Feb. 15, 2007
Contact: Brian McCann
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GAME 28
Cleveland State (8-19) at Cal State Northridge (12-13)
Date: Saturday, Febuary 18, 2007
Time: 7:00 p.m. PST
Site: The Matadome (1,600), Northridge, Calif.
TV: None Live
(Highlights available on The Viking Basketball Report, which airs weekly on SportsTime Ohio.)
Radio: WKNR, 850 AM (Al Pawlowski)
(Streaming available at www.WKNR.com)
Series: First Meeting
SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State steps out of conference play for the final time during the 2006-07 season when the Vikings travel to Northridge, Calif. to take part in the fifth annual O'Reilly ESPNU BracketBusters. CSU will take on Cal State Northridge of the Big West Conference on Saturday, Feb. 17 beginning at 7:00 p.m. PST (10:00 p.m. EST) at the Matadome on the Cal State Northridge campus. The Vikings (8-19, 2-11) have dropped five straight contests, including a 68-55 decision at Horizon League-leading Wright State on Wednesday night (Feb. 14). Cal State Northridge is 12-13 this year, and is in seventh place in the Big West with a 4-7 mark. This will be the first meeting between CSU and Cal State Northridge.
PREVIEWING CLEVELAND STATE: The Vikings head into the final weeks of the Horizon League schedule with just nine healthy scholarship players, each of whom factor into the playing rotation. CSU did receive a big boost when guard Victor Morris (7.7 ppg, 2.3 apg) returned to play after missing eight contests with a broken foot suffered against Ohio State on Dec. 5. The starting unit is led by senior guard Raheem Moss (10.3 ppg) and forward Patrick Tatham (5.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg), sophomore forward J'Nathan Bullock (13.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg) with freshman Joe Davis (9.1 ppg) and sophomore Bahaadar Russell (6.2 ppg) filling the two guard spots. Junior Breyohn Watson (2.4 ppg) and sophomores Tristan Crawford (1.4 ppg) and Renard Fields (2.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg) provide depth off the bench.
HEAD COACH Gary Waters: A 32-year collegiate coaching veteran, Gary Waters took over as the head coach of the Vikings in the spring of 2006, bringing with him to Cleveland a head coaching history that included six trips to the postseason in his first 10 years as a head coach. He posted a 92-60 record in five seasons at Kent State, making NCAA appearances in both 1998-99 and 2000-01 and becoming the third coach in Mid-American Conference history to be named league coach of the year in successive years. Waters moved to Rutgers in 2001-02, compiling a 79-75 mark in five seasons, including three trips to the NIT.
MORRIS PLAYS IN 100TH GAME: When senior Victor Morris played a season-high 37 minutes against Wright State on Wednesday, he became the 26th player in school history to play in 100 games as a Viking. In addition, he also became the 20th Viking to total 2,500 career minutes played. Morris has now played 2,528 minutes during his four seasons. Teammate Patrick Tatham should also reach the 100-game mark, entering the weekend with 97 games played. Senior Raheem Moss has already played in 103 career games, but 26 of those came as a freshman at Bowling Green, giving him 77 games in three seasons at CSU.
THE TURNOVER TALE: One area that the Vikings have shown a considerable improvement in this year is taking better care of the ball. CSU is averaging 13.6 turnovers a game this year, 2.5 fewer turnovers a game from last year's 16.1 average. The Vikings have been even better lately, averaging just 9.8 miscues over the last six games. CSU has committed 10 or fewer turnovers in a game eight times this year, including in five of the last six games. The Vikings matched their season-low with eight in consecutive games vs. Butler (Feb. 8) and Wright State (Feb. 14) over the last week.
A FREE THROW REVERSAL: Cleveland State has displayed a total reversal of fortunes at the free throw line this year. Last year, CSU was last in the Horizon League in free throw percentage, making just 355-of-547 attempts (.649). This season, CSU ranks fifth in the league, shooting .701 from the line (329-469). Included in that total was a 16-for-17 (.941) effort in the win over Delaware and a 23-for-28 afternoon (.821) in the win over Miami (Fla.) on Nov. 19 and a 12-for-14 showing (.857) vs. Butler on Feb. 8.
. . . AND BULLOCK LEADS THE CHARGE: J'Nathan Bullock has undergone a metamorphosis at the foul line since late last season. Bullock shot just .597 from the line as a freshman (83-139), including a dismal .511 in the first 22 games (47-92). He finished the year strong, shooting .766 over the last six games (36-47) and then carried that improvement over to this season as he has made 107 of his 144 attempts this year (.743) to rank 11th in the league. Bullock was nine-for-10 from the line against Wright State and 10-for-12 against Miami (Fla.), including a five-for-six effort in the final four minutes. Over his last 33 games, Bullock is 143-191 from the line (.749).
. . . A BETTER EXAMPLE OF BULLOCK'S IMPROVEMENT: A better way to show Bullock's improvement at the foul line is that the sophomore made 20 more free throws this year in his first 139 free throw attempts compared to last year. He was 83-for-139 from the line for his entire freshman season. He surpassed his freshman total against Butler last week, making 103 free throws in his first 139 attempts. He has cut his missed free throws from 56 as a freshman to 37 this season, attempting five more free throws this season.
