2007–08 Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball team

2007–08 Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball
2007–08 Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball
NIT 1st Round vs. Dayton, L, 57–66
Conference	Horizon League
Record	21–13 (12–6 Horizon League)
Head coach	Gary Waters;
Assistant coaches	Jayson Gee; Larry DeSimpelare; Jermaine Kimbrough;
Home arena	Wolstein Center
	Seasons ← 2006–07 2008–09 →

2007–08 Horizon League men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 11 Butler †	16	–	2	.889	30	–	4	.882
Cleveland State	12	–	6	.667	21	–	13	.618
Wright State	12	–	6	.667	21	–	10	.677
Valparaiso	9	–	9	.500	22	–	14	.611
UIC	9	–	9	.500	18	–	15	.545
Green Bay	9	–	9	.500	15	–	15	.500
Milwaukee	9	–	9	.500	14	–	16	.467
Loyola Chicago	6	–	12	.333	12	–	19	.387
Youngstown State	5	–	13	.278	9	–	21	.300
Detroit	3	–	15	.167	7	–	23	.233

† Horizon League Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The 2007–08 Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball team represented Cleveland State University in the 2007-08 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by second-year head coach Gary Waters. In 2006–07, the Vikings finished 10–21 (3–13 in the Horizon League). Cleveland State had their first winning season since the 2000–2001 season when they finished 19–13 overall and 9–5 in conference play. It was the 77th season of Cleveland State basketball.

Preseason

The preseason Horizon League Coaches' Poll picked the Vikings to finish ninth.^[1] The Vikings bring in ten newcomers to this year's roster. J'Nathan Bullock was named to the preseason all-Horizon League 2nd team.^[2] Also for the first time since the 1986–1987 season the Vikings are guaranteed to play at least 32 games. At least 17 of those games will be on the road.

Regular season

On January 5, 2008, Cleveland State matched their win totals from last season (10–21 overall, 3–13 HL), and remain in first place in the Horizon League through 15 games for the first time since the 1999–2000 season. They are the last undefeated team in Horizon League play at 4–0. On January 12, 2008, Cleveland State won its 5th game in conference play. That is its best start in conference play since the 1992–93 season when they won their first 14 conference games.^[3] The Vikings were 1–26 in games against ranked opponents, with their only win coming on March 14, 1986, against No. 16 Indiana in the NCAA tournament under coach Kevin Mackey until their 56–52 win over No. 12 Butler on January 17, 2008. The 5,352 fans that attended the game marked the largest crowd in the Wolstein Center since the curtain was added four years ago on the west side to trim the capacity of the building to approximately 8,500. The last time CSU had a larger crowd in the Wolstein Center came on November 29, 2003, when 11,534 saw the Vikings drop an 82–76 decision to No. 9 North Carolina (No. 10 ESPN/USA Today; No. 9 AP). On January 21, 2008, Cleveland State received their first point in the AP Top 25 poll for the season, that had them T-43.^[4] The lone point came from Keith Sargeant of the Home News Tribune. On March 1, 2008, Cleveland State clinched the 2nd seed in the Horizon League tournament with a win over Youngstown State and a Wright State loss. With the 2nd seed they only need to win two games to make the NCAA Tournament. They will host the championship game with a win and a Butler loss in the tournament. Also with the win Cleveland State reached the 20-win mark for only the six time in Cleveland State history. On March 8, 2008, Cleveland State reached their first Horizon League championship game ever, and their first conference championship game appearance since 1987.^[5]

Schedule

Date	Opponent*	Location	Time^#	Result	Overall	Conference
Horizon League Standing: 2nd^[6]
Exhibition Game
November 6, 2007	Lake Erie	Cleveland, OH	7:30 p.m.	W 67–46	1–0
Regular Season Games
November 9, 2007	South Florida	Tampa, FL	7:00 p.m.	W 73–70	1–0
November 13, 2007	George Mason	Fairfax, VA	7:00 p.m.	L 47–56	1–1
November 16, 2007	Georgia Southern	Daytona Beach, FL	12:00 p.m.	L 70–72	1–2
November 17, 2007	Florida State	Daytona Beach, FL	6:00 p.m.	W 69–66	2–2
November 18, 2007	Florida Atlantic	Daytona Beach, FL	12:00 p.m.	W 76–66	3–2
November 24, 2007	John Carroll	Cleveland, OH	3:00 p.m.	W 67–57	4–2
November 28, 2007	California State Northridge	Cleveland, OH	7:00 p.m.	L 68–78	4–3
December 1, 2007	Geneva College	Cleveland, OH	7:00 p.m.	W 107–51	5–3
December 4, 2007	Chicago State	Chicago, IL	8:00 p.m.	W 76–71	6–3
December 8, 2007	Youngstown State	Cleveland, OH	5:00 p.m.	W 77–54	7–3	1–0
December 18, 2007	Ohio State	Cleveland, OH	7:00 p.m.	L 63–80	7–4	1–0
December 22, 2007	Central Michigan	Cleveland, OH	1:00 p.m.	W 86–70	8–4	1–0
December 29, 2007	Kent State	Kent, OH	5:00 p.m.	L 69–84	8–5	1–0
January 3, 2008	Loyola Chicago	Cleveland, OH	7:30 p.m.	W 63–55	9–5	2–0
January 5, 2008	Illinois Chicago	Cleveland, OH	7:30 p.m.	W 68–51	10–5	3–0
January 10, 2008	Detroit Mercy	Detroit, MI	7:05 p.m.	W 74–64	11–5	4–0
January 12, 2008	Wright State	Fairborn, OH	7:00 p.m.	W 65–63	12–5	5–0
January 17, 2008	#12 Butler	Cleveland, OH	7:30 p.m.	W 56–52	13–5	6–0
January 19, 2008	Valparaiso	Cleveland, OH	7:30 p.m.	W 69–63	14–5	7–0
January 24, 2008	UW–Green Bay	Green Bay, WI	8:05 p.m.	L 50–59	14–6	7–1
January 26, 2008	UW–Milwaukee	Milwaukee, WI	8:00 p.m.	L 71–79	14–7	7–2
January 31, 2008	Illinois Chicago	Chicago, IL	8:00 p.m.	L 68–74	14–8	7–3
February 2, 2008	Loyola Chicago	Chicago, IL	8:00 p.m.	L 53–65	14–9	7–4
February 7, 2008	Wright State	Cleveland, OH	7:30 p.m.	L 49–55	14–10	7–5
February 9, 2008	Detroit Mercy	Cleveland, OH	5:30 p.m.	W 60–56	15–10	8–5
February 11, 2008	UW–Green Bay	Cleveland, OH	7:00 p.m.	W 81–64	16–10	9–5
February 14, 2008	Valparaiso	Valparaiso, IN	8:05 p.m.	W 71–58	17–10	10–5
February 16, 2008	#9 Butler	Indianapolis, IN	3:00 p.m.	L 46–51	17–11	10–6
February 20, 2008	UW–Milwaukee	Cleveland, OH	7:00 p.m.	W 74–64	18–11	11–6
February 23, 2008	Marist	Cleveland, OH	6:30 p.m.	W 59–44	19–11	11–6
March 1, 2008	Youngstown State	Youngstown, OH	7:05 p.m.	W 65–58	20–11	12–6
Horizon League tournament
March 8, 2008	Valparaiso	Indianapolis, IN	4:30 p.m.	W 78–73	21–11	12–6
March 11, 2008	#12 Butler	Indianapolis, IN	9:00 p.m.	L 55–70	21–12	12–6
National Invitation Tournament
March 19, 2008	Dayton	Dayton, OH	7:00 p.m.	L 57–66	21–13	12–6
Rank according to AP Top 25 Poll. ^#All times are in EST. Conference games in BOLD*.

References

^ "Butler takes favorite's role in Horizon League preseason men's basketball poll" (Press release). Horizon League. October 24, 2007. Archived from the original on December 12, 2007. Retrieved November 5, 2007.
^ "Horizon League Announces Preseason All-League Men's Basketball Team" (Press release). Horizon League. October 11, 2007. Archived from the original on December 10, 2007. Retrieved November 5, 2007.
^ "Butler vs. Cleveland State Preview, January 17, 2008" (Press release). ESPN. January 17, 2008. Retrieved January 17, 2008.
^ "2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Rankings AP Top 25 (Jan. 21)" (Press release). ESPN. January 21, 2008. Archived from the original on January 31, 2008. Retrieved January 21, 2008.
^ "Vikings Outlast Valpo, 78–73, To Advance To Title Game" (Press release). Cleveland State University. March 8, 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2008.
^ "Horizon League - Raise Your Sights". Archived from the original on February 11, 2008. Retrieved January 6, 2008.

[1] "Butler takes favorite's role in Horizon League preseason men's basketball poll" (Press release). Horizon League. October 24, 2007. Archived from the original on December 12, 2007. Retrieved November 5, 2007.

[2] "Horizon League Announces Preseason All-League Men's Basketball Team" (Press release). Horizon League. October 11, 2007. Archived from the original on December 10, 2007. Retrieved November 5, 2007.

[3] "Butler vs. Cleveland State Preview, January 17, 2008" (Press release). ESPN. January 17, 2008. Retrieved January 17, 2008.

[4] "2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Rankings AP Top 25 (Jan. 21)" (Press release). ESPN. January 21, 2008. Archived from the original on January 31, 2008. Retrieved January 21, 2008.

[5] "Vikings Outlast Valpo, 78–73, To Advance To Title Game" (Press release). Cleveland State University. March 8, 2008. Retrieved March 9, 2008.

[6] "Horizon League - Raise Your Sights". Archived from the original on February 11, 2008. Retrieved January 6, 2008.

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v t e Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball
Venues	Woodling Gym (1973–1991) Wolstein Center (1991–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25