The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 199 is Cleveland State basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of Cleveland State basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 1
- NCAA wins: 3
- Bids: 3
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 15.0
- Bids per season: 0.06
- AP Polls: 1
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 4
- Conference Players of the Year: 2
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 6
- Conference tournament titles: 3
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Cleveland State basketball
Shoutout Norris Cole! If you know the meme, you get it. If you don’t, here it is, and all you need to know is that the former Miami Heat guard played for Cleveland State! Cole only lasted a few seasons in the NBA, but was a talented player for the Vikings, helping lead them to the 2009 NCAA Tournament, and winning a first round game over 4-seed Wake Forest. While he didn’t get them back again, his senior year was outstanding, averaging 21.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 2.2 steals per game. He was the Horizon League Player of the Year.
Cole was certainly a standout for the program, but they might direct you to their run in the 1980s first. Head coach Kevin Mackey had a superb seven seasons, going 142-69 and leading the Vikings to the 1986 Sweet 16. They finished 29-4 that season, knocking off 3-seed Indiana and 6-seed St. Joe’s, before falling to 7-seed Navy and David Robinson. For the Vikings, it was the two Clintons – Clinton Smith and Clinton Ransey, who led the way for an impeccable season. While Smith graduated, Ransey came back for his senior year and was joined by budding star Mouse McFadden, who would wind up being a four-time All-conference player. That team wouldn’t make it to March, but did start off ranked 20th in the country. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to live up to the expectations of their only AP Poll nod in program history.
But Cleveland State has had some other cool moments. Legendary coach Rollie Massimino finished his career with the program, leading them from 1996 until 2003. Gary Waters had a good stretch from 2006 to 2017, which included the Norris Cole years. And lately, Dennis Gates and Daniyal Robinson used strong starts to move on to bigger programs (Gates to Missouri and Robinson to North Texas. Gates led Cleveland State to their last tourney appearance in 2021.
So how does Cleveland State make it to No. 199? Welp, a 3-3 record in the NCAA Tournament, a few players making it on to the NBA, and an above .500 record all time. That’s something any mid-major would ask for!