Feb. 1, 2010

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Game 23
Cleveland State (10-12, 6-4) at UIC (5-16, 1-10)
Date: Thursday, February 4, 2010
Time: 7:00 p.m. CST
Site: UIC Pavilion (8,000), Chicago, Illinois
Radio: WHKW 1220 AM (Cleveland) & WHKZ, 1440 AM (Warren) (Al Pawlowski)
TV: Concast SportsNet Chicago (Dave Wills & David Kaplan)
(Broadcast will be shown locally on SportsTime Ohio
Series: CSU Leads, 33-32
Last Meeting: @CSU 70, UIC 63, 1/9/10

SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State makes it annual trip to Chicago this weekend to continue Horizon League play with a pair of contests. The Vikings will open the week at UIC on Thursday, Feb. 4 beginning at 7:00 p.m. CST in the UIC Pavilion on the UIC campus. The game will be televised live by Comcast Chicago and will be shown throughout Ohio on SportsTime Ohio. The Vikings (10-12, 6-4) ran their league win streak to three with a 77-69 win over Youngstown State on Saturday (Jan. 30) in the Wolstein Center. CSU begins the week in fourth place in the league standings, a half-game behins second place Detroit (7-4) and Wright State (7-4). UIC (5-16, 1-10) enters the game having dropped eight straight league contests to fall into last place, most recently losing at both Wright State (79-43) and Detroit (76-73). This will be the 66th meeting between CSU and UIC with the Vikings owning a slim, 33-32 series lead.

PREVIEWING CLEVELAND STATE: Gary Waters finds himself in a bit of a rebuilding season for the Vikings after posting the first back-to-back 20 win seasons since the late 1980's. With just two starters and four players back who saw significant action last year, Waters has had to incorporate eight new players into the lineup this season. The starting lineup is built around guard Norris Cole (16.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3.6 apg), a first team preseason all-league choice this year who ranks fourth in the league in scoring, and small forward D'Aundray Brown (8.0, 6.0), the lone returning starters from a season ago. The strength of the returners is at guard where sophomores Jeremy Montgomery (12.9, 1.9 apg) and Trevon Harmon (10.7, 2.0) are back with each landing a spot in the starting lineup. Injuries to sophomore Josh McCoy (0.8, 1.0) and JC transfer Lance James (2.0, 1.0 apg) have hurt the depth at guard, allowing freshman Anthony Wells (1.4, 1.2) to see his first playing time. Brown is firmly entrenched at small forward with redshirt freshman Charlie Woods (0.8, 0.3) and redshirt freshman Tim Kamczyc (2.1, 2.5 rpg) also capable of seeing time at the position. Sophomore Joe Latas is the lone returner inside and he, along with JC transfers Jared Cunningham (6.2, 3.0) and junior Kevin Anderson (1.4, 0.7) spell sophomore Aaron Pogue (6.7, 5.9) at center.

TV TIMEOUT: Thursday's game will be televised locally on SportsTime Ohio, making it the 12th of what should be at least 14 games that will be available to Viking fans on either a national or regional basis and the fifth of eight games being shown on STO.

CSU IN THE NCAA STATS: Cleveland State received several mentions in the most recent NCAA men's basketball statistics, which were released on Monday (Feb. 1). As a team, the Vikings are 13th nationally in steals (9.5 spg), 33rd in free throw percentage (.736), 36th in turnover margin (+3.4), 82nd in three-point field goals per game (7.1) and 97th in three-point percentage (.359). Individually, D'Aundray Brown ranks eighth nationally in steals (2.8 spg).

VIKINGS DRAW TOLEDO IN BRACKETBUSTER: Cleveland State will host Toledo (3-18) on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 6:00 p.m. as part of the annual BracketBusters. This will be the third time that CSU will face a team from the Mid-American Conference. Toledo leads the all-time series, 6-2, but the Vikings took the most recent meeting, a 77-56 decision at the CBE Classic in Miami, Fla. last season.

VIKINGS RUN HOME LEAGUE WIN STREAK TO 13: The win over Youngstown State last week extended CSU's home winning streak against league opponents to 13 straight, breaking the school record for the longest ever. After losing on a last second shot to Butler in December, 2008, CSU ran off seven straight wins to close the regular season and then defeated Detroit in the opening round of the league tourney. The Vikings have won all five games this year to break the old record of 12 games, wich was originally set from Jan., 1985 to Jan., 1987.

