Complete Game Notes (PDF)
A WIN AND... - Despite Thursday's loss to Idaho, the Cougars can still clinch the No. 3 seed in the WAC Tournament with a win on Saturday over Seattle U. Should the Cougars earn the No. 3 seed, it would be better than any seed the Cougars ever earned in their 12-year run in the Mid-Continent Conference (now Summit League) from 1994-95 to 2005-06. The No. 3 seed would also be the highest seed by a Division I team in Illinois in their respective conference tournament this season.
BUT IF NOT... - Should the Cougars lose on Saturday to Seattle U, Chicago State would still be the No. 3 seed if Idaho defeats Kansas City. If Chicago State loses and Kansas City wins, the Cougars are the No. 4 seed.
ALL TIME SERIES - Chicago State leads the all-time series with Seattle U 1-0.
LAST TIME OUT - Chicago State fell 79-76 to Idaho on Thursday. The Cougars trailed by as many as 17 points in the second half before cutting the deficit to just a single point in the final minutes. However an 0-4 stretch at the free throw line in the game's final possessions ended up being the difference in the loss to the Vandals.
WHEN WE LAST MET - The Cougars and Redhawks played last Thursday (Feb. 27) in Seattle. Chicago State pulled out an 84-77 triple overtime victory. The win was the first multiple overtime victory for CSU as a Division I school. Five Cougars finished with double-digits in the victory.
UP NEXT - The Cougars travel to Las Vegas for the 2014 WAC Tournament at the Orleans Arena. The men's quarterfinals will be held on Thursday (March 13). All games will be streamed on WACSports.tv.
TODAY IS SENIOR DAY... - The Cougars will honor nine student-athletes and two student managers on Saturday before the 2:05 p.m. game with Seattle U.
Jamere Dismukes (Park Forest, Ill./Rich East),
Arthur Gage (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central),
Markus Starks (Calumet City, Ill./Wirt (Ind.)),
Corey Gray (Houston, Texas/Hightower),
Nate Duhon (Lansing, Mich./Sexton),
Matt Ross (Dixon, Ill./Dixon),
Eddie Denard (Chicago, Ill./Foreman) and
Quinton Pippen (Hamburg, Ark./Hamburg) will receive the traditional pregame ceremony. Student-managers Sharone Booker and Brandon Morgan will also be recognized.
DOUBLE-DIGITS WINS - The Cougars have double-digit wins this year, marking the 10th double-digit win season since becoming NCAA Division I members in 1984-85. It also marks the third time in Division I school history the Cougars have earned 10 or more wins in back-to-back seasons.
DOZEN WINS - The 12 wins this year...are the most under head coach
Tracy Dildy in a season...the most since the Cougars went 19-13 as an independent in 2008-09...match the most wins in a season in which the Cougars were in a Division I conference (the 2003-04 team went 12-20).
ONE MORE WIN - 13 wins in a year would be the fourth most in a season since the Cougars entered NCAA Division I in 1984-85. Only 1985-86 (22-6), 2008-09 (19-13) and 1984-85 (16-11) have featured more than 12 wins. The Cougars were independent each of those seasons.
TALKING WAC WINS - The Cougars' seven conference wins are the most since the 2005-06 club went 8-8 in the Mid-Continent Conference. The school record for conference wins in a season is nine thanks to a 9-7 Mid-Con record by the 2003-04 team.
IN THE CLASSROOM TOO - 12 men's basketball players were named CSU Scholar-Athletes for accumulating a GPA of 3.00 or better over the last two semesters.
Quron Davis (Chicago, Ill./Simeon),
Eddie Denard (Chicago, Ill./Foreman),
Jared Dimakos (Lincolnshire, Ill./Lake Forest Academy),
Jamere Dismukes (Park Forest, Ill./Rich East),
Nate Duhon (Lansing, Mich./Sexton),
Arthur Gage (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central),
Corey Gray (Houston, Texas/Hightower),
Johnny Griffin (Ford Heights, Ill./Bloom Trail ),
Joshua Ramsey (St.Louis, Mo./Valley Park),
Matt Ross (Dixon, Ill./Dixon),
Markus Starks (Calumet City, Ill./Wirt (Ind.)) and
Aaron Williams (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Vocational) picked up the honor.
HOME SWEET HOME - Chicago State opened the season 5-0 at home. The start matched CSU's best ever start to a season at home. The 2008-09 club also opened 5-0 at home. Over this year and last year, the Cougars are 17-10 (.630) at the Jones Convocation Center.
FROM WAY DOWNTOWN - Nine different Cougars have made a 3-pointer this season.
BLOCK PARTY -
Matt Ross (Dixon, Ill./Dixon)' 70 career blocks has him tied for eighth all-time in Chicago State Division I history with
Jeremy Robinson (Decatur, Ill./Eisenhower) (2011-13). Robinson and Ross were teammates last season. Ahead of Ross is seventh place Laurent Crawford's (1986-87) 73 and Darrell Johns' (1999-01) 75.
ROSS ON THE BOARDS -
Matt Ross (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) has also broken into the top 10 in rebounding for a Chicago State career. His 430 boards sixth eighth. Ahead of Ross is fifth place Desmond Rice (Shawn Bell, 1984-87) (437).
FRESH LEGS - Chicago State's freshmen have played 628 minutes this season. Last season a freshman didn't play a single minute.
