GAME DETAILS – NIT TOURNAMENT OPENING ROUND
Tuesday, March 14 – Cincinnati, Ohio – 9 PM ET (Cintas Center)
Streaming: ESPNU
Radio: 1100 WTAM | iHeart Radio App | 106.9FM (CLEVELAND)
Live Coverage: Live Stats
Social: @CSU_BASKETBALL (Twitter) | @CSU_MBASKETBALL (Insta)
Cleveland State Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats
Xavier Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State men's basketball team makes the short trip to Cincinnati to take on the Big East's Xavier for the opening round of the NIT Tournament at the Cintas Center on Tuesday. Tipoff is set for 9 PM ET and the game will be played in front of a national audience on ESPNU. Al Pawlowski will also have the call on WTAM 1100 and the iHeart radio app. It is the 14th meeting overall between the two Ohio institutions in school history and the first since the 1994-1995 campaign. It will also be the first postseason meeting between the two programs.
A WIN ON TUESDAY WOULD…
Advance the Vikings to the next round of the NIT to take on the winner of the No. 3 Florida vs. No. 6 Iona matchup, which would be played on either Saturday, March 19 or Sunday, March 20…Would give the Vikes their fourth NIT program win in school history, as CSU enters Tuesday 3-5 overall in NIT Tournament contests…Would be the first postseason win for head coach Dennis Gates at Cleveland State…Would be the first postseason victory for the program since a 86-57 win over Western Michigan in the 2015 CIT…Would be the first NIT win for CSU since a 63-60 dub over Vermont in the opening round of the 2011 NIT Tournament.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/XAVIER SERIES
Tuesday's postseason action will be the 14th meeting between the two Ohio institutions in each school's respective history. Cleveland State enters with an 8-5 edge over the Musketeers. It will be the first meeting between the two programs since the 1994-95 season, when Xavier swept a two-game series against the Vikings. CSU last knocked off the Musketeers with an 87-76 victory back on Feb. 3, 1984.
LAST TIME OUT…
The Cleveland State men's basketball program's run as the top team in the Horizon League came to an end this past Monday night, after over a two-year run as the No. 1 program, as the Vikings fell to Wright State, 82-67, in the Horizon League Semifinals at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
VIKINGS ALL OVER THE NATIONAL RANKS
CSU enters Tuesday's postseason game with its name all over the NCAA national rankings:
- 12th in assists per game (16.7, tops HL), and 34th in total assists (500, tops HL)
- 20th in field goal percentage as the Vikes are shooting at a clip of 47.9 percent (tops HL)
- 23rd with 8.6 steals per contest (fourth in HL), and 26th in forced turnovers (15.53 per game, second in HL)
- 35th in total steals (259, fourth in HL)
- 57th with 75.6 points scored per game (tops HL)
- 57th in assist turnover ratio at 1.24 (tops HL) and 57th with 2.1 turnover margin (third in HL)
- 73rd with 626 free throw attempts (third in HL)
NO HANDLES AGAINST HODGE
D'Moi Hodge is one of the best student-athletes at generating steals in all of NCAA DI basketball as the senior guard ranks 12th in the nation with 2.27 per contest. Hodge also slots in at 12th in the country with his 68 overall steals on the season, a number that also leads the Horizon League. The senior has 113 career steals at CSU over two seasons with the program. With his standout year, Hodge was named the Horizon League's Defensive Player of the Year to go with First Team All-League and All-Defensive team honors. He was just the fourth student-athlete to win the Horizon League's top-defensive honor in school history.
50 WINS FOR GATES
In the Vikings Horizon League quarterfinal win over Robert Morris, head coach Dennis Gates reached the 50-win plateau in just his first three years with the CSU program. Gates became the seventh CSU coach in school history to reach the milestone. He currently sits at 50-39 at the helm of the Vikes program, good for a .568 winning percentage overall. Over the past two seasons, Cleveland State has gone 39-18 (.684) and has advanced to the postseason in back-to-back years.
BACK-TO-BACK POSTSEASON BIDS; FIRST TIME SINCE 2011 AND 2012
It is the second consecutive season that CSU has qualified for postseason play and the first time the program has advanced in back-to-back years since Cleveland State made it to two straight NIT Tournaments to conclude the 2011 and 2012 seasons. The program also made it to two straight NIT Tournaments to close the 1987 and 1988 campaigns.
20-WIN SEASON FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2013-14
With its HL quarterfinal win over Robert Morris, Cleveland State hit the 20-win mark for the first time since the 2013-14 season. It is a feat that has now only been accomplished 11 times in program history.
ANOTHER RECORD-SETTING YEAR FOR THE VIKINGS
The Cleveland State men's basketball program has advanced to the NIT Tournament for just the sixth time in school history. When counting NCAA Tournament appearances and CIT bids, Tuesday night will start the 11th postseason appearance in program history for the Vikes.
ALL-LEAGUE HONORS FOR PATTON
For the second straight year, Torrey Patton played his way onto the All-League team with his Second Team honors this season. The senior from Dayton, Ohio has recorded averages of 13.7 points, 6.0 boards and 3.5 assists to go with five double-doubles this year. Patton currently ranks tied for sixth in the conference in assists per game, is ninth in steals (1.5) per game and 12th in rebounding per contest, to go with being ranked tied for 11th in the Horizon in total steals (42). Patton went off for 25 points in the Vkings quarterfinal win over RMU, and also ranks 15th in the Horizon in scoring.
VIKES TAKE 3-OF-5 ON ALL DEFENSIVE TEAM; GOMILLION THIRD TEAM ALL-HORIZON
Deante Johnson, Tre Gomillion and D'Moi Hodge made it as close to a clean sweep as possible for CSU as the trio was named to the Horizon League All-Defensive team. It was the second straight season that both Johnson and Gomillion were selected for the honor. Gomillion also added an All-League Third Team nod to go with the All-Defensive team award.
NEVER TOO MANY PASSES
The Vikings have racked up 15 or more assists in 18 of their 30 games this season, or 60 percent of their total contests played. That includes eight games of 20-plus helpers. CSU has reached double-digit assists in all but two games this year, which explains the squad's ranking of 12th in the nation with 16.7 assists per game. The Vikings are also 57th in the country with their 1.24 assist to turnover ratio.
SWATS BY "SPIDER"
Veteran forward Deante "Spider" Johnson is not an easy man to make a basket on as the senior has racked up 111 career blocks, which ranks him sixth all-time in program history in rejections. Johnson's 38 total blocks and 1.3 rejections per game are both ranked third in the Horizon on the season. His 38 rejections are also 123rd-most in all of NCAA DI.
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