JAMES DUE BACK SOON: The Vikings may get a little good news from the training room in the near future as junior guard Lance James is close to returning to the hardwood after missing the last 17 games with a broken left foot. He was averaging 2.0 points in 7.6 minutes in the first seven games until he suffered a Jone fracture that required surgery on Dec. 2.

COLE PASSES 1,000 POINT MARK: A 22-point effort against Milwaukee on Jan 24 allowed junior guard Norris Cole to become the 18th player in CSU history to score 1,000 points in a career. He is only the eighth player to accomplish it as a junior. Cole now has 1,024 points to rank 18th all-time in scoring. In 21 games, he leads the team and ranks second in the league, averaging 16.5 points a game (346 total).

JACKSON GETS HIS NBA SHOT: Good news from the Alumni Department came on Jan. 23 when former guard Cedric Jackson, who had been playing professionally this season for the Erie BayHawks of the NBDL, signed a 10-day contract to play for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA. Jackson became just the fourth Viking to make it to the NBA, joining Franklin Edwrds (1981-90), Clinton Smith (1986-97 & 1990-91) and Darren Tillis (1982-84). In 23 games with the BayHawks, Jackson was averaging 14.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game.

A TOUGH SCHEDULE: The 2-8 record that CSU put up against non-conference Division I teams this year is a little misleading. After all, not only were four of the teams ranked in the top 15 at the time CSU played them (Kentucky No. 5, West Virginia No. 6, Ohio State No. 12 & Kansas State No. 12), but the 10 opponents have combined to post a 93-37 (.715) record in non-conference games with one game left to play (not counting any BracketBusters matchups). The College Basketball RPI ranks CSU's non-conference schedule the third-toughest in the nation, trailing only California (1) and Long Beach State (2).

FINISHING THE FIRST HALF STRONG: The win over Youngstown State on Saturday (Jan. 30) allowed the Vikings to start the second half of the Horizon League schedule on a positive note. After opening the year with a pair of road losses, CSU bounced back to win six if its next eight games to move into fourth place (6-4), a half-game behind Detroit (7-4) and Wright State (7-4). The Vikings, who were just 4-5 in the first half of the league slate a year ago, will play five of their nine games at home in the second half of the league schedule.

. . . A SCHEDULE REVERSAL AHEAD: The schedule ahead either gets easier or harder for the Vikings, depending on your outlook. The four first half losses came on the road against Butler (9-0), Detroit (7-4), Wright State (7-4) and Valparaiso (6-5). The only team either tied with or ahead of CSU in the standings that the Vikings played at home was Green Bay (7-3), who CSU beat on Jan. 22. CSU will play all four teams it lost to at home in the second half of the schedule.

CHARITY STRIPE HAS BEEN KIND: One strength of the Vikings this year has come at the foul line where CSU is on a pace to challenge the school record for free throw percentage. Through 22 games, the Vikings have gone 307-for-417 from the line (.736), which is slightly ahead of the record .724 set in 1979-80. Jeremy Montgomery (51-58, .879) and Norris Cole (82-104, .788), rank second and 10th in the league, respectively, in free throw percentage. D'Aundray Brown (23-29, .793), Trevon Harmon (39-50, .780) and Jared Cunningham (20-28, .714) are each above 70-percent.

. . . AND THE VIKINGS HAVE FARED WELL DURING CRUNCH TIME: Although the Vikings have performed well from the foul line this season, it is when the game is on the line when they have really stepped up their play. In 22 games this season, CSU had made 98 of its 118 free throws attempted in the final five minutes of games (.831). Kevin Anderson has been a perfect six-for-six to lead the team, but the lion's share of the work has been done by Norris Cole and Jeremy Montgomery, who have combined to take 63 of the 118 attempts. Cole is 35-for-40 from the line down the stretch (.875) while Montgomery is connecting on .870 of his shots (20-23). Cole is a .821 shooter for his career (69-84), improving each season. He was 11-for-15 as a freshman (.733) and 23-for-29 as a sophomore (.793). Montgomery's improvement is significant after he made just seven of his 15 attempts in crunch time last year (.467). Last year, CSU shot just .695 from the line during this period (130-187).

