Feb. 19, 2010

Contact: Brian McCann

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Game 29
Toledo (3-24) at Cleveland State (13-15)
Date: Saturday, February 20, 2010
Time: 6:00 p.m. EST
Site: Goodman Arena (8,500), Wolstein Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Radio: WHKW 1220 AM (Cleveland) & WHKZ, 1440 AM (Warren) (Al Pawlowski)
TV: None Live, Streaming available on the internet via Horizon League Network.
Promo: Season Ticket Holder Appreciation Night
Family Value Saturday: Free Kid Zone & Dollar Dogs At Concession Stands.
Free CSU Rally Bandana to first 1,000 Fans (Courtesy of Cleveland Clinic).
Series: Toledo Leads, 6-2
Last Meeting: CSU 77, UT 56 (11/25/08) (Miami, Fla.)

SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State takes its final break from league play when the Vikings host Toledo (3-24) on Saturday, Feb. 20 beginning at 6:00 p.m. in the Wolstein Center. The game is part of the eighth annual BracketBusters, a one-day event that includes 49 games across the nation. The Vikings (13-15, 9-7) enter the contest having lost three straight games to slip into fifth place in the Horizon League standings. With two league games remaining, CSU can finish as high as fourth or as low as seventh in the final standings. Toledo has struggled this year under second year head coach Gene Cross, posting a 3-23 record that includes 17 straight losses dating back to early December. The Rockets are 0-2 against Horizon League teams, dropping games at home against Wright State (66-55) and at Valparaiso (81-49). This will be the ninth meeting between CSU and Toledo with the Rockets owning a 6-2 series edge. The Vikings however claimed the most recent meeting, a 77-56 win last year at the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic in Miami, Fla.

CSU IN THE NCAA STATS: Cleveland State received several mentions in the most recent NCAA men's basketball statistics, which were released on Friday (Feb. 19). As a team, the Vikings are 13th nationally in steals (9.1 spg), 16th in free throw percentage (.748), 21st in turnover margin (+3.6) and 61st in turnovers per game (12.4). Individually, D'Aundray Brown ranks 9th nationally in steals (2.6 spg).

BROWN STARTS CLIMB UP STEALS LIST: With three steals against Milwaukee on Thursday, junior D'Aundray Brown increased his league-leading season total to 73. In the process, he moved past Eddie Bryant (71 in 1986-87) and into eighth on the single season steals chart. With at least four games to go, Brown could do some additional damage on the CSU chart. At his current rate of 2.6 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.

COLE TO PLAY IN 100TH CONSECUTIVE GAME: When Norris Cole starts during Saturday's game against Toledo, he will be playing in his 100th conscutive game as a Viking. The streak covers his entire career has he played in 33 games off the bench as a freshman and has started all 65 games the last two seasons.

. . . AND IS APPROACHING 1,000 MINUTE MARK: With at least four games left this season, junior Norris Cole will most likely become only the third player in school history to record multiple seasons playing 1,000 minutes or more. Cole, whose 1,213 minutes played last season was the second highest single season total in CSU history, has played 943 minutes in 28 games this year. With 57 more minutes played, Cole will join Cedric Jackson and J'Nathan Bullock, both of whom accomplished the feat in both 2007-08 and 2008-09.

SOMETHING ABOUT MILWAUKEE: Although the Vikings have done a great job of taking care of the basketball this season, ranking 61st nationally in the latest NCAA stats by committing just 12.4 turnovers a game, there is something about Milwaukee that makes them do an even better job. In the two games against the Panthers this year, CSU has tied the school record for fewest turnovers in a game in both contests, committing just five each night. The total equals the previous mark set against both Utica (1/5/85) and Brooklyn (12/30/82).

FIVE GAMES, 10 DAYS: Saturday's game marks the end of a stretch that has seen the Vikings play five games in 10 days with CSU being just 1-3 in those contests. The period started with CSU defeating Valparaiso, 80-71, on Feb. 11 and then dropping a 70-59 game to No. 15 Butler on Feb. 13 and a 74-57 loss at Green Bay on Tuesday (2/18). CSU fell, 69-59, at Milwaukee on Thursday (Feb. 18) before coming home for Saturday's game. This is the second such stretch this year for CSU. In late November, the Vikings played five games in 10 days from Nov. 19-28 with CSU going just 2-3.

