March 12, 2012
Contact: Greg Murphy
2012 National Invitational Tournament
No. 6 Cleveland State (22-10) at No. 3 Stanford (21-11)
Date: Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Time: 11:00 p.m. EST
Location: Maples Pavilion (7,233) - Palo Alto, Calif.
Radio: WHKW 1220 AM (Cleveland) & WHKZ, 1440 AM (Warren) (Al Pawlowski)
TV: ESPN2 (Roxy Bernstein & Mark Adams)
Series: First Meeting
Tickets: Available at site
SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State heads to the postseason for just the seventh time in program history when the sixth-seeded Vikings open play in the 2012 National Inviational Tournament at third-seeded Stanford on Tuesday (March 13) at 11:00 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2 with Roxy Bernstein and Mark Adams on the call. This will be the fifth trip to the NIT for CSU and third under Gary Waters, with CSU owning a 3-4 record all-time in the tourney. Last year, the Vikings won an opening round game at home against Vermont before falling at home in the second round to the College of Charleston. CSU, which will play in the postseason for the fourth time in the last five years, enters the game at 22-10 overall, while Stanford is 21-11. It will be the first-ever meeting in men's basketball between the two schools.
BROWN RETURNS IN STYLE: After missing seven of the previous eight games with a pulled groin, senior D'Aundray Brown returned in the Horizon League semifinals against Detroit (March 3). Brown, who came off the bench to play 32 minutes, scored 17 points and added seven rebounds and two steals. He went 5-of-7 from the floor, hitting his lone three-pointer, and made 6-of-7 at the free throw line.
CSU IN POSTSEASON PLAY: This will be the seventh time in school history that CSU will take part in one of the postseason tournaments with CSU owning a 6-6 record and advancing past the first round of the tourney in five of the six appearances. CSU is 3-2 in two trips to the NCAA Championship (1986 & 2009) and 3-4 in NIT play (1987, 1988, 2008, 2011).
WATERS IN THE NIT: The NIT appearance marks the 10th time in 16 years as a head coach that Gary Waters has taken a team to post-season play and his seventh appearance in the NIT, owning an 8-6 record in those appearances. He was 2-1 while at Kent State, taking the 2000 team to the quarterfinals. At Rutgers, Waters' teams made three appearances, losing in the opening round in 2002, going 4-1 to finish in second place in 2004 and making a second round visit in 2006. At CSU, Waters lost in the first round of the 2008 NIT at Dayton and last year, he led the Vikings past Vermont in the first round before falling to the College of Charleston.
HARMON HONORED TWICE BY LEAGUE: Trey Harmon was honored twice by the Horizon League, earning a spot on the all-league second team, as well as the Horizon League All-Defensive team. It is the first time that Harmon has garnered a spot on the all-league team and marks the second straight season he has been named to the all-defensive squad. Harmon is just the second player in CSU history to earn a spot on the all-defensive team in consecutive seasons (Cedric Jackson; 2008, 2009). Harmon ranks 10th in the league in scoring (13.1), second in three-pointers made (2.4) and eighth in steals (1.8).
BROWN NAMED ALL-DEFENSE AGAIN: After missing last season with an injured finger, senior D'Aundray Brown came back to earn a spot on the Horizon League All-Defensive team. Brown, who leads the league and ranks seventh in the nation with 2.6 steals per game (62 total), is making his second appearance on the team, earning the honor in 2010.
GRADY ON ALL-NEWCOMER TEAM: Freshman Anton Grady was the third Viking to be honored by the league, earning a spot on the all-newcomer team. The Cleveland, Ohio, native is averaging 8.8 points, while ranking third in the league in field goal percentage (.565), fourth in blocks (1.5) and eighth in rebounding (6.3). In the 18 Horizon League contests, Grady scored in double figures 12 times and upped his averages to 10.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots per game, while shooting .585 from the floor.
ALL HE DOES IS WIN: Senior Jeremy Montgomery has won 91 career games at CSU, tied with Ken McFadden (1985-89) for the most wins by a player in school history. One more win would allow Montgomery to become the winningest player in CSU history.
