Feb. 15, 2010

Contact: Brian McCann

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Game 27
Cleveland State (13-13, 9-5) at Green Bay (17-10, 9-6)
Date: Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Time: 7:00 p.m. CST
Site: Resch Center (9,729), Green Bay, WI
Radio: WHKW 1220 AM (Cleveland), WHKZ, 1440 AM (Warren) (Al Pawlowski)
TV: None Live, Streaming available on the internet via Horizon League Network.
Series: Green Bay Leads, 35-24
Last Meeting: @CSU 64, Green Bay 50 (1/22/10)
Tickets: Available At Site

SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State heads out on the road for the final time during the regular season to make its annual two-game road trip to Wisconsin. The Vikings open the excursion on Tuesday, Feb. 16 with a 7:00 p.m. CST contest at Green Bay. CSU closes the trip two days later (Feb. 18) at Milwaukee. With four league games left in the season, Cleveland State (13-13-, 9-5) finds itself in third place in the league standings, a half-game behind of Wright State (10-5) and a half-game ahead of Green Bay (9-6). The Vikings control their own destiny in the battle for the No. 2 seed in the league tourney, having games remaining against three of the four teams with seven league losses or less. CSU saw its six-game win streak end with a 70-59 loss to No. 15 Butler on Saturday. The Vikings have won nine of their last 12 games. Green Bay is coming off a tough 67-54 loss at Wright State on Saturday (Feb. 13), but is 6-2 at home in Horizon League play this season.

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 (16.5ppg, 2.8 rpg, 4.0 apg), a first team preseason all-league choice this year who ranks fourth in the league in scoring, and small forward D'Aundray Brown (8.2, 6.0), the lone returning starters from a season ago. The strength of the returners is at guard where sophomores Jeremy Montgomery (13.0, 1.9 apg) and Trevon Harmon (11.4, 1.9) 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 (1.1, 1.1) to see his first playing time. Brown is firmly entrenched at small forward with redshirt freshman Charlie Woods (1.1, 0.7) and redshirt freshman Tim Kamczyc (2.4, 2.3 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 (6.1, 3.1) and junior Kevin Anderson (1.4, 0.7) spell sophomore Aaron Pogue (6.3, 5.6) at center.

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. 8). As a team, the Vikings are 12th nationally in steals (9.4 spg), 27th in turnover margin (+3.7), 35th in free throw percentage (.750) and 99th in turnovers per game (12.6). Individually, D'Aundray Brown ranks 13th nationally in steals (2.7 spg).

BROWN STARTS CLIMB UP STEALS LIST: With seven steals in two games last week, junior D'Aundray Brown increased his league-leading season total to 70. In the process, he moved into seventh on the single season steals chart. With at least six games to go, Brown could do some additional damage on the CSU chart. At his current rate of 2.7 steals a game, he could challenge Kenny Robertson for third place on the chart (90 steals). In fact, Brown can impact the league marks as well. Cedric Jackson holds the top two efforts in Horizon League history, a record 112 last year and 88 in 2007-08.

FIVE GAMES, 10 DAYS: The Vikings are in the middle of a stretch that has them playing five games in 10 days. The period started with CSU defeating Valparaiso, 80-71, on Thursday (Feb. 11) and then dropping a 70-59 game to No. 15 Butler. After Tuesday night's (Feb. 16) game at Green Bay, CSU plays at Milwaukee on Thursday (Feb. 18) and returns home to host Toledo on Saturday (Feb.20).

FOR BETTER OR WORSE: Although coaches always claim that turnovers are a key to winning and losing, a look at the trends that have developed this year show that turnovers have no role in a games outcome. The two items that have played a role in determining wins and losses thi year for CSU is halftime score and shooting percentage. The Vikings are 11-2 in games it led at halftime, losing leads to Virginia and at Butler, and 1-10 in games it trailed at halftime, coming back from a 39-30 deficit to defeat Milwaukee. The shooting stats have a similar outcome as CSU is 10-1 in games it has shot a higher percentage than its opponent, losing only to Virginia. The Vikings are also 3-12 in games in which is was out-shot, claiming both wins over Loyola and the home victory over Milwaukee.s

VIKINGS DRAW TOLEDO IN BRACKETBUSTER: Cleveland State will host Toledo (3-23) 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.

HARMON NAMED HORIZON LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: After averaging 15.5 points in the two Viking wins last week, sophomore guard Trey Harmon was named the Horizon League Player of the Week. In the two games, Harmon shot .500 from the field (11-22), .273 from three-point (3-11) and a perfect six-for-six from the line, adding eight rebounds, five assists and two steals. He scored 17 points with five assists in the win over UIC and then came back to tally 14 points with a career high six rebounds as CSU rallied to edge Loyola. Harmon is the second Viking to earn the honor this year, joining Norris Cole (Jan. 25).

HOME WIN STREAK FALLS: The loss to Butler on Saturday (Feb. 13) snapped Cleveland State's Wolstein Center school record win streak in home league games at 15. 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 the first six games this year to break the old record of 12 games, which was originally set from Jan., 1985 to Jan., 1987.