GETTING THE JUMP: One of the lesser appreciated statistics in CSU's favor this year comes on the jump ball where sophomore center Aaron Pogue has managed to gain the Vikings the first possession of the game in 18 of the 22 games this season, including an 9-1 mark in Horizon League games. The only games that Pogue lost the jump have been on the road for games vs. St. Bonaventure, Kentucky and Ohio State and at home against Youngstown State.

. . . BUT NOT THE FINISH: It is no secret that Gary Waters is trying to find a way to keep sophomore center Aaron Pogue out of foul trouble. After all, in 22 games, he leads CSU with 88 fouls and six disqualifications. It is even worse in league games where he has been whistled for 41 fouls in 10 games, fouling out three times. As a point of comparison, heading into this season, CSU players had only fouled out 10 times over the last two years combined.

DEGREE WORK: Sophomore center Joe Latas began the spring semester on Jan. 18 needing just 24 hours to graduate and when he finishes his coursework at the end of summer, he will have done so in just three years. Latas, who is taking 16 hours this semester, will take the final eight during the summer to earn his degree in both communications and religious studies.

COLE KEEPS STARTING STREAK GOING: When Norris Cole takes to the court against UIC on Thursday, he will be starting his 60th consecutive game at CSU, ranking him 10th in school history. Cole became the 14th player in Viking history to start 50 straight games when he started the Dec. 22 game at Ohio State. One of three players to start a school-record 37 games last year, Cole is the only player to go from playing in every game as a reserve in one season (34 games as a freshman in 2007-08) to starting every game the next in school history. Cole has played in all 92 games in his career (13th in school history).

MONTGOMERY NAMED ATHLETE OF THE MONTH: December was a good month for Jeremy Montgomery as the sophomore was selected as the CSU Male Athlete of the Month. In seven games last month, the sophomore from Chicago, Ill. averaged 14.0 points, shooting .508 (32-63) from the field, .439 (18-39) from three-point and .889 (24-27) from the line. He scored in double figures in six of the seven games, including back-to-back games of 25 points at Ohio State and 20 points at Kansas State.

. . . AND HAS BEEN EVEN BETTER OF LATE: Over his last 11 games, four of which have come against ranked opponents, Montgomery is averaging 17.3 points while shooting .504 from the field (60-119) and .474 from three-point (37-78). He has four 20-point games during the stretch, all of which have come on the road. He scored 25 points at Ohio State (Dec. 22), 20 at Kansas State (Dec. 29), 22 at Butler (Jan. 14) and 20 at Valpo (Jan. 26).

WHAT CAN BROWN DO FOR YOU? Junior forward D'Aundray Brown has returned to the floor this season, showing no ill effects from the two injuries that sidelined him for 13 games last season, including the final five games of the postseason. In the 22 games since coming back, Brown is averaging 8.0 points and 6.0 rebounds a game. He leads the team and ranks ninth in the league in rebounding and as sixth in minutes played (32.7). More importantly, he keys the Vikings' pressure defense, leading the league with 61 steals.

. . . AND BROWN IS PASSING HIS BOARDS: After averaging 5.7 rebounds a game a year ago, D'Aundray Brown was being counted on to help the Vikings offset the loss of 64% of their rebounding from a year ago. Brown however started slowly, grabbing just 47 caroms in the first 12 games (3.9 rpg). He has caught fire of late, averaging 8.4 rebounds over the last 10 games to move into ninth in the league with a 6.0 average. He has been dominant on the offensive glass, grabbing 42 offensive boards over that span (3.8/game) to move up to fourth in the league, averaging 2.8 offensive rebounds a game.

POGUE CLEANS THE GLASS: The 16 rebounds by sophomore Aaron Pogue at Youngstown State on Jan. 2 was the most by a Viking since Pape Badiane grabbed 18 caroms at Florida A&M on Nov. 25, 2003. He shares the highest rebounding game in the Horizon League this season with Loyola's Andy Polka (16 vs. St. Francis, Ill.).

"PROTECT THIS HOUSE": Gary Waters believes that in order to have a championship program, the team first needs to be successful at home. With that in mind, he has chosen, "Protect This House" as the team motto for the 2009-10 season. With a 17-game home schedule, the second highest season total in school history and the most since 1983-84, CSU can go a long way in achieving another successful campaign by winning at home first. The Vikings have heeded Waters' advice in the past, going 32-7 in the Wolstein Center over the last three years, a significant improvement from the 25-42 record in the Wolstein Center over the previous five seasons. The success started in 2007-08 when CSU tied the Wolstein Center record for wins in a season with a 12-2 mark. The Vikings did that mark one better, going 13-2 at home last season. CSU is 9-3 this season at home, including 8-3 in the Wolstein Center.

