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January 24, 2010 - By Tom Mieskoski
A 3-pointer by Norris Cole with seven seconds left and a block by Tim Kamczyc with one second left, helped Cleveland State hold on to a, 73-72, victory over UW-Milwaukee, Sunday afternoon at the Wolstein Center. I'm so proud of them of how hard they fought in the second half," said CSU head coach Gary Waters. "They knew it was them versus us in our house and we had to fight. They came back and never quit." ith the win, CSU (9-12, 5-4 Horizon League) moves into a four-team tie for third-place in the Horizon League with Detroit, Wright State and Valparaiso. Tom Mieskoski recaps the win.
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January 22, 2010 - By Ryan Aroney
Cleveland State begins a critical three-game home stand tonight against second place Green Bay. After winning three straight conference games to pull within a half-game of second place, the Vikings lost two straight in Indiana to Butler and Valparaiso to drop into a tie for fifth. If CSU is to make a run and have any chance at the valuable second seed in the Horizon League tournament, it will have to start this weekend. Ryan Aroney previews the slate of weekend games for CSU in his latest piece for us.
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January 10, 2010 - By Tom Mieskoski
The Cleveland State men's basketball team remained undefeated in 2010, holding off Illinois-Chicago's late rally for a, 70-63, victory, Saturday night at the Wolstein Center. CSU (7-10, 3-2 Horizon League) have won three straight games since head coach Gary Waters switched to a four-guard starting lineup. Tom Miesksoki was courtside for this one and also had a chance to speak with Coach Waters after it. He tells our readers about the win in his latest.
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January 7, 2010 - By Tom Mieskoski
Cleveland State head coach Gary Waters new four-guard starting lineup should be tested this week with two home games against Loyola-Chicago (11-3, 2-2 Horizon League) tonight at 7 p.m. and Illinois-Chicago (5-9, 1-3) on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Last Saturday, at Youngstown State, Waters switched to a smaller, quicker starting line-up consisting of guards Norris Cole, Trey Harmon, Jeremy Montgomery, D'Aundray Brown, along with center Aaron Pogue. Tom Mieskoski talked with coach Waters about it before Thursday night's game against Loyola.
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January 7, 2010 - By Ryan Aroney
Cleveland State returns to the Wolstein Center this week for the first time since a heart-breaking two point loss to West Virginia. The Vikings bounced back into the win column last weekend at in-state rival Youngstown State with a commanding 70-48 victory. After playing two conference games in early December, the league portion of the schedule is now in full force as Loyola and UIC come to town this weekend. Ryan Aroney looks ahead to the Vikings upcoming tilts with Loyola-Chicago and Illinois-Chicago in his latest piece for us.
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December 21, 2009 - By Tom Mieskoski
Cleveland State nearly pulled off the major upset of No. 6 West Virginia on Saturday, losing to the Mountaineers, 80-78, on Da'Sean Butler's lay-up with 1.2 seconds left. For the Vikings (4-8), who have lost seven straight Division I games, there are plenty of positives to build around and signs that show CSU is starting to come around as a team. Tom Mieskoski was at the contest, and also had a chance to hang around after and talk to coach Gary Waters about it afterwards at his press conference.
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December 18, 2009 - By Tom Mieskoski
When CSU hosts No. 6 West Virginia Saturday (2 p.m., ESPN360.com) in the third annual John McLendon Scholarship Classic, it will be the highest ranked opponent to ever play in the Wolstein Center. It will also be the first of three straight games against nationally ranked opponents for the Vikings. CSU will have road games at No. 18 Ohio State (8-2) on Dec. 22 and at No. 17/22 (AP, ESPN) Kansas State (9-1) on Dec.29. Tom Mieskoski had a chance to talk to Coach Waters about the challenge.
