cinderella is a viking

While watching the Cleveland St. Vikings play the Wake Forest Demon Deacons it was hard to tell who was the 4th seeded team in the Midwest region of the 2009 NCAA tournament. Wake Forest, once the #1 ranked team in the nation during the regular season, was that team. It wasn't the team that got out to a nine point lead in the first two minutes of the game. That team was Cleveland State. Finding the three-point jumper friendly early on, the Vikings found themselves 17 points ahead (29-12) with 7:48 left in the first half. But it was the three 3-pointers that the Vikings hit in the first two minutes that spelled the end for the heavily favored Demon Deacons.

Hitting two of those first 3-pointers was senior point guard and floor general, Cedric Jackson. Jackson, a New Jersey native, transfered from St. John's before the 07-08 season and started 35 games for the Red Storm. After the transfer, Vikings head coach Gary Waters moved Jackson to the point and he has since led them to the Horizon League championship and their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1986. In 1986, the Vikings made it to the sweet sixteen upsetting the East region 3rd seed Indiana Hoosiers and 6th seeded St. Joseph's Hawks, eventually losing in the final seconds to David Robinson led Navy.

Cleveland State continued their history of upsets when they received their bid to the NCAAs. Butler, 26-6, was heavily favored to win the Horizon League and be the only representative from this mid-major. Though when the Vikings upset Butler, which got the 9th seed in the South region, they assured that there would be two Horizon League teams in this year's field of 65.

One of three Vikings in the Horizon League all-tournament team, was Cleveland State leading scorer, J'Nathan Bullock. Senior forward Bullock is from Flint, Michigan. He has led the Vikings in scoring three straight seasons and the 6'5" Bullock also led the team in rebounds (7.0) during the Viking's regular season schedule. Bullock scored 10 of his 21 points in the second half holding off a Wake Forest comeback attempt, including three key free throws in the last 3 minutes of the game.

The Vikings held Wake Forest leading scorer, Jeff Teague, to only 10 points in the game and their defense led to 18 Demon Deacon turnovers, to Cleveland State's six. "We're not the best shooting team," Vikings center Chris Moore said. "But we're up there with any team in the country on defense. Because of that, we're in position to win any game."

Will it be Cleveland State's defense or Jackson, Bullock, and Norris Cole (who scored a game high 22 points) and their hot shooters that will lead them into the sweet sixteen against the 12th seeded Arizona Wildcats, who upset the 5th seeded Utah Utes earlier in the day. "We believed from the start of the game that we could play with [Wake Forest]," Cole said. I bet they believe they can beat the Wildcats too, just like in 1986.