QP FOR THREE -
Quinton Pippen (Hamburg, Ark./Hamburg) owns 154 career 3-pointers, third all-time in Chicago State NCAA Division I history. Royce Parran (2003-07) sits in second with 165 3-pointers. Pippen will definitely not catch Chicago State's all-time leader in 3-pointers, David Holston (2005-09). Holston made 450 3-pointers, third in NCAA history in career treys.
IN A SEASON -
Quinton Pippen (Hamburg, Ark./Hamburg) has made 86 3-pointers this season, fourth most for a single season in school history. David Holston's 94 in 2006-07 ranks third all-time for a single season.
DOUBLE TROUBLE - Six Cougars finished in double-digits in Chicago State's victory over Southern Illinois on Nov. 30 at the JCC. The last time the Cougars accomplished this task was Nov. 20, 2008 in an 84-74 win over Central Michigan.
NOTHING PROBABLE ABOUT IT - The Cougars have used 12 starting lineups this season. Last year the Cougars used 15 starting combinations.
LINEUP CORNERSTONE -
Eddie Denard (Chicago, Ill./Foreman) is the only Cougar to start every game this season.
YEAR-BY-YEAR -
Clarke Rosenberg (Skokie, Ill./Evanston Township) is shooting 46.3 percent (148-of-320) this season. Up from his 41.6 percent performance last season after his 34.6 percent shooting as a freshman. Additionally, he has 12 games this season where he finished with a 50.0 percent or better shooting percentage.
TRYING FOR THREE - 18 times this season the Cougars have attempted 20 or more 3-pointers in a game. The Cougars are 4-14 in these games.
TIME FOR 400 -
Clarke Rosenberg (Skokie, Ill./Evanston Township) (426) and
Quinton Pippen (Hamburg, Ark./Hamburg) (449) have each reached 400 points this year. The last Cougar to record 400 points in a season was
Jeremy Robinson (Decatur, Ill./Eisenhower) with 408 in 2011-12.
STEALS ARE THE DEAL - This year the Cougars are averaging 8.6 steals per game, ranking 10th in the nation and first in the WAC.
STEALS HAVE GREAT APPEAL - Chicago State's 17 steals against Urbana are the most by a WAC team this year. The Cougars' 15 steals against New Mexico State on Jan. 16 are the most in a WAC game this year.
ON THE PLUS SIDE - The Cougars' +3.5 turnover margin is the best in the WAC. The total ranks 16th in the nation.
PIPPEN IN THE WAC -
Quinton Pippen (Hamburg, Ark./Hamburg) is shooting free throws at a 89.6 percent (43-of-48) clip in WAC games, best in the conference. He is also in a time for second in the WAC in steals per game (2.0).
TURN, TURN, TURN - Only four times this season the Cougars have committed more turnovers than they have forced. (Alabama State, Illinois, UTPA (home) and New Mexico State (road). The Cougars have lost each game.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP X8 - The Cougars have a WAC-high eight seniors on the squad.
REJECTED - The six blocks
Matt Ross (Dixon, Ill./Dixon) recorded Nov. 8 at Indiana are the most for a Cougar in a single game during the
Tracy Dildy era (2010-11 to present).
20/20 VISION - The Cougars have 16 20-point performances this season. The Cougars only had five 20-point performances all of last season.
QP IS A PRESEASON PICK -
Quinton Pippen (Hamburg, Ark./Hamburg) was named to the 2013-14 Preseason All-WAC Second Team by a vote of the league's coaches.
GRADUATION IS A FAMILY AFFAIR - Senior
Aaron Williams (Chicago, Ill./Chicago Vocational) and his mother Tonya will both graduate this May from Chicago State.
RELATIVE GREATNESS -
Quinton Pippen (Hamburg, Ark./Hamburg) is the nephew of former Chicago Bull Scottie Pippen. Not surprising, Quinton wears No. 33.
RELATIVE GREATNESS X2 - Chicago State assistant
Dexter Young is the uncle to professional tennis player Donald Young.
RELATIVE GREATNESS X3 -
Corey Gray (Houston, Texas/Hightower) is the grandson of Chicago basketball legend Paxton Lumpkin. Lumpkin played at DuSable High School where his 1954 team was the first all-black team with a black head coach to play in an Illinois High School State Association State Championship game. Lumpkin went on to play for the Harlem Globetrotters after playing collegiately at Indiana and Indiana State. Lumpkin is a member of the IHSA Hall of Fame.
TAKING IT AWAY - The Cougars ranked seventh in the nation in steals per game last season by averaging 9.4 swipes a contest. The last time the Cougars finished a season ranking in the top 10 in the nation in a category was in 2008-09 when CSU ranked third in both scoring (84.2) and steals per game (10.0).
FOREIGN TOUR - The Cougars traveled to Costa Rica August 10-16 to play three exhibitions against international clubs. As per NCAA rules the team earned 10 extra practices to prepare for the trip. In between basketball the team went rafting, ziplined and volunteered at a local school.
THE FIRST SINCE - Chicago State's Great West Conference title last season was the first men's basketball championship for one of Chicago's Division I teams since UIC won the Horizon League Tournament in 2004.
THE WAC IS WHERE IT'S AT - Chicago State became an all-sport member of the WAC on July 1, 2013. The WAC is Chicago State's first conference with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament since 2006 as a member of the Mid-Continent (now Summit League).