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 this year for CSU is halftime score and shooting percentage. The Vikings are 11-3 in games it led at halftime, losing leads to Virginia, at Butler and at Green Bay, and 1-11 in games it trailed at halftime, coming back from a 39-30 deficit to defeat Milwaukee in Cleveland. 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 3-13 in games in which was out-shot, claiming both wins over Loyola and the home victory over Milwaukee.

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.

HARMON FROM THE STRIPE: Sophomore Trey Harmon has developed into one of the top free throw shooters in the league, making 61 of his 72 attempts to rank fourth shooting .847. After starting the year making 22 of his 32 attempts in the first 16 games (.688), he has come back to make 39 of his 40 attempts over the last 11 games (.975), including 23 straight.

. . . AND COLE WARMS UP AS WELL: After going just two-for-six at the foul line in the win at Loyola on Feb. 6, junior Norris Cole regrouped to find the shooting form that made him one of the most accurate shooters in the Horizon League. Over his last four games, Cole has made 27 of his 28 free throw attempts (.964), including 18 straight. Cole has raised his season percentage to .801 (113-141), good for ninth in the Horizon League.

COLE MOVES INTO 16TH PLACE ON SCORING CHART: A 22-point effort against Milwaukee on Thursday has moved junior Norris Cole within 11 points of moving from 16th to 14th on the CSU career scoring list. Cole enters the Toledo game with 1,118 points, five points short of catching 15th place Anthony Reed (1,123 points from 1991-93) and 11 shy of 14th place Andre Battle (1,129 points from 1976-80). 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 28 games, he leads the team and ranks second in the league, averaging 16.4 points a game (459 total).

COLE PICKS UP 60TH WIN AS A VIKING: The win over Valparaiso on Feb. 11 marked the 60th time (in 99 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.

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 28 games, the Vikings have gone 403-for-539 from the line (.748), which is ahead of the record .724 set in 1979-80. Jeremy Montgomery (67-79, .848), Trey Harmon (61-72, .847) and Norris Cole (113-141, .801), rank third, fourh and ninth in the league, respectively, in free throw percentage. D'Aundray Brown (36-46, .783), 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. CSU ranked 16th in the nation in free throw percentage in the latest NCAA 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 28 games this season, CSU has made 135 of its 161 free throws attempted in the final five minutes of games (.839). 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 80 of the 161 attempts. Cole is connecting on .895 of his shots (51-57) while Montgomery is 20-for-23 (.870). Cole is a .842 shooter for his career (85-101), 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 28 games this season, including a 12-4 mark in Horizon League games. The only games that Pogue lost the jump have been on the road for games vs. St. Bonaventure, Kentucky, Ohio State and Milwaukee 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 28 games, he leads CSU with 107 fouls and seven disqualifications. It is even worse in league games where he has been whistled for 60 fouls in 16 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 Toledo on Saturday, he will be starting his 66th consecutive game at CSU, which is good for 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 99 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 28 games since coming back, Brown is averaging 8.2 points and 5.9 rebounds a game. He leads the team and ranks seventh in the league in rebounding and is ninth in minutes played (32.4). More importantly, he keys the Vikings' pressure defense, leading the league with 73 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 7.6 rebounds over the last 15 games to move into sixth in the league with a 6.0 average. He has been dominant on the offensive glass, grabbing 51 offensive boards over that span (3.4/game) to move up to fifth in the league, averaging 2.6 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 (and 21st nationally) with a +3.4 turnover margin. In 28 games, the Vikings have committed 348 turnovers (12.4 tpg), including 14 games of 12 or fewer. The Vikings tied the school record with just five turnovers in the win over Milwaukee (Jan. 24) and then again at Milwaukee on Feb. 18, 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 448 miscues (16.0 tpg), including 17 or more 12 times.

NEXT UP: The Vikings remain at home to close out the 2009-10 regular season with a pair of games next week. CSU will host Detroit on Thursday, Feb. 25 starting at 7:30 p.m. and then close out the year with a 2:00 p.m. meeting with Wright State on Saturday (Feb. 27). Both games are doubleheaders with the women hosting Detroit at 5:00 p.m. on Feb. 25 and facing Wright State at 4:30 p.m. on Feb. 27.