Cleveland State Returns Home to Face Another MAC Foe

Cleveland State Returns Home to Face Another MAC Foe

GAME #10
Bowling Green (4-4) at Cleveland State (2-7)

Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018 | 7:30 p.m.
Cleveland, Ohio | Wolstein Center
Live Stats | Watch: ESPN+ | Listen: 1420 AM

PDF Game Notes
Bowling Green at Cleveland State

GAME PREVIEW:
• Cleveland State returns home for a pair of games this week, beginning with Bowling Green Wednesday, Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m.
• The Vikings are coming off an 80-67 setback at Toledo, their second of three Mid-American Conference foes this season.
• Bowling Green is 4-4 on the year and dropped a 76-63 decision at Hartford this past Saturday.
• The Falcons are among the top five in Division I in rebounds per game, averaging 45 per outing.
• Bowling Green is also one of just two MAC teams holding opponents to under 40% shooting for the season.
• The game will be broadcast live on AM 1420 with Al Pawlowski and Pat Vuyancih on the call.
• The game will also be streamed on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. 

THE BOWLING GREEN SERIES: 
• This will be the 19th all-time meeting between these teams.
• The Vikings dropped a 62-47 decision at home in the most recent meeting in December 2015.
• CSU is 1-1 all-time against BG at the Wolstein Center and 1-2 against the Falcons over the past 10 years. 

TOUGH OPPOSITION
• The teams CSU has lost to are a combined 45-12 this season.
• Toledo is one of five CSU opponents that has just one loss entering this week.
• Six of eight CSU opponents are ranked among the top 120 in the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET), the new metric which has replaced the RPI this year. Four of eight are ranked among the top 90.

GAME 9: TOLEDO 80, CSU 67 (12/1/18): 
• CSU had higher shooting percentages in all three statistical categories but came up on the short end of an 80-67 contest at Toledo.
• The Vikings trailed by 15 points late in the first half but cut their deficit to just three by the midpoint of the second half.
Tyree Appleby led CSU with 19 points, Jaalam Hill led the squad with eight boards and Kasheem Thomas had a team-high six assists.
• CSU outrebounded the Rockets while the Vikings attempted a season-low 19 three-pointers. 

COOLING DOWN ROCKETS:
• Toledo entered last Saturday's game shooting 49.3% from the field, but the Vikings held the Rockets to a 38.7% mark from the floor. 
• It was just the second time this season Toledo did not shoot at least 43% in a game.
• It marks the lowest field goal percentage by a CSU opponent in the Vikings' last 35 regular-season games vs. DI foes. 

TYREE TOPS THE TEAM
• Appleby had 19 points & a season-high six boards last time out.
• He now has three straight games with 15+ points and five such efforts on the season.
• Appleby had 15 points and seven assists at DePaul after having 20 points and a team season high eight assists vs. Purdue FW.
• He has at least six assists in four of the past seven games and has at least one steal in eight straight games.
• He leads the team in points (14.7), assists (4.4) and steals (1.6).

NOT OVER THE HILL: 
• Junior college transfer Jaalam Hill is shooting 60.0 percent from the floor in the early going (36-for-60).
• Hill had 15 points on 6-for-7 shooting at DePaul, including hitting a pair of threes, as he made his first start of the season.
• After having three blocks combined in the first six games, Hill has six blocks over the past three games.
• Hill is averaging 9.1 points and 6.1 rebounds, tops on the team, in 23.8 minutes. He has five double-figuring scoring games. 

KASH IS MONEY:
• Junior Kasheem Thomas has shown improvement in a number of areas in his third collegiate season.
• Thomas entered the season shooting 28% from three in his career but is shooting 43.5% from distance this season.
• He shot 71.2% from the line in his career entering this season but is shooting 81.8% in 2018-19.
• Thomas is also averaging career bests in rebounds (3.1) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.6).

LOCKING DOWN THE PERIMETER:
• Cleveland State held Toledo to an 8-for-34 mark on three-pointers last time out.
• The Rockets' 23.5% mark from deep is their lowest in their past 36 regular-season games.
• It marked the third consecutive game in which CSU held its opponent to below 30% shooting from behind the arc.
• CSU's first five opponents shot a combined 34% from beyond the arc while the last three have combined to shoot 26% from distance.  

YOU CAN CALL ME AL: 
• Sophomore Algevon Eichelberger had a career-high and team season best 11 rebounds Nov. 25 against Purdue Fort Wayne.
• After having 18 total rebounds in the first five games, he has 27 in the past four games as he had a game-high nine rebounds at Ohio State, tying his then career high.
• His five offensive rebounds at OSU and six offensive boards against the Mastodons were both game highs.
• He ranks seventh in the Horizon League in offensive rebounds.
• Eichelberger posted a career-high 15 points against South Carolina State earlier this month on 6-for-6 shooting from the floor. 

WE'LL TAKE 'EM, THEY'RE FREE: 
• Cleveland State has taken 200 free throws through nine games, a mark that ranks among the top 40 in Division I.
Tyree Appleby leads the team with 42 attempts while Algevon Eichelberger has 36. 

BOOST OFF THE BENCH:
• The Vikings' bench outscored its opponents in six of nine games this season.
• CSU has a 224-154 advantage in bench points on the year, an average of 7.8 points better per game.
Rashad Williams leads the team with 62 bench points while Jaalam Hill has 61.
• CSU's bench outscored its opponent in just 14 of 35 games last season. 

THAT'S FOUL: 
• Toledo became the first team to commit fewer fouls than CSU this season, being charged with 18 compared to 22 on the Vikings.
• A player on the opposing team has fouled out in five games while a Viking has yet to foul out in 2018-19. 

STEF STEPPING UP:
• After scoring a combined six points in the first two games, Stefan Kenic has stepped up his scoring output.
• Kenic has reached double figures in six of the past seven games.
• He tied his career high with 19 points against SCSU (11/16).
• He added 15 points and six rebounds vs. Samford, including making a career-high eight free throws (11/18).
• Kenic had a team-high 13 points at Ohio State (11/23) and then had 11 points & a career-high tying eight rebounds at DePaul (11/28).
• Kenic has taken 64 field goal attempts in the last six games after having only 11 in the opening three games. 

SHUTTING DOWN STRUS
• DePaul's leading scorer Max Strus came into the game against CSU averaging 21.5 points per game.
• CSU held him to just eight points in 35 minutes of 2-of-7 shooting from the floor.
Jaalam Hill and Seth Millner were the Vikings that were the primary defenders on Strus for the game.
• Strus has 15+ points in every other game he's played this season. 

BETTER ON THE (DEFENSIVE) BOARDS:
• CSU did not get more than 70% of potential defensive rebounds in any of its first four games, twice falling short of the 60% mark.
• The Vikings have grabbed at least 76% of potential defensive rebounds in four of the past five games. 

DETERMINED ON DEFENSE:
• In their first 30 games under head coach Dennis Felton, the Vikings allowed their opponent to shoot 45% or higher on 17 occasions, including 50% or higher on 12 occasions.
• In the last 14 games dating back to last season, CSU has held 10 opponents under 45% from the field and 12 of 14 foes under 50% from the floor.
• CSU's opponents have shot a combined 42.6% in this stretch (381-for-895). 

UP NEXT:
• CSU closes the week by welcoming Notre Dame (Ohio) Sunday, Dec. 9, at 1:00 p.m.