was tight throughout with CSU holding a one-point lead at halftime and just a two-point lead with 5:30 to play before a late run finally sealed the victory. Chase Robinson had 17 points to lead the way for the Vikings and Reece Robinson tallied 14 points, a new career-high, and 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.

SCOUTING THE LUMBERJACKS/ROYALS

Both of Cleveland State's potential quarterfinal opponents won 18 or more games in the regular season. This would be the inaugural meeting in series history for both teams against the Vikings. NAU finished with an 8-10 record in the Big Sky Conference but advanced to the semifinals of its conference tournament. The Lumberjacks are 10-5 against non-conference opponents this season. Queens finished sixth in the Atlantic Sun regular season standings with an 11-7 conference record. The Royals also made it to the semifinals of the ASUN Tournament before falling to top seed Lipscomb. 

REECE ROBINSON NAMED #HLMBB FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK

Reece Robinson took home his first Horizon League weekly award after a big week this past week. Robinson set a season and career best with 14 points against Green Bay on Saturday, and averaged 10 points and seven rebounds for the week. He added 11 rebounds to his stat total on Saturday for his third double-double of the season, and shot 58 percent from the field for the week. 

VIKINGS BRING HOME 11TH WIN IN A ROW OVER DETROIT MERCY

Cleveland State picked up its 11th straight win defeating Detroit Mercy 65-50 on Wednesday night. The Vikings trailed by five at the break before a lockdown defensive effort in the second half spurred a 15-0 run that propelled CSU to its ninth conference win. Tevin Smith led the way with 23 points and Je'Shawn Stevenson added 13 off the bench. 

CLEVELAND STATE WINS TENTH IN A ROW AT IU INDY

Cleveland State earned its tenth straight win and eighth in a row in conference play with a 73-62 victory at IU Indianapolis. The Vikings trailed by two at halftime before a strong second half propelled them to their fourth conference road win in five tries. Tevin Smith led all scorers with 16 points, with 14 coming in the second half. Dylan Arnett and KJ Debrick teamed up inside with each scoring 13 points. Debrick tied his season high in the winning effort. 

CLEVELAND STATE STRETCHES WIN STREAK TO NINE WITH WIN OVER NKU

Cleveland State continued its strong play recently with a 76-58 win over Northern Kentucky. The Vikings defeated the Norse thanks to another strong second half performance as CSU outscored NKU by double digits to pull away. Tahj Staveskie led the way with 20 points, one shy of a season high, and Chase Robinson added 13 off the bench. Cleveland State shot 60 percent from the field in the second half. 

VIKINGS WIN EIGHTH IN A ROW AT YOUNGSTOWN STATE

In a game that featured the top two teams in the Horizon League standings, Cleveland State emerged with a key road victory at Youngstown State, 80-72. The Vikings took over sole possession of first place in the league with the win. CSU led by six at halftime and by as many as 16 midway through the second half. YSU mounted a late charge and moved within a point in the closing minutes before a huge three-point shot from Tahj Staveskie pushed the lead back to four and allowed the Vikings to hold on. Staveskie led a group of five players in double figures with a game-high 21 points. 

VIKINGS WIN SEVENTH STRAIGHT AT ROBERT MORRIS

Cleveland State won its seventh consecutive game as the Vikings defeated Robert Morris 80-69 to improve to 5-1 in league play. Cleveland State got balanced scoring once again as five players finished in double figures, led by Dylan Arnett's 16 points. The Vikings trailed by a point after a back and forth first half before breaking the game open in the second half. A 14-0 run midway through the period pushed the lead to double digits and put the game out of reach. Tevin Smith recorded his second double-double finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds. 

RED HOT VIKINGS WIN SIXTH STRAIGHT, DEFEAT IU INDY

Cleveland State won its sixth consecutive game as the Vikings held off a scrappy IU Indianapolis team 67-61 at the Wolstein Center. Tahj Staveskie tied a season high with 20 points on 50 percent shooting from the field. The Vikings prevailed thanks to a 28-16 edge in the paint and converting IU Indy turnovers into points. The Vikings forced 14 turnovers and converted them into 25 total points.

STEVENSON EARNS FIFTH #HLMBB FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK

Je'Shawn Stevenson continued his strong play as he took home his fifth Horizon League Freshman of the Week award after averaging 9.5 points and five rebounds per game this past week. Stevenson tallied 11 points on Wednesday at Northern Kentucky and chipped in eight on Saturday against Milwaukee. He finished 7-for-10 from the free throw line in the two games combined. 

INSIDE THE 13-GAME WIN STREAK

Cleveland State garnered national attention for its winning streak that came to an end recently at 13 games. The Vikings did not suffer a defeat for two full months, finishing with an unblemished record in January. The streak stood as the second-longest active streak in the nation at its conclusion. During the streak, Cleveland State outscored opponents by an average of over 20 points per game. The streak included 11 consecutive victories over league opponents. 

VIKINGS IN THE HORIZON LEAGUE RANKINGS

Through the early going of conference play, Cleveland State is well represented at the top of the Horizon League rankings in several team and individual categories. Cleveland State is second in the league in field goal percentage at 47 percent, and third in three-point percentage at 38 percent. The Vikings lead the league in turnover margin(+4.73), assist-to-turnover ratio(1.64) and steals per game(8.36). Individually, Tevin Smith is tied for fourth in the league in scoring at 16.4 points per game and fourth in field goal percentage at 50 percent. Tahj Staveskie ranks third in three-point percentage at 40 percent. Ebrima Dibba leads the league in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.7 and is second in assists per game at 5.0. 

DIBBA JOINS EXCLUSIVE CLUB

Ebrima Dibba recently crossed a milestone in the game at Northern Kentucky. Dibba became the fifth active player and the second-fastest among active Division I players to register 500 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists in his collegiate career. Dibba crossed the points and assist threshholds earlier and registered his 500th career rebound in Wednesday night's game. 

20 WIN CAMPAIGN FOR THE FOURTH YEAR IN A ROW

Cleveland State has amassed 20-plus wins for four straight seasons. The Vikings have also made four straight postseason appearances, which is a program record.  Cleveland State appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2021, the NIT in 2022 and the CBI in 2023 and 2024. Daniyal Robinson is the most successful two-year head coach in program history, becoming the first coach to win 20 games in his first three years in charge in the history of the program. Robinson has amassed 62 total victories and counting over his first three seasons.

HOME SWEET HOME

Cleveland State has made a habit of protecting its home court throughout the last two seasons. The Vikings finished the 2024-25 season with a 14-4 record at home and finished 14-3 at home in the 2023-24 season as well as a 41-10 overall record in Cleveland in the Daniyal Robinson era. Cleveland State outscored opponents by over 10 points per game in home contests in the 2023-24 season. 

UP NEXT

With a win, Cleveland State would advance to Tuesday night's semifinal round for a 9:00 p.m. tip-off on ESPNU. Cleveland State would face off with the winner of the three-team pod of Elon, Army and Florida Gulf Coast. The winner of that game would advance to Wednesday's championship game scheduled to tip at 5:00 p.m. on ESPN2.