TAKING CARE OF THE BALL: Another area in which the Vikings have excelled this season is in turnovers where CSU ranks second in the Horizon League with a +3.4 turnover margin. In 22 games, the Vikings have committed 295 turnovers (13.4 tpg), including 10 games of 12 or fewer. The Vikings tied the school record with just five turnovers in the win over Milwaukee (Jan. 24) and also made just eight miscues against Wichita State on Nov. 28 and v. Loyola on Jan. 7. At the other end of the spectrum, CSU has forced 369 miscues (16.8 tpg), including 17 or more 11 times.

A BIG NIGHT FOR NORRIS: Despite playing on a senior-dominated team as a sophomore, Norris Cole showed the ability at times to take over a game. Now the unquestioned leader of a young and generally inexperienced Viking squad, Cole is getting much more attention this year by opposing defenses but at no time in his past has he ever taken over a game like he did in the win over Florida A&M. Cole obliterated his career scoring high by 12 points, totalling 38 points against the Rattlers, the eighth-highest single game total in school history. He was 11-for-16 from the field, three-for-four from three-point and made all 13 of his free throw attempts. He fell one point short of equalling J'Nathan Bullock's Wolstein Center scoring record (39 vs. Green Bay) but did tie Bullock's 13-for-13 free throw effort against South Florida in 2007-08 as the third-most free throws made while shooting 100% from the line.

IT HAS BEEN A STEAL: The Vikings have found success predicated on their defense over the last three seasons and the season results to date have been extraordinary. In 22 games, CSU has forced 369 turnovers (16.8 tpg), making 208 steals (9.5 spg). D'Aundray Brown leads the league and ranks 14th nationally with 61 steals (2.8 spg) while Norris Cole is third with 39 thefts (1.8 spg) and Trevon Harmon is seventh with 35 steals (1.6 spg). In addition, Jeremy Montgomery has 22 steals (1.1). Norris Cole made seven steals vs. Wilmington, the seventh-highest single game total in school history, and Brown turned in a six theft game against Youngstown State (1/30/10). CSU's 9.5 steals a game is easily tops in the Horizon League, ranking 13th nationally in the latest NCAA stats.

SUCCESS 401: The fourth edition of Success Class under Gary Waters is utilizing the book The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player by John Maxwell as the course text. Instituted at CSU in the summer of 2006, Waters uses Success Class to teach the Viking players the finer points of what it takes to succeed. Success Class 101 used John Wooden's book, The Pyramid of Success. In 2007-08, Waters relied on John Maxwell's book Talent Is Never Enough to instruct the Vikings and then turned to former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy's book, Quiet Strength for a text last year. The non-credited class is taught weekly by Waters to the Viking players over the summer and preseason months.

THE FIFTH DEGREE: All five of the Viking seniors on last year's roster have graduated. J'Nathan Bullock, Cedric Jackson, Renard Fields and George Tandy each earned their sheepskin during spring commencement ceremonies with Chris Moore picking up his degree in August after taking a couple of classes during summer session.

VIKINGS ADD TWO DURING EARLY SIGNING PERIOD: Gary Waters has already taken time to look ahead to next year when he announced the signing of two student-athletes to national letters of intent to attend CSU and play basketball starting next fall. Devon Long (Detroit, MI/Crockett) and Ludovic Ndaye (Montreal, Quebec/Westwind Prep) each signed with CSU and will be freshmen with four years of eligibility remaining. Long, a 6-8, 270-pound forward, earned first team all-league honors last year after averaging 18 points and 13 rebounds a game. He is currently ranked as the second-best center and ninth-best player in the state of Michigan by Prep Spotlight. Ndaye, a 6-9, 220-pound forward from Montreal, Quebec, has played 18 games this season at Westwind Prep in Phoenix, AZ, averaging 11.9 points and 7.8 rebounds a game.

NEXT UP: The Vikings remain in the Windy City to close this brief road swing with a 3:00 p.m. CST meeting with Loyola on Saturday (Feb. 6). CSU then returns home to host Valparaiso (Feb. 11) and Butler (Feb. 13).