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December 17, 2009 - By Ryan Aroney
Cleveland State is off to a rough 4-7 start as the team learns to play without departed stars Cedric Jackson and J'Nathan Bullock. Gary Waters' team is as talented as ever, but the team has struggled to find a go-to guy in the early going. And now would be as good a time as any, as West Virginia comes into the Wolstein Center at 7-0 and ranked sixth in the nation. The Mountaineers only lost one player off last season's 23-12 NCAA Tournament participant and returned projected lottery pick Devin Ebanks. Ryan Aroney looks ahead to Saturday's contest.
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December 11, 2009 - By Tom Mieskoski
Before the season started, Cleveland State head coach Gary Waters said CSU will be better in January and February then in November and December. After nine games, CSU stands at 3-6, 0-2 in the Horizon League. Waters said he thought CSU would probably be 5-4 at this point before the season started. Tom Mieskoski had a chance to talk with coach as CSU begins its toughest stretch in the non-conference schedule today with four of the next five games against teams that played in the NCAA Tournament last year.
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December 2, 2009 - By Tom Mieskoski
Cleveland State head coach Gary Waters says he is to blame for CSU's shooting a season-low 25.8 percent (16-of-62) from the field Saturday afternoon against Wichita State. After returning from Cancun, coach admitted there were a couple of things he would have done differently from a practice standpoint with his young team. Tom Mieskoski was at Coach Waters' press conference yesterday, where Waters talked about the loss to Wichita State and also the team's looming contests with Wright State and Detroit.
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November 23, 2009 - By Tom Mieskoski
Cleveland State's improving defense will be tested this week with three-games against No. 5 Kentucky (tonight, 4:30 p.m.), either Stanford, or Virginia tomorrow (pending the outcome of tonight's CSU-Kentucky game), and Wichita State, who are coming to the Wolstein Center on Saturday (2 p.m.). Tom Mieskoski takes a look ahead to the big week ahead of the Vikings.
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November 22, 2009 - By Ryan Aroney
The Cleveland State Vikings jump started their season by winning a pair of games this week behind the play of junior guard Norris Cole. After losing the opener at Saint Bonaventure, CSU has now won three-in-a-row. The improved play comes just in time as the Vikings travel to Cancun to take on fifth ranked Kentucky and either Virginia or Stanford next week in the Cancun Challenge. Ryan Aroney takes some time to look back at the Vikings last two wins and also to look ahead to their game against Kentucky.
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Successful poker players may lose many small pots and still be totally happy, for their goal is to win the occasional big ones. The same thinking comes naturally in football. When the "Browns are in a fourth down, "moving all in", in the meaning of going for it, is worthwhile only if the odds for success are good enough. In most other cases, it�s probably wiser to just "fold" the hand, as in punting the ball away. In the same way, winning or losing a single yard means nothing as long as they manage to get a first down.
November 18, 2009 - By Tom Mieskoski
After two games, Cleveland State's defense is a work in progress. Last season, CSU's stingy defense allowed 59.5 points per game (third in Horizon) and held teams to shoot 41.1 percent (fourth) from the field. In two games this season, CSU's defense is giving up an uncharacteristic 73 points per game (seventh) and allowing teams to shoot 58.8 percent (10th) from the field. Tom Mieskoski was at Coach Waters press conference yesterday, where he talked a little about the team's early defensive struggles.
November 13, 2009 - By Tom Mieskoski
With Cleveland State graduating five seniors and only returning four players (no seniors) with game experience from last season's Horizon League Championship team, the Vikings will be a much different team this year. The Vikings should experience some growing pains early in the season, but this year's team has more depth, size, athleticism, and is a much better shooting team then last season. Because of the increase in depth, Waters' plans on using a full-court press for 40-minutes. With the season starting tonight (at St. Bonaventure, 7 p.m.), here's a preview of CSU's 2009-10 roster.
October 31, 2009 - By Ryan Aroney
Coming off last season's Horizon League championship and upset of Wake Forest in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Cleveland State coach Gary Waters has some big holes to fill in his lineup. Gone are all-Horizon League picks in point guard Cedric Jackson and power forward J'Nathan Bullock. Also gone is the center rotation of Chris Moore and George Tandy and backup big man Renard Fields. In order for the Vikings to return to post season play, this year's recruiting class will have to step in right away and make a huge impact. Ryan Aroney takes a look at this year's Vikings.
