Gary Waters' Vikings are 2-10 against Butler, but the Bulldogs have started the 2011-12 season sluggishly. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It is a big week for the Cleveland State men's basketball team.
For the first time since early December, CSU (14-3, 4-1 Horizon League) goes on the road in league action, a two-game swing Friday at Butler at 7 p.m., and Sunday at Valparaiso at 2:35 p.m.
Add that CSU-Butler will be on ESPNU, the stakes for the Vikings creep a bit higher.
"[Last season], we never played well on TV," CSU coach Gary Waters said Tuesday.
The Vikings haven't played Butler very well, period. They are 2-10 since Waters took control in 2007. But this is a new season, and the Vikings and Bulldogs are not the same teams as in 2010-11. Butler (9-8, 3-2) is struggling to find its identity. Statistically, for sure, the Bulldogs aren't themselves.
"They're not the same shooters," Waters said. "They are ninth in our league in free-throw shooting [60.8 percent]. That's not Butler. They're eighth in field-goal percentage [40 percent]."
The normally sharp-shooting Bulldogs are eighth in 2-point shooting (29.3 percent), so if there was ever a time to go to Butler and win, this week will be it. The Vikings are as healthy as they have been in recent weeks, with guard Trevon Harmon back from a concussion and center Aaron Pogue (thigh bruise) at about 65 percent, according to Waters.
By the numbers: CSU leads the HL in scoring defense (58.0 ppg), is second in free-throw percentage (73.0), second in 3-point shooting (36.1 percent), third in field-goal shooting (43.9 percent) and fourth in scoring (65.0 ppg).
In the bracket: Even though Cleveland State is technically second in the Horizon League standings -- Youngstown State (9-6, 4-1) holds the tiebreaker -- CSU is listed by several of the more recognized NCAA Tournament tracking Web sites as the likely HL entry.
The Vikings are listed as a No. 15 seed, despite wins over Vanderbilt, Robert Morris, Kent State and St. Bonaventure.
No comments:
Post a Comment