ON THE ROAD: The Vikings have been proving their mettle away from home this season, posting a 12-6 record in those contests. CSU is 11-4 in "true" road games and 1-2 in neutral site contests. The 11 "true" road wins are tied for the second most in the nation (Harvard, Murray State, Robert Morris and Wagner have 12), while CSU's 12 wins away from home are the fifth most in the country. The school-record for road wins in a season is 13, set in 2008-09. This year's 11 road victories rank second in school history, while CSU's .733 (11-4) road winning percentage is the best in school history.
A DOZEN IN THE LEAGUE: CSU's two wins to close the regular season allowed the Vikings to finish at 12-6 in the Horizon League, tied for the third most league wins in program history. The 1992-93 team won a school-record 15 conference games, while the 1985-86 and 2010-11 squads won 13.
... AND CONTINUES DOUBLE DIGIT STREAK: CSU's 12 Horizon League wins marked the fifth straight year that the Vikings won at least 10 league games, a program record. The old mark was four straight, set from 1984-85 through 1987-88.
10 WINS AT HOME: CSU improved to 10-4 at home with two wins to close the regular season, clinching the 15th season of 10 or more wins at home in school history. In fact, it marked CSU's fifth straight year of 10 plus wins at home, tying a school record for most consecutive seasons with at least 10 home wins. CSU also accomplished the feat from the 1983-84 season through 1987-88.
NCAA STATS: CSU was well represented in the latest NCAA statistical report that was released on Wednesday (March 4). As a team, CSU is ranked 18th in steals (8.5), 19th in scoring defense (59.6), 27th in turnover margin (2.9), 69th in three-point defense (.318) and 74th in scoring margin (6.4). Individually, D'Aundray Brown is eighth in the nation in steals (2.6), while Trey Harmon is ranked 102nd in the country in three-pointers per game (2.3).
FOR THREE: Seniors Jeremy Montgomery and Trey Harmon are just the second and third players in school history to hit 200 career three-pointers. Montgomery has made 209, while Harmon has made 206 as the duo ranks second and third on the all-time list at CSU behind James Madison (262).
HARMON HITS 71 THREE'S: Trey Harmon has hit a CSU single season record 71 three-pointers this season. His 71 trifectas broke the old CSU mark of 70 held by Theo Dixon (2000-01) and Damon Stringer (1999-00). Jeremy Montgomery's 57 three-pointers are the 10th most in a season in CSU history, allowing the duo to become the first set of teammates to make at least 50 three-pointers in two separate seasons (Harmon had 61 and Montgomery had 56 last season).
20-20 VISION: CSU's win at UIC on Feb. 5 allowed the Vikings to clinch the ninth 20-win season in program history and the fourth in the last five seasons. Head coach Gary Waters claims four of the 20 win seasons in his six years at the helm. The 1985-86 Vikings set the record by winning 29 games.
MASON BREAKS OUT: Freshman Marlin Mason, who was a redshirt for the first 16 games of the season, had his breakout game on Feb. 23 against Detroit. Making his second career start, Mason tallied career-highs in points (15) and rebounds (9), adding two assists, one steal and one block. He played a career-high 32 minutes.
THE FRESHMEN HAVE IT: CSU's freshmen class played a key role in the Feb. 23 victory over eventual league champion Detroit, combining for 37 points, 21 rebounds and nine assists. In fact, with several upperclassmen saddled with foul trouble and Jeremy Montgomery limited with cramps, head coach Gary Waters went with four freshmen - Charlie Lee, Ike Nwamu, Marlin Mason and Anton Grady - along with junior Tim Kamczyc, for a four minute stretch in the second half.
BETTER THAN 70 AT THE CHARITY STRIPE: When head coach Gary Waters arrived at CSU in 2005-06, the Vikings had just one season of shooting better than 70-percent at the free throw line, shooting .724 in 1979-80. Since Waters' arrival, the Vikings have shot better than 70-percent from the charity stripe in all six of his seasons, shooting .713 in 2006-07, .702 in 2007-08, .701 in 2008-09, a school record .749 in 2009-10 and .731 last year. This year, the team is shooting at a .714 clip.