October 17, 2009 - By Tom Mieskoski
Real excited to work a new writer in the fold today, Tom Mieskoski, who is going to team up with Ryan Aroney to cover Cleveland State Vikings basketball for us here on the site this season. The Vikes are coming off their best season in two decades, stunning #4 seed Wake Forest in the first round of last year's NCAA Tournament. Tom had a chance to sit down with coach Gary Waters for his first piece for us, and also provides our readers some information on the coming season.
September 27, 2009 - By Rich Swerbinsky
For the third time in the last 11 years, the City of Cleveland will play host to first and second round games of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship when Cleveland State serves as the host to games on March 18 & 20, 2011 at Quicken Loans Arena. The announcement was made by the NCAA last Monday afternoon. Cleveland State previously hosted games in the Wolstein Center in both 2000 and 2005 with Michigan State advancing from the sub-regional in 2000 to win the national championship.
May 14, 2009 - By Gary Waters
The first day of spring in Cleveland this year was ushered in with a raucous celebration by CSU's Vikings. Dancing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 23 years, the #13 seed Vikings marched all over ACC power and #4 seed Wake Forest (84-69) in the Tournament's biggest upset. The future is very bright for the Vikings, and today, coach Gary Waters checks in to outline what it takes to sustain success in college basketball and right now at Cleveland State. Thanks coach!
March 23, 2009 - By Jay Pearlman
How quickly it can end in the NCAA Tournament, turn from euphoria to sadness, from ecstasy to emptiness, from marching forward to what might have been. In their second game in the West Region of the tournament, played in Miami, the No. 13 Cleveland State Vikings were in a game that in some ways looked very much like their first round game against No. 4 Wake Forest two nights ago. Yes, very much alike. Only CSU was now playing the role of Wake Forest, and No. 12 Arizona was playing the role of CSU. Jay Pearlman talks about the end to the run for the Vikings, and looks ahead to next season.
March 21, 2009 - By Ryan Aroney
When we started covering CSU hoops 2.5 years ago here at TCF, I got some strange looks and critical emails. Suffice it to say we aren't getting those looks and emails anymore. The Vikings shocked the world last night, laying a wire to wire good 'ole country whoopin' on a Wake Forest team that was #1 in the country earlier in the season, and spent the last two months in the Top 10. It was a glorious night for those of us that have been chronicling Gary Waters' ressurection of the best kept secret in this city. And Ryan Aroney talks about the win in his latest.
March 20, 2009 - By Ryan Aroney
A native of Boston, Shawn Hood came to Cleveland State in the mid 80's and helped transform little known CSU into the NCAA tournament's first Cinderella. After completing his playing career in 1987, Hood stayed on at CSU as an assistant coach through the 1994 season before being inducted into the CSU hall of fame in 2000. After coaching stints at Wisconsin under Dick Bennett and in the high school ranks in Northeast Ohio, Hood has returned to his alma mater this season as an assistant with the defending Horizon League champion womens team. Ryan Aroney had a chance to catch up with Hood and talk about the 1986 Sweet Sixteen team.
March 19, 2009 - By Jesse Lamovsky
It's March Madness time baby. And with Cleveland State set to take on Wake Forest Friday night, it's time to take a look back at the 1986 CSU squad ... the team that made the term "Cinderella" fashionable.� The Vikes�made a memorable run as a #14 seed, knocking off Bobby Knight's #3 seeded Hoosiers and St. Joseph's before David Robinson and Navy�edged them out in a game that would have sent them�to�the Elite Eight. Jesse Lamovsky takes a look back at the 1986 Vikings.
