The Cleveland State Vikings will be at Resch Center to face the Green Bay Phoenix in a Horizon matchup. Action begins at 8:00 pm ET on Monday, Feb. 22 and will air on ES3.
The Phoenix beat Youngstown State 107-90 on Saturday. Carrington Love led all scorers on the team with 39 points on 14-for-27 shooting. The Vikings, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their demoralizing 88-54 loss to Milwaukee on Saturday. Demonte Flannigan played well, accumulating his fifth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Over the last five games, Charles Cooper has been playing at a high level for the Phoenix. During that stretch, he has averaged 17.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 0.6 steals.
This game should be a showdown of contrasting styles. The Phoenix (ranked fourth in the nation in possessions per game) prefer an up-tempo style of play, while the Vikings (324th) grind-it-out. It could also be a sloppy game for the offense of the Vikings, which ranks 324th in ball security (TO% of 21.1%). They’ll be going up against the gambling defense of the Phoenix, which forces the 30th-most turnovers in the nation (21.7%).
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Phoenix won the first game 87-67. Turner Botz was a top performer in the victory with 20 points, two rebounds, two assists, three steals, and four three-pointers.
The Phoenix are looking to build on their records of 17-11 Straight Up (SU) and 15-10-1 Against The Spread (ATS). The Phoenix come into the game with the nation’s third-ranked home scoring offense, averaging 89.0 points per game on their own court. Green Bay has gotten to the free throw line often this season. They average 18 made free throws per game, which is 15th-best in Division I. Green Bay is known to control the offensive glass, where it racks up an impressive 12.9 offensive rebounds per game. The Green Bay defense is doing better against opposing offenses during the last 10 games. It is allowing an average of 68.8 points per game, well under their season average of 82.6. Green Bay’s defenders rank third in Division I in steals with 9.9 per game.
Across the court, the Vikings head into the game with records of 10-16-1 ATS and 8-20 SU. The Vikings have shown improvement on the offensive end over the most recent 10 game stretch. Over that span, Cleveland State is averaging 90.4 PPG, significantly more than their season average of 61.4. The Cleveland State defense has allowed an average of 89.1 points per game during the last 10 games, higher than their season average of 68.3.
Following the Phoenix’s latest win over Cleveland State, their SU record is now 6-4 over Cleveland State in their most recent games. Furthermore, Green Bay leads the matchup ATS with a record of 7-2-1. Neither Green Bay nor Cleveland State has led in three key areas (field goals, rebounds, or three-pointers) over their most recent five games.
Predictions: SU Winner – GB, ATS Winner – GB
Notes
Green Bay is one of the top-scoring teams, averaging 85.9 points per game (ranked third). Cleveland State allows 68.3 points per game (ranked 76th).
In its last game, Cleveland State lost by a margin of 34 points. Green Bay is 5-3 in games decided by a margin of 18 points or more. Cleveland State has a 1-6 record in blowouts.
On average, Green Bay has 78.4 possessions per game and scores 1.095 points on each possession. Cleveland State has both fewer possessions (65.6) and scores fewer points during those possessions (.936).
The Cleveland State Vikings average an effective field goal percentage of 45.7% this season. The Green Bay Phoenix have split their games this season (11-11) when opponents have an eFG% of 45.7% or greater.
On average, the Green Bay Phoenix attempt 20.0 three point field goals per game and the Cleveland State Vikings attempt 16.0. In games where they attempt at least 20 threes, Green Bay is an even 8-8, while Cleveland State has a subpar record of 1-6.
Green Bay, the 67th-ranked team in rebounding, register an average of 38.6 rebounds per game. Cleveland State does worse, ranked 310th with 32.9.
The Green Bay Phoenix average 9.9 steals per game (ranked third). The Cleveland State Vikings have a losing record of 1-3 when they allow at least 9 steals.
