Cleveland State vs Alabama A&M prediction: Alabama A&M's pressure defense greets a Cleveland State roster built from scratch
The Vikings return none of last season's minutes and lean heavily on Rayvon Griffith, while the Bulldogs arrive with a ball-hawking defense and their two-game win streak at home.
- Alabama A&M's speed and turnover pressure should shape the game; Cleveland State needs Griffith scoring efficiently to keep it close in Huntsville.
- Watch Sami Pissis and the Bulldogs' guards against Griffith, who carries a 38.3% usage rate for a backcourt that is new together.
- No spread or total had posted as of Nov. 8; the Vikings' only lined game was a 111-50 loss at Missouri as 26.5-point underdogs.
A roster with no past
Cleveland State is starting over in the most literal sense. Not one player from last season's squad is back. The returning-minutes share is 0.0%, the opening-night roster listed 14 new faces, and coach Rob Summers, a former Dennis Gates assistant, didn't schedule a single exhibition before the opener. Last season's 11-22 team numbers say almost nothing about this group. Horizon League voters picked the Vikings 11th of 12.
What the new roster has shown is a one-man offense. Rayvon Griffith, a little-used reserve at Kent State last season, is scoring 23.5 points a game with a usage rate of 38.3%, meaning he finishes an enormous share of possessions. The range has been wide. He shot 5 of 17 for 13 points at Missouri, then scored 34 against Michigan-Dearborn. Micah Bays came off the bench for 18 in that second game, and forward Dre Jones has been the steadiest piece, with 13 points and 8 rebounds in the Missouri loss.
Pressure in the backcourt
Alabama A&M's defense has lived in passing lanes. The Bulldogs force turnovers on 28.7% of opponent possessions, 16th in Division I, and their steal rate ranks 26th. Pissis averages 2.0 steals and Devin Brown 2.5.
The caveat is real: neither of A&M's opponents, Oakwood and Mississippi University for Women, carries a Division I rating, so those rates are inflated. Still, the pressure will test a Cleveland State backcourt that has played two games together. The Vikings' turnover rate of 16.4% is middle of the pack, but that came against one Division I opponent, and Missouri led 56-18 at halftime.
Second chances and speed
Second-year coach Donte' Jackson has his team playing fast: A&M's pace of 79 possessions per 40 minutes ranks 26th. The Bulldogs also chase misses, grabbing 45.2% of their own misses (offensive rebound rate), 34th nationally.
The size behind that comes from Stephaun Walker, a 6-foot-9 transfer from Old Dominion averaging 9.5 rebounds, and Brown, who posted a bench double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds against Oakwood. Cleveland State's defensive rebound rate of 69.5% ranks 215th, and Jones is its only regular frontcourt rebounder. If the Bulldogs turn turnovers and offensive boards into extra possessions, the Vikings' thin margin disappears quickly.
Where Cleveland State can hang around
The Vikings' path runs through the free-throw line and the paint. They shoot 76.7% at the line, 67th nationally, and Griffith is at 90%. Their 2-point percentage of 59.3% has carried an offense that hits just 21.1% from three, 346th.
A&M's soft spot is its own free-throw shooting, 62.7%, which ranks 289th. The Bulldogs got to the line constantly last season, with a free-throw rate (attempts per field-goal attempt) that ranked 4th, and their returning guards still attack. Misses there are the likeliest way a lopsided game tightens late.
The Huntsville setting
This is the finale of a Nov. 12-15 event at the AAMU Event Center, and Cleveland State first plays West Florida there on Nov. 13. Alabama A&M plays at home, where it is 2-0 after winning by 56 over Mississippi University for Women.
The Bulldogs were picked third in the SWAC and return all-conference guards Pissis and James Graham III, though a 71-61 exhibition loss to Samford showed what a Division I opponent can do to them. Pissis has been efficient early, with an effective field goal percentage (threes count 1.5 times) of 67.5%. The only recent meeting, an 86-59 Cleveland State win in November 2023, involved entirely different rosters.
Key players
- Rayvon Griffith (Cleveland State): Averaging 23.5 points on a 38.3% usage rate after scoring 4.0 a game at Kent State last season.
- Dre Jones (Cleveland State): The Vikings' top rebounder at 7.0 per game, he had 13 points and 8 boards at Missouri.
- Micah Bays (Cleveland State): Scored 18 with 5 assists in 23 minutes against Michigan-Dearborn.
- Sami Pissis (Alabama A&M): Averaging 15.5 points and 5.0 assists with an effective field goal percentage of 67.5%.
- Stephaun Walker (Alabama A&M): The 6-foot-9 starter is pulling down 9.5 rebounds a game.
- Devin Brown (Alabama A&M): Averaging 15.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals off the bench.
Numbers that matter
| Cleveland State returning minutes | 0.0% | No player from last season's roster is back, so last season's numbers are a weak guide. |
|---|---|---|
| A&M forced turnover rate | 28.7% | Ranks 16th nationally, though built against opponents without a Division I rating. |
| A&M offensive rebound rate | 45.2% | Ranks 34th and targets a Vikings defensive glass ranked 215th. |
| Cleveland State 3-point % | 21.1% | Ranks 346th, pushing the Vikings' offense toward the paint and the line. |
| A&M free throw % | 62.7% | Ranks 289th, the clearest weakness in the Bulldogs' early profile. |
Cleveland State vs Alabama A&M: quick answers
When is Cleveland State vs Alabama A&M?
Sunday, November 15, 2026 at 3:00 PM ET.