2008–09 Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball team

The 2008–09 Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball team represents Cleveland State University in the 2008-09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by third-year head coach Gary Waters. In 2007–08, the Vikings finished 21–13 (12–6 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. They made their first NCAA tournament appearance since their run to the Sweet Sixteen in 1986. It was the 78th season of Cleveland State basketball.

2008–09 Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball
Horizon League Tournament Champion
NCAA Tournament, Second Round
ConferenceHorizon League
2008–09 record26–11 (12–6 Horizon)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Jayson Gee
  • Larry DeSimpelare
  • Jermaine Kimbrough
Home arenaWolstein Center
2008-09 Horizon League Men's Basketball Standings
ConfOverall
TeamWLPCTWLPCT
#22 Butler153.833266.813
Green Bay135.7222211.667
Cleveland State†126.6672611.703
Wright State126.6672013.606
Milwaukee117.6111714.548
UIC711.3891615.516
Youngstown State711.3891119.367
Loyola (IL)612.3331418.438
Valparaiso513.278922.290
Detroit216.111723.233

Rankings from AP Poll
† Horizon League Tournament winner

Preseason

Cleveland State started the preseason by playing games in Barcelona, Spain. It was also announced that Cleveland State would once again be participating in the ESPNU Bracketbuster games.[1] Cleveland State also made several changes to the schedule. Cleveland State added Syracuse to the schedule, along with moving the former season-opening game against John Carroll to November 10, 2008, from November 14, 2008, and making it the only exhibition game of the year. Next they moved the Oakland game originally scheduled for December 16, 2008, to November 15, 2008, where it will be the season opener. They also moved the site of the three-game CBE Classic from Ft. Myers, Florida (Florida Gulf Coast), to Miami, Florida (Florida International). That meant that Cleveland State will now play Florida International, Toledo, and Tennessee Tech from November 24, 2008 to November 26, 2008. Lastly Cleveland State added La Roche College and Notre Dame College to the schedule, which completed the home scheduling for the year. Cleveland State will play nine teams that made the postseason in total this year. Cleveland State also has no less than 15 home games this year, with 14 of them being regular-season contests.[2] The preseason Horizon League Coaches' Poll picked the Vikings to finish first.[3] J'Nathan Bullock and Cedric Jackson were named to the preseason all-Horizon League first team.[4] On October 27, 2008, Cleveland State announced that head coach Gary Waters was given a contract extension through the 2012–13 season.[5] Also on October 27, 2008, Cleveland State received its first votes of the year, with two points in the AP Top 25 poll, with a ranking of T-50.[6]

Regular season

Cleveland State participated in the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic from November 24 – November 26. They won the tournament defeating Saint Leo, Toledo, and Florida International. On December 15, Cleveland State defeated #11 Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, marking the third time that the Vikings defeated a ranked opponent, and the first time it happened on the road. On February 18, 2009 Cleveland State posted its first back-to-back 20 win seasons since 1988. From 1984–1988 Cleveland State won 20 games or more each season. The February 28, 2009 contest against Butler start time was changed from a 2:00 p.m. start to a 12:00 p.m. start to accommodate an ESPN2 broadcast.

Postseason

After clinching a #3 seed in the Horizon League tournament, the Vikings went on to defeat Detroit Mercy, Illinois Chicago, Wisconsin Green Bay, and Butler on the way to their first Horizon League tournament championship, and second tournament championship in school history. On March 15, 2009 it was announced Cleveland State would face Wake Forest in the NCAA Tournament. The Vikings received a #13 seed. On March 20, 2009 Cleveland State defeated Wake Forest 84–69 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Cleveland State was eliminated in the second round by losing to Arizona 71–57.

Roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

No. Position Player
2 G David Constantine
4 G Trevon Harmon
5 G Jeremy Montgomery
11 G Cedric Jackson
20 F Charlie Woods
21 F George Tandy
22 G Josh McCoy
23 F Daitwan Eppinger
30 G Norris Cole
No. Position Player
32 G D'Aundray Brown
33 F Tim Kamczyc
35 F J'Nathan Bullock
42 C Chris Moore
44 F Aaron Pogue
45 F Renard Fields
50 F Ethan Anderson
51 C Joe Latas

Schedule
Horizon League Standing: T-3rd
Date Opponent* Rank* Location Time# Result Overall Conference
Exhibition Game
November 10, 2008John CarrollCleveland, OH7:00 p.m.W 81–331–0
Regular Season Games
November 15, 2008OaklandCleveland, OH7:00 p.m.W 58–551–0
November 18, 2008WashingtonSeattle, WA10:00 p.m.L 78–631–1
November 22, 2008Kansas StateCleveland, OH7:00 p.m.L 69–591–2
November 24, 2008Saint LeoMiami, FL5:00 p.m.W 72–622–2
November 25, 2008ToledoMiami, FL4:00 p.m.W 77–543–2
November 26, 2008Florida InternationalMiami, FL7:30 p.m.W 66–584–2
December 2, 2008ValparaisoCleveland, OH7:00 p.m.W 66–425–21–0
December 4, 2008ButlerCleveland, OH7:00 p.m.L 50–485–31–1
December 6, 2008West VirginiaMorgantown, WV1:00 p.m.L 53–435–41–1
December 13, 2008MaristPoughkeepsie, NY7:30 p.m.W 66–476–41–1
December 15, 2008#11 SyracuseSyracuse, NY7:00 p.m.W 72–697–41–1
December 20, 2008La RocheCleveland, OH1:00 p.m.W 72–468–41–1
December 23, 2008Kent StateCleveland, OH7:00 p.m.W 67–419–41–1
December 27, 2008Notre Dame CollegeCleveland, OH1:00 p.m.W 91–4010–41–1
December 30, 2008Wright StateFairborn, OH7:05 p.m.L 71–6210–51–2
January 3, 2009Detroit MercyDetroit, MI4:00 p.m.W 53–4411–52–2
January 8, 2009Loyola ChicagoCleveland, OH7:30 p.m.W 76–5012–53–2
January 10, 2009Illinois ChicagoCleveland, OH7:30 p.m.W 79–6913–54–2
January 16, 2009Wisconsin–Green BayGreen Bay, WI8:00 p.m.L 80–6513–64–3
January 17, 2009Wisconsin MilwaukeeMilwaukee, WI8:00 p.m.L 77–7513–74–4
January 24, 2009Youngstown StateYoungstown, OH9:00 p.m.L 64–6013–84–5
January 29, 2009Detroit MercyCleveland, OH7:30 p.m.W 66–4914–85–5
January 31, 2009Wright StateCleveland, OH7:30 p.m.W 59–5015–86–5
February 5, 2009Illinois ChicagoChicago, Illinois8:00 p.m.W 66–6316–87–5
February 7, 2009Loyola ChicagoChicago, Illinois4:00 p.m.W 83–7017–88–5
February 12, 2009Wisconsin MilwaukeeCleveland, OH7:00 p.m.W 70–6118–89–5
February 14, 2009Wisconsin–Green BayCleveland, OH7:30 p.m.W 83–7519–810–5
February 18, 2009Youngstown StateCleveland, OH7:00 p.m.W 58–5420–811–5
February 21, 2009Wichita StateWichita, KS3:05 p.m.L 70–5920–911–5
February 26, 2009ValparaisoValparaiso, IN8:30 p.m.W 71–6421–912–5
February 28, 2009#24 ButlerIndianapolis, IN12:00 p.m.L 56–5821–1012–6
Horizon League Tournament
March 3, 2009Detroit MercyCleveland, OH7:00 p.m.W 56–4322–1012–6
March 6, 2009Illinois ChicagoIndianapolis, IN8:00 p.m.W 67–6423–1012–6
March 7, 2009Wisconsin–Green BayIndianapolis, IN9:00 p.m.W 73–6724–1012–6
March 10, 2009#17 ButlerIndianapolis, IN9:00 p.m.W 57–5425–1012–6
NCAA Tournament
March 20, 2009#12 Wake ForestMiami, FL9:40 p.m.W 84–6926–1012–6
March 22, 2009ArizonaMiami, FL2:50 p.m.L 57–7126–1112–6
*Rank according to AP Top 25 Poll. #All times are in Eastern. Conference games in bold.

References
  1. "All 10 Horizon League MBB teams to play in ESPN BracketBusters" (Press release). Horizon League. 2008-09-04. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  2. "Vikings Finalize 2008–09 Basketball Schedule" (Press release). Cleveland State University. 2008-09-15. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
  3. "Horizon League announces 2008–09 MBB Preseason Poll" (Press release). Horizon League. 2008-10-07. Archived from the original on 2007-12-12. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  4. "Horizon League names 2008–09 MBB Preseason Teams" (Press release). Horizon League. 2008-10-09. Archived from the original on 2008-10-15. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
  5. "Gary Waters Receives Contract Extension" (Press release). Cleveland State University. 2008-10-27. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
  6. "2009 NCAA Men's Basketball Rankings (Nov. 10)" (Press release). ESPN. 2008-10-27. Retrieved 2008-11-01.
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