GRADY NETS CAREER HIGH: Anton Grady scored a career-high 23 points on Feb. 21 at Green Bay, hitting 10-of-15 from the field. Grady, whose old career-high was 18 at Butler (Feb. 11), added eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. His 23-point effort was the highest scoring output by a CSU freshman since J'Nathan Bullock had 25 against UIC (2/22/06).
FROM REDSHIRT TO STARTER: Freshman Marlin Mason has had quite a two months. Slated to redshirt this year, Mason had it taken off when he was pressed into action due to injuries 15 games into the season. In 17 games since, he has averaged 3.5 points and 2.4 rebounds per game and has been thrust into the starting lineup twice (Feb. 18 vs. Drexel and Feb. 23 vs. Detroit).
STARTING LINEUPS: When Marlin Mason started against Drexel (Feb. 18), he became the ninth different player to start a game for the Vikings this year. In fact, the combination of Jeremy Montgomery, Trey Harmon, Mason, Tim Kamczyc and Aaron Pogue was the fifth different starting lineup combination used by CSU this year. A season ago, the Vikings were one of just three Division I teams to use the same starting lineup for every game (Norris Cole, Montgomery, Harmon, Kamczyc and Pogue started all 36 games).
LINEUP AT GREEN BAY IS SIX: CSU used its sixth different starting lineup of the season on Feb. 21 at Green Bay when Charlie Lee joined Jeremy Montgomery, Trey Harmon, Tim Kamczyc and Aaron Pogue in the lineup.
BETTER THAN 55 PERCENT: Tim Kamczyc and Anton Grady are both on pace to shoot better than 55-percent from the field this year. Kamczyc is shooting .590 (111-188), which is currently the third best percentage in school history, while Grady is at .545 (109-200). The duo would be the third set of teammates to shoot 55-percent or better from the field in the same season, joining Eric Mudd (.571) and Clinton Smith (.565) in 1985-86 and Darren Tillis (.568) and Mike Sweeney (.552) in 1980-81.
WATERS COACHES 500th GAME: Head coach Gary Waters coached his 500th career game on Feb. 3 at Loyola. The 16-year veteran is 293-215 overall as a head coach. He went 92-60 in five years at Kent State (2001-06), was 79-75 at Rutgers from 2001-06 and is 122-80 in six years at Cleveland State. He has led nine of his teams to postseason play.
... AND COACHES #200 AT CSU: The Feb. 21 contest at Green Bay was the 200th career game at Cleveland State for Gary Waters, allowing him to become the fourth coach in CSU history to coach 200 career games. Waters joined Ray Dieringer (360), Kevin Mackey (211) and Rollie Massimino (203) and has a 122-80 record at CSU, trailing only Dieringer (149) and Mackey (142) for most wins in school history.
FREE TOSSES: One quick look at CSU's statistics and you'll see the biggest difference is at the free throw line where CSU's opponents have made more free throws (505-of-761) than the Vikings have attempted (345-of-483). In fact, the Vikings have taken more free throws than their opposition in just four of 31 games this year, while opponents have taken at least 10 more free throws than CSU in 15 games.
BROWN AT #6 ON STEALS LIST: With two steals against Detroit (March 3), D'Aundray Brown moved into a tie for sixth place on the all-time steals list at CSU with Norris Colewith 207 thefts. Brown is 10 steals shy of moving into a tie for fifth place on the list with Franklin Edwards. Brown leads the Horizon League and is ranked eighth in the nation with 2.6 steals per game (63 total), making at least two steals in 19 of the 25 games he has played this year.
KEEP `EM UNDER 50: The 70-42 win at UIC (Feb. 5) was the seventh time that CSU held a team under 50 points this year. UIC joined Rhode Island (45), Wright State (43), Sam Houston State (45), Loyola (48 and 47) and Youngstown State (47). The 1933-34, 1935-36 and 2008-09 teams share the school record, holding 11 opponents to 50 points or less. CSU leads the league and is 19th in the nation in scoring defense (59.6).
