Michigan-Dearborn vs Cleveland State prediction: Cleveland State tunes up its three-point attack against Michigan-Dearborn
Rob Summers' second Vikings team opens with a non-Division I visitor and a rebuilt roster, and the real question is whether last season's porous defense has been fixed.
- Cleveland State should control the game. If last season's style holds, it will be fast and three-heavy. The useful read is how its new rotation defends, not the final margin.
- Watch the Vikings' perimeter shooters against a non-Division I opponent. Last season they took 49.6% of their shots from three.
A shooting team that couldn't stop anyone
Cleveland State went 11-22 last season with a split personality. The offense let it fly. The Vikings ranked 18th of 365 in 3-point attempt rate, the share of shots taken from deep, and made 37.5% of them, 24th nationally.
The defense undid all of it. Cleveland State finished 364th of 365 in adjusted defensive efficiency, which measures points allowed per 100 possessions after adjusting for opponents. Teams scored 85.9 points per game against it, and opponents made 57.7% of their twos, 357th in the country. A soft opener won't show whether that has changed, but it will show whether the effort and rotations look different.
Summers reshapes the roster
Summers was hired April 9, 2025, to replace Daniyal Robinson, and his second Vikings team has a lot of new names. The Vikings list transfers Obie Bronston Jr. from South Carolina State, Rayvon Griffith from Kent State, Curtis Stinson Jr. from North Texas, Alex Bruskotter from Wright State and Brandon White from Midland College. They also list freshmen Xavier McKinney and Ogbe Uagboe. Nothing has been reported on who starts.
With that many newcomers, last season's team numbers are only a loose guide. The more useful thing to watch Friday is which of the new arrivals Summers trusts with minutes. Wright State, picked first in the Horizon League preseason poll, sets the bar for where this group hopes to climb. Cleveland State was picked eighth a year ago.
The visitor and the schedule
Michigan-Dearborn arrives as an unknown, with no Division I data and no available roster names. The game appears on ESPN's listing for Nov. 6, but Dearborn's own athletics schedule doesn't show it yet. That page does list a Nov. 9 trip to Hillsdale, so check the date before tip. The Wolverines and Vikings have no recent history against each other.
Numbers that matter
| Adjusted defense rank, last season | 364th | Only one Division I team was worse at stopping opponents, adjusted for schedule. |
|---|---|---|
| 3-point attempt rate, last season | 49.6% | Nearly half of Cleveland State's shots came from deep, 18th-most nationally. |
| 3-point %, last season | 37.5% | The Vikings backed up the volume, ranking 24th nationally. |
| Pace, last season | 70.6 | Possessions per 40 minutes, 53rd nationally, which points to a fast game. |
Michigan-Dearborn vs Cleveland State: quick answers
When is Michigan-Dearborn vs Cleveland State?
Friday, November 6, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET.