I really don't like either side in the Cleveland State and Detroit game, but CSU is a mess right now with injuries and suspensions so I would lean to Detroit. Here is some info on CSu:
Maybe some day Cleveland State coach Mike Garland can find something to smile about when he recalls his first year coaching the Vikings.
But 10 straight losses can put humor in short supply.
Just about anything and everything has gone wrong for CSU. You could say it started in September when would-be senior guard Modibo Niakate, the top returning scorer, was dismissed for a violation of team rules.
While Niakate has been reinstated to practice and could return as a fifth-year senior next year, he would have given CSU some immediate depth. That's especially true now that junior Percell Coles, the club's top 3-point threat, has been ruled academically ineligible.
Senior center Pape Badiane's broken right hand has definitely hurt the inside game, especially on the defensive side. Badiane led the conference with 57 blocks a year ago and had 27 before going down in the 10th game. He could be back in two weeks.
A look at the Horizon League stats point out the gap in CSU's play. The Vikings rank third in scoring at 71.7 points, but eighth in defense at 76 points per game.
"Our problem is not offense," said Garland, doing his best to right the ship. "We have to stop people."
The Vikings have been close to putting this streak behind them. Throw out the embarrassing 50-point loss at Kent State that got it started and CSU's average loss is by six points, so you can see where some timely defense would make a big difference.
That's of little consolation.
"I know there are growing pains," Garland said. "It's like plugging holes in a dam. You plug one and then there is a hole somewhere else. So we are struggling."
Struggles that can't end soon enough.
Sad to say: CSU's 10-game losing streak is the longest since the Vikings dropped the final 13 games of the 1970-71 season under coach Ray Dieringer. CSU finished 5-20 that season.
The Vikings lost the last nine games of the 1995-96 campaign, Mike Boyd's last season as coach. CSU went 5-21. The streak reached 10 when CSU lost its opener the next season under Rollie Massimino.
By the numbers: There are 326 schools playing Division I basketball this season. According to CollegeRPI.com, Detroit has the Horizon League's top RPI at 89, followed by first-place Wisconsin- Milwaukee at 96.
The rest of the conference lines up with Wisconsin-Green Bay at No. 152, Loyola (177), Illinois-Chicago (181), Wright State (193), Butler (224), Youngstown State (231) and CSU (264).
By the way, Loyola-Maryland at 0-13 stands No. 326.
Good deal: Today's Martin Luther King Day matinee basketball game between CSU and Detroit has been designated "Take Your Kid to a Game Day." CSU is offering a free ticket for children 12 and under for each regular ticket purchased. Tipoff is 3 p.m.