SIX IN DOUBLE DIGITS: CSU had six players score in double figures vs. Milwaukee (Jan. 22). Trey Harmon led the way with 15 points, while Tim Kamczyc, Jeremy Montgomery and Anton Grady all had 12 points. Aaron Pogue chipped in 11 and D'Aundray Brown had 10. It was the first time CSU had six players in double digits since a 113-61 win over Wilberforce on Dec. 12, 2009 (Cunningham, 18; Cole, 16; Ajere, 14; Montgomery, 12; Brown, 11; Harmon, 10).
DIALED IN FROM DISTANCE: CSU has hit 209 three-pointers this year, the third most in a season in program history. This year's squad is just the third team in CSU history to hit 200 three-pointers in a season, joining the 2010-11 squad (237) and 2009-10 team (214).
OH FOR THREE: CSU held Butler without a three-point field goal in the Feb. 11 loss (0-of-8). It was the 15th time in CSU history that a team failed to make a three-pointer against the Vikings, including the second time this year. CSU held Rhode Island without a three-pointer (0-8) on Nov. 26. Prior to this year, the last time the Vikings did not give up a three-pointer in a game was Dec. 17, 1996, against Youngstown State.
ON THE MARK: CSU shot 25-of-37 (.676) from the field in the Feb. 3 win at Loyola, the third best field goal percentage in CSU history. The Vikings went 10-of-17 (.588) in the first half and 15-of-20 (.750) in the second half. The only times a CSU team shot better in a game both came in 1979. The Vikings went 37-of-54 (685) against George Mason on Feb. 5, 1979, and were 36-of-53 (.679) versus St. Francis (Pa.) on Feb. 1, 1979.
ON THE MARK PART 2: CSU's 12 missed shots at Loyola (Feb. 3), matched the fewest field goal misses by a Division I team this year. CSU was the third team to miss just 12 shots in a game this year, joining Norfolk State (Nov. 27) against Eastern Kentucky and Mercer versus Navy on Dec. 30. Of the three teams, CSU attempted the most field goals (37).
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL: CSU committed a season-low six turnovers in Saturday's (Feb. 18) game vs. Drexel, tied for the third fewest turnovers in a game in school history. The school-record for fewest turnovers in a game is four against South Florida (12/22/10). There have been five games in CSU history with five turnovers and six games with six miscues.
STRONG DEFENSE CONTINUES: Strong defense has always been a staple at CSU under Gary Waters and this year has been no different. CSU is ranked first in the league in scoring margin (+6.4), steals (8.5), scoring defense (59.6), turnover margin (+2.9) and field goal defense (.412) and third in three-point field goal defense (.318). The Vikings have held 24 of their 32 opponents to under 45-percent shooting from the field.
A TURNOVER TALE: One area where the Vikings have been dominant this year is the turnover battle where CSU leads the Horizon League and ranks 27th in the nation with a +2.9 turnover margin. While CSU's turnovers are up from last year to 13.7 per game (CSU averaged 11.4 last year), the Vikings are turning teams over an average of 16.5 per game (14.7 last year), with opponents committing at least 20 turnovers in six games this year.
J-MO KEEPS PLAYING: When Jeremy Montgomery takes the floor on Tuesday, he will be playing in his 139th straight game at CSU, second on the all-time list at CSU. Montgomery, who has never missed a game in his career, is slated to make his 89th straight start. With a minimum one game left, Montgomery has a chance to break Norris Cole's school-record of 140 straight games played.
... SO DOES HARMON: Trey Harmon will take the floor for the 124th time in his career on Tuesday, the fourth most games played in CSU history. He is just the eighth player in CSU history to play in 120 or more career games.
NO EXTRA TIME NEEDED: Saturday's game against Detroit extended CSU's school-record streak of consecutive games without an overtime contest to 167. The last time CSU played an overtime tilt was on Nov. 17, 2007 when CSU topped Florida State, 69-66, at the Glenn Wilkes Classic in Daytona Beach, Fla. CSU is 109-58 since.
