2007–08 Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball team

The 2007–08 Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball team represents 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.

2007–08 Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball
NIT 1st Round vs. Dayton, L, 57–66
ConferenceHorizon League
2007–08 record21–13 (12–6 Horizon League)
Head coachGary Waters
Assistant coaches
  • Jayson Gee
  • Larry DeSimpelare
  • Jermaine Kimbrough
Home arenaWolstein Center
2007-08 Horizon League Men's Basketball Standings
ConfOverall
Team (Rank)WLPCTWLPCT
#11 Butler†162.889304.882
Cleveland State126.6672113.618
Wright State126.6672110.677
Valparaiso99.5002214.611
UIC99.5001815.545
Green Bay99.5001515.500
Milwaukee99.5001416.467
Loyola (IL)612.3331219.387
Youngstown State513.278921.300
Detroit315.167723.233

Rankings from AP Poll
† Horizon League Tournament winner

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
Horizon League Standing: 2nd[6]
Date Opponent* Rank* Location Time# Result Overall Conference
Exhibition Game
November 6, 2007Lake ErieCleveland, OH7:30 p.m.W 67–461–0
Regular Season Games
November 9, 2007South FloridaTampa, FL7:00 p.m.W 73–701–0
November 13, 2007George MasonFairfax, VA7:00 p.m.L 47–561–1
November 16, 2007Georgia SouthernDaytona Beach, FL12:00 p.m.L 70–721–2
November 17, 2007Florida StateDaytona Beach, FL6:00 p.m.W 69–662–2
November 18, 2007Florida AtlanticDaytona Beach, FL12:00 p.m.W 76–663–2
November 24, 2007John CarrollCleveland, OH3:00 p.m.W 67–574–2
November 28, 2007California State NorthridgeCleveland, OH7:00 p.m.L 68–784–3
December 1, 2007Geneva CollegeCleveland, OH7:00 p.m.W 107–515–3
December 4, 2007Chicago StateChicago, IL8:00 p.m.W 76–716–3
December 8, 2007Youngstown StateCleveland, OH5:00 p.m.W 77–547–31–0
December 18, 2007Ohio StateCleveland, OH7:00 p.m.L 63–807–41–0
December 22, 2007Central MichiganCleveland, OH1:00 p.m.W 86–708–41–0
December 29, 2007Kent StateKent, OH5:00 p.m.L 69–848–51–0
January 3, 2008Loyola ChicagoCleveland, OH7:30 p.m.W 63–559–52–0
January 5, 2008Illinois ChicagoCleveland, OH7:30 p.m.W 68–5110–53–0
January 10, 2008Detroit MercyDetroit, MI7:05 p.m.W 74–6411–54–0
January 12, 2008Wright StateFairborn, OH7:00 p.m.W 65–6312–55–0
January 17, 2008#12 ButlerCleveland, OH7:30 p.m.W 56–5213–56–0
January 19, 2008ValparaisoCleveland, OH7:30 p.m.W 69–6314–57–0
January 24, 2008UW–Green BayGreen Bay, WI8:05 p.m.L 50–5914–67–1
January 26, 2008UW–MilwaukeeMilwaukee, WI8:00 p.m.L 71–7914–77–2
January 31, 2008Illinois ChicagoChicago, IL8:00 p.m.L 68–7414–87–3
February 2, 2008Loyola ChicagoChicago, IL8:00 p.m.L 53–6514–97–4
February 7, 2008Wright StateCleveland, OH7:30 p.m.L 49–5514–107–5
February 9, 2008Detroit MercyCleveland, OH5:30 p.m.W 60–5615–108–5
February 11, 2008UW–Green BayCleveland, OH7:00 p.m.W 81–6416–109–5
February 14, 2008ValparaisoValparaiso, IN8:05 p.m.W 71–5817–1010–5
February 16, 2008#9 ButlerIndianapolis, IN3:00 p.m.L 46–5117–1110–6
February 20, 2008UW–MilwaukeeCleveland, OH7:00 p.m.W 74–6418–1111–6
February 23, 2008MaristCleveland, OH6:30 p.m.W 59–4419–1111–6
March 1, 2008Youngstown StateYoungstown, OH7:05 p.m.W 65–5820–1112–6
Horizon League Tournament
March 8, 2008ValparaisoIndianapolis, IN4:30 p.m.W 78–7321–1112–6
March 11, 2008#12 ButlerIndianapolis, IN9:00 p.m.L 55–7021–1212–6
National Invitation Tournament
March 19, 2008DaytonDayton, OH7:00 p.m.L 57–6621–1312–6
*Rank according to AP Top 25 Poll. #All times are in EST. Conference games in BOLD.

References
  1. "Butler takes favorite's role in Horizon League preseason men's basketball poll" (Press release). Horizon League. 2007-10-24. Archived from the original on 2007-12-12. Retrieved 2007-11-05.
  2. "Horizon League Announces Preseason All-League Men's Basketball Team" (Press release). Horizon League. 2007-10-11. Archived from the original on 2007-12-10. Retrieved 2007-11-05.
  3. "Butler vs. Cleveland State Preview, January 17, 2008" (Press release). ESPN. 2008-01-17. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
  4. "2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Rankings AP Top 25 (Jan. 21)" (Press release). ESPN. 2008-01-21. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
  5. "Vikings Outlast Valpo, 78–73, To Advance To Title Game" (Press release). Cleveland State University. 2008-03-08. Retrieved 2008-03-09.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-02-11. Retrieved 2008-01-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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