The team was led by second-year head coach Gary Waters.

The preseason Horizon League Coaches' Poll picked the Vikings to finish ninth.

[3] The Vikings were 1–26 in games against ranked opponents, with their only win coming on March 14, 1986, against No.

The 5,352 fans that attended the game marked the largest crowd in the Wolstein Center since the curtain was added four years ago on the west side to trim the capacity of the building to approximately 8,500.

The last time CSU had a larger crowd in the Wolstein Center came on November 29, 2003, when 11,534 saw the Vikings drop an 82–76 decision to No.

On January 21, 2008, Cleveland State received their first point in the AP Top 25 poll for the season, that had them T-43.