Ohio’s season started off with a bang. A 92-80 win over Belmont in The Convo on Tuesday set a strong precedent for the remainder of its nonconference schedule.
Now Ohio is setting its sights on a familiar opponent. It’ll travel to play Cleveland State, who it faced last season, in the Wolstein Center on Saturday night. The game marks the beginning of a long week with a short turnaround, as Ohio will play two more opponents in the span of six days.
Here’s what you need to know before the Bobcats tip off against the Vikings:
Game information
Opponent: Cleveland State
Venue: Wolstein Center
Game time: 7 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Ohio IMG Sports Network
How to find stats: Live stats are provided here.
Meet the opponent
Probable starters
03 Craig Beaudion (6-foot-3, 170 pounds)
05 Tre Gomillion (6-foot-4, 215 pounds)
24 Torrey Patton (6-foot-5, 195 pounds)
35 Deante Johnson (6-foot-9, 210 pounds)
55 D’Moi Hodge (6-foot-4, 180 pounds)
What to know about Cleveland State
The Vikings dropped their first game of the season 69-59 to BYU, but they’re more than their record shows. They were picked to place first in the Horizon League Preseason Poll and are tabbed to win the Horizon League Championship for the second year in a row. The Vikings have also returned 14 players from last season, and have picked up four transfers.
Cleveland State, like Ohio, also made a brief appearance in the NCAA Tournament last season. It was seeded No. 15 in the Midwest Region and lost in the first round to No. 2 seeded Houston.
The series
Ohio leads the all-time series 12-2. The two teams met last season on Dec. 6, 2020, where Ohio whooped Cleveland State 101-46 in The Convo.
The Bobcats managed to set a record in their last meeting with the Vikings. They went on a 40-0 scoring run, which is the longest scoring run by a Division I team against another Division I team in NCAA history.
Player to watch
Broc Finstuen — The guard scored 11 points off the bench for the Vikings last week against BYU, and didn’t miss a single shot he took from the field. He also ended the game with three rebounds and four steals. Finstuen transferred to Cleveland State after spending his previous two seasons at Pacific.
