SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State men's basketball team will continue its current four-game homestand this weekend, hosting Detroit Mercy at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 15. Cleveland State enters the contest standing at 10-4 overall this year and 6-1 in league play, while Detroit Mercy is currently 5-9 on the year and 3-1 against league opponents.

A WIN ON SATURDAY WOULD…
Put the Vikings back in the win column…Give CSU a 9-2 record when playing at the Wolstein Center this season…Put Cleveland State at 41-33 during Dennis Gates' tenure.

THE CLEVELAND STATE/DETROIT MERCY SERIES
Saturday's game will mark the 73rd meeting between the two teams, with Detroit Mercy owning a 45-27 advantage in the overall series. Over the last two seasons, Cleveland State has won three out of the four matchups, including a 71-64 victory in the most recent meeting between the two teams last season. When playing at the Wolstein Center, Cleveland State owns a 19-11 edge in the series.

SCOUTING THE TITANS
Detroit Mercy enters Saturday's game standing at 5-8 overall this season and 3-1 against league opponents…Most recently, the Titans dropped a 62-60 contest at Purdue Fort Wayne to begin a four-game roadswing earlier this week…Saturday's contest against the Vikings will mark just the third game for Detroit Mercy since December 19…As a team, Detroit Mercy leads the league with a .365 clip from three-point, while the Titans rank second with a .784 clip from the free throw line…Individually, Antoine Davis leads all #HLMBB players averaging 23.1 points per game, while Madut Akec ranks second averaging 9.1 rebounds per game.

LAST TIME OUT…
The Vikings dropped their first Horizon League game of the season, falling to Oakland, 70-65. Entering Thursday's game, Cleveland State and Oakland were the top two teams in the #HLMBB standings. Three Vikings finished the game with double-figure points, led by D'Moi Hodge with 20 points. Deante Johnson (14 rbs) and Torrey Patton (11 rbs) both grabbed double-digit boards, while the Vikings finished with 21 total assists. 

#HLMBB PLAY OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS
Throughout the last two years, Cleveland State has combined for a 22-5 regular season record against league opponents, including a 12-3 mark when playing at the Wolstein Center. If you include #HLMBB Tournament play, the Vikings have won 15 of their last 18 matchups entering Saturday's game against the Titans. 

HOME-SWEET-HOME
Saturday's game against Detroit Mercy will mark the 11th home game out of the first 15 contests (excluding cancelations) for the Vikings this season, as Cleveland State has had the benefit of playing in the friendly confines of the Wolstein Center throughout the first half of the season. Under head coach Dennis Gates, the Vikings are 23-12 when playing at home, including a 9-2 record last season and an 8-2 mark so far this year.

JOHNSON SETS CAREER-HIGH WITH 14 REBOUNDS AGAINST OAKLAND
After posting his first career double-double against Youngstown State (14 pts, 13 rbs) last weekend, senior Deante Johnson continued his efforts on the boards against Oakland, grabbing a career-high 14 rebounds. Johnson's 14-board night against Oakland marked his third double-digit rebounding game of the season, as he enters Saturday's contest ranking second on the team averaging 6.6 rebounds per game. Of his 93 total boards on the year, 34 have been offensive rebounds.

HODGE TALLIES SECOND-STRAIGHT 20-POINT GAME
For the second straight game - and the fifth time this season - D'Moi Hodge led the Viking offense against Oakland, finishing with 20 points for his fourth 20-point game of the season. Hodge, who leads the team and ranks eighth among #HLMBB players averaging 15.6 ppg, has notched 10+ points in 12 of 14 games so far this year.

PATTON NOTCHES DOUBLE-DOUBLE AGAINST OAKLAND
Torrey Patton recorded his fourth double-double of the season last time out, notching 16 points and 11 rebounds against the Grizzlies. Patton, who has tallied a double-double in three of the last five games, is averaging 13.1 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds per game this season. Patton is now one of six #HLMBB players with four or more double-doubles on the season, and one of three league players to notch three double-doubles against #HLMBB opponents.

CLEVELAND STATE SPREADING OUT THE OFFENSE
Cleveland State has tallied 15+ assists in nine of its 14 games so far this season, including its fourth 20-assist effort against Oakland last time out (21 assists). Through the first half of the 2021-22 campaign, the Vikings are averaging a league-best 16.93 assists per game. So far this season, 13 Vikings have recorded at least one assist, led by Torrey Patton with 51 assists and Deshon Parker with 48 assists on the year.

VIKINGS FORCING THE TURNOVER
Through the first 14 games of the 2021-22 campaign Cleveland State has forced its opponents into 221 combined turnovers - 10+ against all 14 opponents -  leading all Horizon League teams with a 3.50 turnover margin. As a team, Cleveland State leads the league with a 1.38 assist/turnover ratio, while Deshon Parker ranks second individually (2.5).

COLLEGEINSIDER.COM MID-MAJOR POLL
After receiving votes in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll throughout the first part of the 2021-22 campaign, Cleveland State finally cracked the top-25 this week, as they entered the week ranked No. 21 in the most recent poll released on Monday, January 10. The Vikings are one of three Horizon League teams to be mentioned in the poll, joining Oakland (No. 15) and Wright State (RV).

HEAD COACH DENNIS GATES
The Vikings will be under the direction of third-year head coach and reigning back-to-back #HLMBB Coach of the Year Dennis Gates. Through his first three seasons, Gates has led the Vikings to a 40-33 overall record, including a 19-8 mark last season when the Vikings captured the Horizon League Tournament title and earned the program's third trip to the NCAA Tournament.

UP NEXT
Cleveland State will close out its current four-game homestand next weekend, hosting Youngstown State on Friday, January 21 and Robert Morris on Sunday, January 23.