March 13, 2009 - By Steve Buffum
23 years ago, the Cleveland State Vikings made the term "Cinderella" fashionable when they shocked #3 seed Indiana in the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament, and came within a whisker of going to the Elite Eight. The coach of that team? Current Indiana Pacers college scout Kevin Mackey. Buff emailed the Pacers asking for permission to talk to Mackey yesterday, and within an hour, had him on the horn. The result? A fascinating conversation with the former Vikings coach. And a reminder of how much I miss reading Buff's writing. 25 days till B-List season!
March 11, 2009 - By Jay Pearlman
For the first time since their magical run in 1986, the Cleveland State Vikings are headed to The Big Dance. Behind Cedric Jackson's MVP performance, 19 points (on 7-12 and 4-8 from the arc), 8 assists and 7 rebounds, Cleveland State defeated Butler at Hinkle Fieldhouse, by a score of 57-54. In doing so, the Vikings won the Horizon League's automatic bid. If you missed this one, all I have to say is "I'm sorry". Jay Pearlman was there for us. And reports on the glorious win by the Vikes.
March 8, 2009 - By Ryan Aroney
For the second time in as many nights, Cleveland State showed the toughness and resilience that Gary Waters has been instilling in his troops since he first stepped foot on campus. After trailing by six at the half, the Vikings put the clamps down on the defensive end and clawed their way back into the game, not leading in the game until the 10:48 mark in the second half. Behind a gritty defense, clutch baskets and a highlight reel dunk from George Tandy, the Vikings pulled out a 73-67 victory over second-seeded Green Bay to move onto the Horizon League championship Tuesday against top-seeded Butler.
March 6, 2009 - By Jay Pearlman
Tonight's second Horizon League quarterfinal game between No. 3 Cleveland State and No.7 Illinois-Chicago turned into a shootout between UIC's all-league senior and conference second leading scorer Josh Mayo, and CSU's budding star sophomore guard Norris Cole. Assigned both to guard Mayo and provide the bulk of CSU's scoring, Cole was up to the task, and behind Cole's 26 points (on 9-16, 2-5 from the arc and 6-6 from the line), CSU came back from a late 9-point deficit to defeat UIC 67-64. The Vikings moved to the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament with the win, which Jay Pearlman tells our readers about.
March 3, 2009 - By Ryan Aroney
Cleveland State advanced to the quarterfinal of the Horizon League tournament with a 56-43 victory over Detroit on Tuesday night. The Vikings looked sluggish in the first half before turning it around behind senior Cedric Jackson's 16 points. CSU advanced to a Friday night game against Illinois-Chicago, and the winner of that game will likely face Butler for an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Ryan Aroney recaps the win.
February 28, 2009 - By Jay Pearlman
It wasn't always pretty, but it was intense for 40 minutes, the fans at Hinkle Fieldhouse on their feet for the last 5. In a game that was a microcosm of their season, the Vikings came from 10 down at the 10:30 mark of the second half, went on a 12-0 run to lead 52-50, led 56-54 with under two minutes remaining, but gave up the lead in the end, falling to Butler 58-56. Depending on results in Dayton and Valparaiso tonight, the Vikes will be either the 3rd or the 4th seed in the Horizon Tournament, and open play at home on Tuesday against either Detroit or Valpo.
February 26, 2009 - By Jay Pearlman
The Cleveland State Vikings stayed hot last night, winning their eighth straight Horizon Conference game with a 71-64 home win over Valparaiso. Led by J'Nathan Bullock and George Tandy, the Vikings latest win came close to assuring them of the 3rd seed and a home game in the first round of the conference tournament.
February 25, 2009 - By Ryan Aroney
Cleveland State takes the road this week for what could be a crucial two-game swing. The final week of the regular season has the Vikings facing Valparaiso on Thursday and Butler on Saturday in a nationally televised contest.
Heading into play on Thursday, CSU is a game behind second place Green Bay and two games behind first place Butler. The Vikings are also a game up on both Milwaukee and Wright State for the third seed. In Ryan's latest, he lays out exactly what the Vikes need to happen in the seasons final week to or secure the first, second, or third seed in the Horizon League Tournament.