COLE PICKS UP 60TH WIN AS A VIKING: The win over Valparaiso on Thursday night marked the 60th time (in 97 career games) that Norris Cole has emerged victorious as a Viking. Just a junior, Cole is seven wins away from breaking into the career top 10 list in the category and 31 wins shy of Ken McFadden's school record of 91 from 1985-89.

HARMON FROM THE STRIPE: Sophomore Trey Harmon has developed into one of the top free throw shooters in the league, making 56 of his 67 attempts to rank fifth shooting .836. After starting the year making 22 of his 32 attempts in the first 16 games (.688), he has come back to make 34 of his 35 attempts over the last nine games (.971), including 18 straight.

COLE MOVES INTO 16TH PLACE ON SCORING CHART: An 11-point effort against Loyola on Feb. 6 allowed junior guard Norris Cole to move into 16th place on the CSU career scoring list. With 39 points in the two games last week, Cole now has 1,087 points, leaving him 36 short of Anthony Reed (1991-93), who is 15th with 1,123 points. Cole, the 18th player in CSU history to score 1,000 points in a career, reached the milestone in the Jan. 24 win over Milwaukee. He is only the eighth player to accomplish it as a junior. In 26 games, he leads the team and ranks second in the league, averaging 16.5 points a game (428 total).

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).

CHARITY STRIPE HAS BEEN KIND: One strength of the Vikings this year has come at the foul line where CSU is on pace to challenge the school record for free throw percentage. Through 26 games, the Vikings have gone 381-for-509 from the line (.749), which is ahead of the record .724 set in 1979-80. Jeremy Montgomery (63-73, .863), Trey Harmon (56-67, .836) and Norris Cole (103-131, .783), rank second, fifth and 11th in the league, respectively, in free throw percentage. D'Aundray Brown (35-43, .814), Jared Cunningham (24-32, .750) and Tim Kamczyc (19-27, .704) are each above 70-percent but have not taken enough free throws to qualify for the league stats.

. . . 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 26 games this season, CSU has made 128 of its 152 free throws attempted in the final five minutes of games (.842). 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 76 of the 152 attempts. Cole is connecting on .888 of his shots (47-53) while Montgomery is 20-for-23 (.870). Cole is a .835 shooter for his career (81-97), 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 21 of the 26 games this season, including a 12-2 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 and Valparaiso.

. . . 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 26 games, he leads CSU with 100 fouls and seven disqualifications. It is even worse in league games where he has been whistled for 53 fouls in 14 games, fouling out four 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 Green Bay on Tuesday, he will be starting his 64th consecutive game at CSU, moving him past Warren Bradley (1987-89) and into ninth place on consecutive starts list. 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 97 games in his career (9th in school history).

COLE NAMED ATHLETE OF THE MONTH FOR JANUARY: Junior guard Norris Cole has been named the CSU Male Athlete of the Month for January. A Dayton, Ohio native, he averaged 17.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists, helping CSU to a 6-2 month. He shot 45-percent from the field, 44-percent from three-point and 73-percent at the free throw line. He scored 22 points in wins over Green Bay and Milwaukee, earning Horizon League Player of the Week honors on Jan. 25. In the win over Milwaukee, Cole surpassed the 1,000 point mark for his career.

. . . AND MONTGOMERY CLAIMS IT FOR DECEMBER: December was a good month for Jeremy Montgomery as the sophomore was selected as the CSU Male Athlete of the Month. In seven games in December, 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.

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 26 games since coming back, Brown is averaging 8.4 points and 6.0 rebounds a game. He leads the team and ranks sixth in the league in rebounding and is 10th in minutes played (32.5). More importantly, he keys the Vikings' pressure defense, leading the league with 70 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 7.7 rebounds over the last 14 games to move into sixth in the league with a 6.0 average. He has been dominant on the offensive glass, grabbing 50 offensive boards over that span (3.6/game) to move up to fifth in the league, averaging 2.7 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 34-8 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 10-4 this season at home, including 9-4 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 +3.7 turnover margin. In 26 games, the Vikings have committed 328 turnovers (12.6 tpg), including 13 games of 12 or fewer. The Vikings tied the school record with just five turnovers in the win over Milwaukee (Jan. 24), had seven vs. Loyola on Feb. 6 and against Butler on Feb. 13 and also made just eight miscues against Wichita State on Nov. 28 and vs. Loyola on Jan. 7. At the other end of the spectrum, CSU has forced 423 miscues (16.3 tpg), including 17 or more 12 times.

. . . AND CSU HAS BEEN EVEN BETTER LATELTY: As the season winds down, the Vikings are doing an even better job of taking care of the ball. Over the last four games, CSU has committed just 33 turnovers, or 8.25 a game. Going back even further, the Vikings have made just 61 turnovers in seven contests, including four single figure games.

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.

NEXT UP: The Vikings remain in Wisconsin to play Milwaukee on Thursday (Feb. 18) at 7:30 p.m. CST before returning home to host Toledo on Saturday (Feb. 20) at 6:00 p.m.