The Cleveland State University men's basketball team had quite an impressive run in the NCAA Championships during the 2008-2009 season, advancing to the second round. This year, the Vikings are building on their success, and have been chosen as one of four featured teams for this year's Cancun Challenge. Coach Gary Waters made the announcement on Wednesday.

The Cancun Challenge consists of eight teams, and will run from November 18-25. Each team will play its first two games at campus sites, and the final two games at the Moon Palace Resort in Cancun, Mexico.

As one of the four featured squads, CSU will play four games, two of which will be played at home. The Vikes will host Florida A&M on Thursday, Nov. 19 and Sam Houston State on Sat. Nov. 21. The team will then hit the road, and will play against Kentucky on Nov. 24 and either Stanford or Virginia on Nov. 2. Game times will be announced in the fall.

This marks the second year that the Cancun Challenge will be held at the Moon Palace Resort, a five-star, all-inclusive resort that will be a definite treat for the team. The tournament itself is owned and operated by Triple Crown Sports, and admission to the tournament games will only be available by booking fan packages through Triple Crown. There will be no public sale of tickets.

Coach Waters said:

"This will be a great test for our program. The field will be one of the toughest among the early season exempted tournaments this year and it will provide a challenge for our young team and allow it to get better.

The best part of the tournament is that we will get to play two quality opponents at home as part of it."

During the 2009-2010 season, the Vikings will return two starters and seven letterman. Last year they went 26-11, won the Horizon League Tournament Championship, and defeated Wake Forest in the first found of the NCAA Championships.