Sports

Penguins, Vikings set for Barbasol Horizon League Championship Semifinals Monday

By YSU Communications
Penguins, Vikings Set for Barbasol Horizon League Championship Semifinals Monday.
Penguins, Vikings Set for Barbasol Horizon League Championship Semifinals Monday. YSU Communications

Setting the Scene

The No. 4 seeded Youngstown State men’s basketball team (20-12) takes on No. 2 Cleveland State (21-11) in the 2025 Barbasol Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship Semifinals, Monday, March 10. Tipoff is set for 9:30 p.m. at Corteva Coliseum and the game will be televised on ESPN2 and aired 570 WKBN.

Up Next

With a win, Youngstown State will advance to the 2025 Barbasol Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship game, Tuesday, March 11. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

Last Time Out

Nico Galette and Ty Harper caught fire in the second half to lead Youngstown State to a 72-67 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne on March 6 in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Barbasol Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship. Galette finished with a game-high 22 points while grabbing 10 rebounds for his eighth double-double, and Harper scored 20 points. They combined to make five 3-pointers in the second half to give YSU a big boost after the Penguins went 0-for-15 from long distance in a low-scoring first half. Junior Cris Carroll recorded his third double-double of the season with 11 points and tied a career high with 12 boards.

Guins in the Tourney

Youngstown State has an overall conference tournament record of 17-35 dating back to 1983-84. The Penguins own a Horizon League tournament record (2001-02 to present) of 10-23, 4-7 in the Mid-Continent Conference (1994-95 to 2000-01) and 3-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference (1983-84 to 1987-88). The Penguins own a record of 3-7 in the Horizon League quarterfinals. The Penguins are 3-4 in conference tournament semifinals and 0-2 in Horizon League semifinals.

YSU Semifinal Marks

OVC: 2-0 (1984 - W, 65-55 vs. Tennessee Tech; 1985 - W, 79-74 vs. Morehead State)

Mid-Con: 1-2 (1995 - L, 77-52 at Valpo; 1998 - W, 74-60 vs. Oral Roberts; 1999 - L, 72-58 vs. Oral Roberts)

Horizon League: 0-2 (2017 - L, 84-74 vs. Northern Kentucky, 2023 - L, 75-63 vs. Northern Kentucky)

A Win Would...

  • Improve YSU’s record to 21-12 overall.
  • Mark the third straight season Youngstown State won at least 21 games.
  • Mark the first time Youngstown State advanced to the Barbasol Horizon League Championship game.
  • Advance the Penguins to their fourth conference tournament championship overall
  • Mark the Penguins’ 18th overall conference tournament win and the 11th in the Horizon League.
  • Be the Penguins 67th overall victory over the last three seasons.
  • Mark Ethan Faulkner’s 21st career win and second over Cleveland State.
  • Mark Youngstown State’s 48th win over Cleveland State and the second win over the Vikings in the Horizon League postseason.