Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball is the men's

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

team that represents

Cleveland State University Cleveland State University (CSU) is a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school that had been in oper ...

. Prior to rebranding from Fenn College, they were known as the Fenn College Foxes. Cleveland State has been in Division I since 1972 and are currently led by first-year head coach Rob Summers. They have been a member of the

Horizon League The Horizon League is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the league's eleven member schools are located in ...

since 1994. Cleveland State was formerly in the Mid-Continent Conference (1982–1994). Prior to 1982, Cleveland State was an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

program. The Vikings have appeared in three NCAA Tournaments, most recently in 2021. In 1986, Cleveland State advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.

History

The 1985–86 season is arguably the most memorable in Vikings history, as they achieved the improbable in becoming the first ever 14th seeded team to make it to the Sweet Sixteen of the 1986 NCAA tournament. Coach Kevin Mackey's squad, led by Ken 'Mouse' McFadden and Eric Mudd, upset

Bobby Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (October 25, 1940 – November 1, 2023) was an American men's college basketball coach. Nicknamed "the General", he won 902 NCAA Division I men's basketball games, a record at the time of his retirement and sixth all- ...

's 3rd seeded

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the demonym for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

, by a final of 83-79. Following a 75-69 second round win against 6th seeded St.Joseph's, the Vikings would ultimately lose to

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

71-70 on a clutch basket in the waning seconds by future Hall of Famer, David Robinson. Cleveland State would qualify for the NIT Tournament the following two seasons, but went 23 seasons until returning to the NCAA Tournament. On Monday, December 15, 2008, Cleveland State had their biggest regular season victory in school history, upsetting the #11

Syracuse Orange The Syracuse Orange are the college athletics in the United States, athletic teams that represent Syracuse University. The school is a member of NCAA Division I and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Until 2013, Syracuse was a member of the Big East ...

, 72-69, on a last-second, three-quarter court shot from senior guard Cedric Jackson. It was CSU's third-ever win over a Top 25 ranked opponent, and first ever on the road. They would pick up their fourth and fifth wins over Top 25 opponents later that same season when they won at #17 Butler in the championship game of the Horizon League Tournament 57-54, and then in the first round of the 2009 NCAA tournament when, as the 13th seeded team in the Midwest bracket, they routed 4th seeded and #12 Wake Forest by a final score of 84-69.

Records

Record versus Horizon League

Records vs. Horizon League schools as of the end of the 2020–2021 school year.

Record versus Ohio schools

Records vs. Ohio schools as of the end of the 2015–2016 school year.

Individual career records

Cleveland State wins vs. the AP Top 25

Awards

AMCU/Mid Continent Player of the Year * Ken McFadden – 1988 AMCU/Mid Continent Coach of the Year * Kevin Mackey - 1985, 1986 * Mike Boyd - 1993 AMCU/Mid Continent Newcomer of the Year * Clinton Smith - 1985 * Sam Mitchell, 1993 Horizon League Player of the Year *

Norris Cole Norris Gene Cole II (born October 13, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Osos de Manatí of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional (BSN). A 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) tall point guard, he is a two-time NBA champion, winning back-to-b ...

- 2011 Horizon League Newcomer of the Year * Damon Stringer - 2000 * Bryn Forbes - 2013 * Je’Shawn Stevenson - 2025 Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year * Cedric Jackson - 2009 * Norris Cole - 2011 * Tre Gomillion - 2021 * D'Moi Hodge - 2022 Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year * Jon Harris - 2014 * Chase Robinson - 2025 Horizon League Coach of the Year * Gary Waters - 2008 *

Dennis Gates Dennis Gates (born January 14, 1980) is an American college basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Missouri Tigers men's basketball team. Playing career Gates played college basketball at California Golden Bears men's ba ...

- 2020, 2021 HoopDirt.com Division I Coach of the Year * Dennis Gates - 2021

Attendance

Year-by-year

Largest Crowds

= Wolstein Center

= Woodling Gym

= Public Auditorium

NBA draft history

*8 total NBA draft picks. Regular Draft

Record by year

Conference tournaments

AMCU

*1988, No tournament held *1989, Ineligible for tournament *1990, Ineligible for tournament

Horizon League

*1996, Did not qualify as 9th overall in the conference. *2019, Did not qualify as 9th overall in the conference.

Postseason history

NCAA Division I Tournament history

Cleveland State has made three appearances in the

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the NCAA Division I, Di ...

, having a record of 3–3.

NIT results

Cleveland State has appeared in the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

six times, with the Vikings having a record of 3–6.

CBI results

The Vikings have received three College Basketball Invitational (CBI) berths. Their combined record is 3–3.

CIT results

Cleveland State has appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament twice, having a combined record of 1–2.

Retired numbers

Cleveland State has retired four numbers in program history.

Head Coaching History

Championships

Cleveland State has won six regular season championships (1985, 1986, 1993, 2011, 2021, 2022) and three conference tournaments (1986, 2009, 2021).

Alumni in the National Basketball Association

Nine Cleveland State alumni have played in the NBA, including: *

* Franklin Edwards * Bryn Forbes * Cedric Jackson *

Jim Les James Alan Les (born August 18, 1963) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the UC Davis Aggies men's team. A former point guard, Les played seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) after hi ...

* Clinton Smith * Darren Tillis * D’Moi Hodge * Tristan Enaruna

Media

The flagship station for CSU men's basketball is

WARF WARF (1350 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Akron, Ohio, known as "Fox Sports 1350 The Gambler" and carrying a sports format. Owned by iHeartMedia, WARF serves the Greater Cleveland and Akron metro areas as an affiliate of Fox Sp ...

1350 AM, with announcer Al Pawlowski. Any CSU games WARF can't air due to conflicts slide over to sister station

WTAM WTAM (1100 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Cleveland, Ohio, that airs a news/talk and sports radio format, commonly known as "Newsradio WTAM 1100". Owned by iHeartMedia, WTAM serves Greater Cleveland and much of s ...

1100 AM/106.9 FM.2022-23 Cleveland State Men's Basketball Schedule - CSU Vikings.com
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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cleveland State Vikings Men's Basketball Basketball teams established in 1929