2007-08 Men's Basketball Schedule Announced Athletics

Posted: Jul 25, 2007

July 25, 2007

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Fifteen home games, including a Dec. 18 contest with Ohio State at Quicken Loans Arena, a road game at George Mason and four games as part of the Daytona Beach Classic highlight the 2007-08 Cleveland State men's basketball schedule, which was released on Wednesday (July 25)

"This is probably the most challenging schedule that any Horizon League team is going to play this year," head coach Gary Waters said. "We are going to face a number of mid to high major teams during the non-conference schedule that will allow us to get prepared for the rigors of the conference schedule.

"By starting the season with five straight road games, we are giving this team a chance to come together as a group. Our experience playing three games in three days at Evansville last year was a great barometer of the team for the rest of the season and I see our trip to Daytona Beach offering the same kind of opportunity.

"We have also given our fans a strong home schedule," Waters added. "With teams like Cal State Northridge, Central Michigan and Ohio State coming to Cleveland -- not to mention the nine Horizon League opponents -- our fans will be able to see some quality, Division I basketball."

The Vikings will play their first five games of the season on the road. CSU opens the regular season at South Florida on Friday, Nov. 9 in an opening round game of the Daytona Beach Classic. The Vikings then head to George Mason on Nov. 13 before returning to Florida to play Georgia Southern (Nov. 16), Florida State (Nov. 17) and Florida Atlantic (Nov. 18) in Daytona Beach.

Six of the next seven contests will come at home as CSU opens the home slate with contests against John Carroll (Nov. 24), Cal State Northridge (Nov. 28) and Geneva (Dec. 1). Following a Dec. 4 road tilt at Chicago State, the Vikings open Horizon League play at home against Youngstown State on Dec. 8.

The inaugural game of the McLendon Scholarship Series will take place on Dec. 18 when CSU hosts 2007 national runner-up Ohio State at Quicken Loans Arena. The game will mark only the second time that OSU has faced the Vikings in Cleveland with CSU claiming a 75-73 decision at The Q in 1994-95.

The only non-league game following the new year will come on Saturday, Feb. 23 when the Vikings play a home contest as part of the ESPNU BracketBusters event.

Season tickets and other ticket packages for the 2006-07 season are now available through the CSU Athletic Ticket Office. The office can be reached at (216) 687-4848.

Some notes on the 2007-08 schedule:

• Counting at least one game in the Horizon League Championship, CSU will play no less than 32 games this season, the most since playing a school-record 33 contests in both 1985-86 and 1986-87.

• The Vikings have six games against teams that advanced to postseason play last year, five against NCAA teams and one vs. NIT participants (Florida State). The five NCAA teams include a single game against national runner-up Ohio State (Dec. 18) and home-and-home series with both Wright State (first round) and Butler (Sweet 16).

• The Dec. 18 meeting with Ohio State will be the first game in the McLendon Scholarship Series, an annual contest that will honor former CSU head coach and Basketball Hall of Fame inductee John McLendon.

• The Ohio State contest will be CSU's first game at Quicken Loans Arena since the 2002-03 season. The Vikings are 1-5 all-time against the Buckeyes with the lone win coming at The Q on Dec. 17, 1994.

• CSU will play four games as part of the Daytona Beach Classic, opening the season with a Nov. 9 contest at South Florida before returning to the Sunshine State the following week to face Georgia Southern, Florida State and Florida Atlantic in Daytona Beach.

• The Vikings will play a home game in the sixth annual ESPNU BracketBusters, which will be held on Feb. 23. This will be the fifth straight year that CSU has been involved with the event. The Vikings won at Cal State Northridge last year with the Matadors playing the return game at CSU on Nov. 28. The Viking BracketBusters opponent this year will be decided in early February.

• The Vikings open Horizon League play at home against Youngstown State on Dec. 8, marking the second-earliest league opener in program history. CSU began the league slate at Butler on Dec. 2 last year.

• The CSU men's and women's basketball teams will play six doubleheaders during the year, all of which will come during the Horizon League schedule. The games against Loyola (Jan. 3) and UIC (Jan. 5) will be true doubleheaders with the CSU women's team playing the same opponents that day. The other double features will come on Jan. 17 (Butler), Jan. 19 (Valparaiso), Feb. 7 (Wright State) and Deb. 9 (Detroit).

• The annual Horizon League Championship will begin play at campus sites on March 4 leading up to the championship game on March 11.