GAME DETAILS – HORIZON QUARTERFINALS
Wednesday, March 3 – Cleveland, Ohio – 8 PM ET (Wolstein Center)
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Robert Morris Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats
SETTING THE SCENE
The Cleveland State men's basketball program will play host to Robert Morris for the 2021-22 Horizon League Quarterfinals at the Wolstein Center on Thursday night. It will be the first meeting between the two institutions during postseason play as RMU joined the conference in 2020, and is fresh off its first Horizon tournament victory in program history (a 77-73 decision over Youngstown State on Tuesday). CSU swept the two-regular season meetings against the Colonials, a 78-77 road win on Jan. 7 and a 75-86 victory at home on Jan. 23.
A WIN ON THURSDAY WOULD…
Advance the Vikings to the Horizon Semifinals for the second straight season, which is set for Monday, March 7 at 7 PM ET on ESPNU…Improve the Vikings to 5-1 under head coach Dennis Gates at the Horizon Tournament…Keep the run alive for the Vikes as they look to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row.
THE CLEVELAND STATE/ROBERT MORRIS SERIES
Thursday's postseason action will be the 18th meeting between the Vikings and Colonials, with Cleveland State holding a 10-7 edge all-time in the series. CSU is coming into Thursday on a four-game winning streak against RMU and have taken six of the last seven meetings. CSU is 2-0 against RMU in 2021-22. The two teams did not compete against one another last season due to COVID-19 protocols.
LAST TIME OUT…
The Cleveland State men's basketball team hit another small roadblock as the Vikings were defeated by Oakland, 65-57 at the Athletic Center O'Rena this past Saturday afternoon. It was the second straight loss in Michigan for the Vikes as the squad will enter the 2021-22 Horizon League Tournament as co-champions of the regular season to go with the No. 1 seed in the conference tourney.
- Deante Johnson and Torrey Patton paced the Vikes with 15 points apiece, respectively. Johnson recorded his second double-double of the season as he pulled in 14 rebounds to go with two assists. Patton added three helpers and two steals.
VIKINGS ALL OVER THE NATIONAL RANKS
CSU enters Thursday's postseason game with its name all over the national rankings:
- 12th in the nation in assists per game with 16.7 per contest (tops in Horizon)
- 22nd in field goal percentage with a clip of 48.0 percent (tops in Horizon)
- 24th in total assists with 468 (tops in Horizon)
- 27th with 8.6 steals per contest (fourth in Horizon)
- 33rd with 15.32 turnovers forced per game (second in Horizon)
- 34th in total steals overall at 240 (fourth in Horizon)
- 43rd in free throw attempts with 587 shots (second in Horizon)
- 63rd in scoring offense at 75.6 points per game (tops in Horizon)
- 64th in assist turnover ratio at 1.23 (second in Horizon)
- 72nd in the country in won-lost percentage at 67.9 (tops in Horizon)
- 76th in turnover margin at 1.7 (third in Horizon)
NO HANDLES AGAINST HODGE
D'Moi Hodge is one of the best student-athletes at generating steals in all of NCAA DI basketball as the senior guard ranks 12th in the nation in steals per game with 2.29 per contest. Hodge also slots in at TENTH in the country with his 64 steals overall on the season, a number that also leads the Horizon League. The senior has 109 career steals at CSU over two seasons. With his standout year, Hodge was named the Horizon's Defensive Player of the Year to go with First Team All-League and All-Defensive team honors. He was just the fourth student-athlete to win the Horizon League's top-defensive honor in school history.
LOOKING TO GO DANCING IN BACK-TO-BACK YEARS
Cleveland State is looking to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season, and fourth time overall in school history. It would be the first time that the program has made the national tournament in back-to-back years. Before last season's run, the Vikings last made the NCAAs in 2009 as a No. 13 seed when it upset No. 4 Wake Forest, 84-69 (March 20 – Miami, Fla.) in the opening round.
ALL-LEAGUE HONORS FOR PATTON
For the second straight year, Torrey Patton played his way onto the All-League team with his Second Team honors this season. The senior from Dayton, Ohio recorded averages of 13.6 points, 6.1 boards and 3.5 assists to go with five double-doubles this year. Patton currently ranks seventh in the conference in assists per game, 11th in rebounding and steals per contest, and 12th in the Horizon in total steals (40).
VIKES TAKE 3-OF-5 ON ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM; GOMILLION THIRD TEAMER
Both Deante Johnson and Tre Gomillion rounded out the All-Defensive team for the Vikings. It was the second straight season that both student-athletes were selected. Gomillion also added an All-League Third Team nod to go with the All-Defensive team selection. The senior guard took home the league's Defensive Player of the Year a season ago. Johnson joined his teammates on the All-Defensive team. The Detroit, Michigan native ranks third in the Horizon in blocks per contest and tenth in the conference in rebounding per game.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
CSU sits at 14-3 at home this season and has gone 23-5 over the past two years inside the friendly confines of the Wolstein Center, good for a .821 winning percentage.
SWATS BY "SPIDER"
Veteran forward Deante "Spider" Johnson is not an easy man to make a basket on as the senior has racked up 108 career blocks, which ranks him sixth all-time in program history in rejections. Johnson's 35 blocks and 1.3 rejections per game are both ranked third in the Horizon.
PARKER PACING THE OFFENSE
Veteran guard Deshon Parker slots 65th in the country with his 2.15 assist to turnover ratio, a mark that ranks fourth in the Horizon.
SPACING IT OUT
The Vikings have racked up 15 or more assists in 17 of their 28 games this season, which includes eight contests of 20-plus. CSU has reached double-digit steals in all but just one game this year, which explains its ranking of 12thin the country in that category.
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