NOT A BAHAAD SUBSTITUTE: With Carlos English out of the lineup the last nine games, sophomore Bahaadar Russell has made the most out of his starting opportunities. Russell, who moved into the starting lineup for the Detroit game despite having scored just 10 points this season and 23 in his career, has been on fire, averaging 11.9 points to become one of the team's top offensive options. Against Detroit on Jan. 13, he obliterated his previous career scoring high (of five) by totaling 21 points to key the win over the Titans. Russell connected on seven of his 13 field goal attempts and both of his free throws to lead CSU in scoring for the first time in his career. He came back on Jan. 18 to add 17 points against Wright State and 11 vs. Youngstown State on Jan. 20. He keyed the win at UIC on Jan. 27, scoring nine of his team-high 15 points in the last three minutes to seal the win. At UW-Milwaukee on Jan. 29, he scored 20 points to lead CSU back from a 12-point first half deficit and force overtime. In his nine starts this season, he is shooting .371 from the field (36-97) and .343 from three-point (23-67), averaging 29.0 minutes a game. In his first 27 games, he was just 3-for-29 from behind the arc (.103).
. . . RUSSELL HAS ALSO BEEN A STEAL: Russell has also more than made up for the defensive hole that was created in the lineup when English, who has made 68 steals in 48 career games, was sidelined. Russell has made 15 steals over the last eight games, another considerable jump from the nine steals that he made in his previous 28 games.
WELCOME BACK VICTOR: The Vikings received good news on the injury front on Jan. 18 when senior guard Victor Morris returned to the lineup just 34 days removed from foot surgery. Morris suffered a Jones fracture in his right foot in the second half against Ohio State on Dec. 9 and had a screw implanted into his foot during surgery on Dec. 15. He was cleared to practice on Jan. 16 and has played 146 minutes in the seven games since.
. . . MORRIS FINDS HIS SCORING TOUCH: It took Victor Morris a couple of games to regain the scoring range that he had before injuring his foot in early December. In his first five games back, the senior scored just 10 points, going five-for-17 from the field (.294) and missing all three of his three-point attempts. In his last three games however, he is averaging 12.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists, shooting .483 from the field (14-29) and .500 from three-point (8-16). He had his best post-injury performance against UW-Green Bay on Feb. 3, scoring 16 points with five rebounds and five assists and making a career-high four three-pointers. He followed that up with 12 points against Butler and 10 at Wright State.
IT WAS A FIELDS DAY: The Feb. 1 loss to Loyola overshadowed the most dominating performance in the young career of sophomore Renard Fields, who set career highs for points (12), rebounds (16), blocks (5) and steals (2) despite playing just 25 minutes off the bench. It was the first double-double of his career (his previous highs were only eight points and seven rebounds). The rebounding total was the most by a Viking since Pape Badiane's 18 rebound game at Florida A&M on Nov. 25, 2003.
BULLOCK'S IN-N-OUT SPECIAL: Like the famed hamburger chain on the west coast, sophomore J'Nathan Bullock has become noted for his ability to turn out the double-double, recording the seventh of his career (and team-best fourth of the season) on Jan. 27 when he scored 14 points with 10 rebounds in the win at UIC. Bullock previously had double-doubles against Detroit (10 points, 10 rebounds), at Delaware (17, 11) and at home against West Virginia Tech (17, 14).
. . . AND ANOTHER 20-POINT EFFORT: Bullock's 21 point effort against Wright State on Jan. 18 was the sophomore's eighth career 20-point effort. Bullock was six-for-12 from the field and made nine of his 10 free throws to surpass the 20-point mark for the fifth time this season.
2,000 MINUTE MEN: Raheem Moss and Patrick Tatham each reached a career milestone in the games around the Christmas break, surpassing the 2,000-minute plateau for their collegiate playing careers. Moss leads the way with 2,421 career minutes played, 304 of which came in 2002-03 as a freshman at Bowling Green. All of Tatham's 2,366 minutes have come at Cleveland State as the senior forward has averaged 20 minutes a game in each of his four seasons. The duo joins teammate Victor Morris, who has played 481 minutes this year to raise his career total to 2,528.
. . . TATHAM STARTING STREAK HITS 62: Senior center Patrick Tatham enters the weekend having started in 62 straight games, the seventh longest streak in school history. This is quite an accomplishment, especially considering that the Brampton, Ontario native missed 13 of his first 44 games as a Viking because of various leg injuries. He needs to start one more game to catch Warren Bradley, who started 63 straight games from 1987-88. Tatham leads all active CSU players with 84 career starts.
CONSECUTIVE TREYS AT 259 & COUNTING: Cleveland State has made at least one three-pointer in all 27 games this season to extend its streak of consecutive games with at least one trey to 259, a streak that began following an 0-for-8 shooting effort in a 60-57 win over Detroit on Feb. 21, 1998. The men's milestone is nothing when it is compared to what the CSU women's team accomplished. The women set an NCAA record by making a three-pointer in 408 straight games before being held without a trey on Feb. 3 vs. UIC.