FIVE OR LESS: The 71-67 loss at Green Bay (Feb. 21) marked the third time this year that CSU lost a game by five points or less, dropping the Vikings to 7-3 in games decided by five or less.The Vikings have won four games on their final offensive possession this season. They include...
• Trey Harmon hits a three-pointer with 2.8 seconds left in a 67-64 win over St. Bonaventure (Nov. 18).
• Jeremy Montgomery steals the inbounds pass and hits two free throws with 3.4 seconds to play in a 63-62 victory over Boston University (Nov. 25).
• D'Aundray Brown tips in a missed shot with 0.3 seconds left in a 45-43 win at Wright State (Dec. 1).
• Jeremy Montgomery hits a three-pointer with 21.2 seconds left to give the Vikings a 69-66 win over Akron.
SUCCESS 601: The sixth edition of Success Class under Gary Waters is utilizing the book Think Like a Champion by Dave Dinunzio as the course text. Instituted at CSU in the summer of 2006, Waters uses Success Class to teach the Viking players the finer points of what it takes to succeed, both on the basketball court and in life. Success Class 101 used John Wooden's book, The Pyramid of Success. Waters relied on John Maxwell's book Talent Is Never Enough in 2007-08 and turned to former Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy's book, Quiet Strength in 2008-09. Waters returned to Maxwell in 2009-10, using 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player as the course text and again in 2009-10, using Maxwell's Winning With People. The non-credited class is taught weekly by Waters to the Viking players. THIS `N THAT: Notes from the early part of the season...
• Trey Harmon was selected to the preseason All-Horizon League first team, while CSU was tabbed to finish third in the preseason poll.
• The Vikings won five straight games to open the season, the second best start in school history. Last year's squad holds the record with 12 straight wins.
• CSU's win at No. 7 Vanderbilt on Nov. 11 was the highest ranked opponent the Vikings have defeated in program history. It was the sixth top-25 team that CSU has defeated in program history with five of the wins under Gary Waters.
• The Vikings blocked 11 shots in a win over Rio Grande (Nov. 15), one shy of equaling the school record for most blocks in a game.
• Anton Grady had six blocks against Rio Grande, one shy of tying the CSU single game record of seven by three players and the most by a CSU freshman.
• Aaron Pogue captured MVP honors of the Kingston, R.I., subregional of the Ticket City Legends Classic (Nov. 25-27) for his performance in CSU's three games. Pogue averaged 10.3 points and 6.3 rebounds to help the Vikings claim the title.
• Freshman Anton Grady is the nephew of NBA player Earl Boykins. Both played high school basketball at Cleveland Central Catholic, while Boykins was a standout at Eastern Michigan when Gary Waters was an assistant coach.
• CSU went 6-1 in November this year and is a combined 14-1 during the last two November's. The Vikings were also 6-2 in December this year, improving their record to 12-3 over the last two December's.
• The Vikings had a 17 game win streak against schools in Ohio snapped with a 73-67 setback to Youngstown State (Dec. 31).
• CSU has had 11 different players hit a three-pointer this year, establishing a new season mark for players with a three-pointer. The previous mark was 10 players, accomplished three times, most recently in 2009-10.
• The trio of associate head coach Jayson Gee and assistant coaches Larry DeSimpelare and Jeremaine Kimbrough are in their sixth year serving for head coach Gary Waters on the Viking bench. Only the tandem of Mitch Buonaguro and Paul Molinari (1996-03) served longer as a unit.
• Sebastian Douglas will miss the remainder of the season after injuring his left knee in late December It is the same knee that Douglas injured in May of 2010. That injury forced him to redshirt in 2010-11.
• CSU shot .630 (29-46) from the field in the Feb. 25 win over Wright State, the fourth time that CSU shot better than 60-percent this year. It was also the 10th time this year that the Vikings shot better than 50-percent from the field in a game with CSU going 9-1 in those contests.
• This is the 21st season of CSU playing in the Wolstein Center with the Vikings going 178-114, including winning records in 11 of the last 15 years.
UP NEXT: A win would send CSU into the NIT second round against either second-seeded Ole Miss or seventh-seeded Illinois State. The date, time and location of that game would be announced after the first round games.