MOSS MOVES UP THREE-POINT CHART: Raheem Moss continues to make his mark as one of the most prolific three-point shooters in Viking history. He enters the weekend ranking fourth on the CSU charts in three-point field goals made (162) and attempted (447). Moss needs one three-pointers to catch third-place Jermaine Robinson (163 from 1999-04) and 28 attempts to reach third place Jamaal Harris (477 from 1998-02).
A STEADY STARTING FIVE: The Vikings have found some stability in their starting lineup, using just four different starting combinations in the 27 games this season. The lone changes were made when Victor Morris broke his foot in early December and then again on Jan. 13 when Carlos English was declared ineligible. On Wednesday at Wright State, Morris moved back into the starting lineup, replacing Raheem Moss, who had started the first 26 games this year. The stability is quite an accomplishment, especially considering that the Vikings had 13 different starting combinations in 27 games last year. CSU used the same starting five in each of the first 11 games, going with guards Carlos English, Victor Morris and Raheem Moss along with forwards J'Nathan Bullock and Patrick Tatham. The lineup changed at Central Michigan on Dec. 17 when Morris was unable to play because of a foot injury and freshman Joe Davis started for the first time. The 11 straight games is the longest stretch with the same group of starters in the last four seasons, surpassing the nine straight games started by a combination last year. Over the previous three years, CSU used 36 different starting combinations in 83 games.
. . . MORRIS STARTING MOVE WAS BY CHOICE: The Vikings used their fourth different starting combination of the year in the game at Wright State on Wednesday but the lineup switch was the first time this year that the move was made by choice. The previous two lineup changes came because of injury and ineligibility, both conditions outside of the control of head coach Gary Waters.
BULLOCK TAKES OVER SCORING ROLE: Forward J'Nathan Bullock has lived up to the preseason billing that made him a preseason second team All-Horizon League choice. He leads the Vikings and ranks 12th in the Horizon League in scoring (13.7), shooting .743 from the line (107-144).
. . . BULLOCK FINDS HIS MARK IN OTHER WAYS: One of the most impressive statistics about J'Nathan Bullock this year has nothing to do with shooting the basketball. In 27 games this year, Bullock has handed out 32 assists, including a career high five assists vs. West Virginia Tech, to surpass the assist total that he compiled during his entire freshman season. Last year, Bullock had only nine assists in 28 games (and 707 minutes).
THE VIKING BASKETBALL REPORT: A new addition to the television lineup this year is The Viking Basketball Report, a weekly half-hour show that includes game recaps, highlights and features on players and other elements featuring information about the CSU program. The show, which is hosted by Mike Cairns with commentary from head coach Gary Waters, airs several times each week on SportsTime Ohio. (A complete schedule is available online at www.sportstimeohio.com).
WAITING IN THE WINGS: CSU fans may have to wait until next fall to see the true strength of the Viking recruiting class as three of the seven newcomers are transfers from other Division I schools and will have to sit out the 2006-07 season to meet NCAA transfer guidelines. The trio -- each of whom are juniors and will have two years of eligibility remaining -- includes guard Cedric Jackson and forwards Chris Moore and George Tandy. Jackson is the most experienced of the group, starting 35 games the last two years at Big East Conference member St. John's, while Tandy, a native of Indianapolis who played his senior year of high school at Cleveland's Lincoln West High, was named the Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year in 2004-05 while playing at Eastern Illinois. Moore, who lives in the Cleveland suburb of Lakewood and attended St. Edward High, returns home after playing two seasons at UC Santa Barbara.
. . . AND CSU ADDS THREE DURING EARLY SIGNING PERIOD: Keeping a promise that he made at his introductory press conference, head coach Gary Waters stayed local, signing three players from northeast Ohio, including two from the greater Cleveland area, during the early signing period. The signees included:
D'Aundray Brown (Youngstown, OH/Ursuline)
A 6-4 guard, Brown averaged 14.2 points, 8.6 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game as a junior, earning first team all-league and all-district honors. He averaged 13.8 points and 6.3 rebounds as a sophomore.
Daitwan Eppinger (Garfield Heights, OH)
A 6-6 wing, Eppinger averaged 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocks a game as a junior, earning first team all-league and all-region honors. Eppinger, who is coached by former Viking standout Sonny Johnson, is ranked as one of the top five prospects in the city and among the top 15 players in Ohio by Prep Spotlight.
Joe Latas (North Olmsted, OH/St. Peter Chanel)
A 6-11 center, Latas averaged 11.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.1 blocks a game as a junior. He is rated as the No. 4 center in Ohio this year by Hoopscoop and was tabbed as a "Standout" at the 2005 Five Star Basketball Camp.
NEXT UP: The Vikings play two games during the final week of the regular season, a Wednesday, Feb. 21 contest at Detroit before returning home to close the regular season against Youngstown State on Saturday, Feb. 24/
