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13th-seed Cleveland State Vikings take down 4th-seeded Wake Forest Demon Deacons
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Cleveland State produced the biggest upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with an 84-69 victory against Wake Forest in the Midwest Regional at the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida.
The biggest key to the victory was the Vikings' fast start that caught the Deacons by surprise, or, at least, that's how Head Coach Gary Waters saw it from his advantage on the Vikings' bench after his club took an early 9-0 lead.
We had to hit them early in order to be in that game. We surprised them. It took them a while to realize what was occurring out there, and then it became a ballgame.
Wake Forest, who at one time in January was ranked No. 1, got no closer than six points, 55-49 with about 11 minutes left, before the Vikings took control of the game with a relentless defense and a consistent offense from the outside and on the inside.
Sophomore guard Norris Cole led the Vikings with 22 points, followed by senior forward, J'Nathan Bullock with 21, and senior guard Cedric Jackson with 19. Jackson was the spark plug that revved up the Vikings as he also had seven rebounds and eight assists. He was also successful on three of his four three-point field goal attempts.
The Vikings will play the 12th-seeded Arizona Wildcats on Sunday afternoon at 2:20 p.m. after they upset the 5th-ranked Utah Utes, 84-71.
Cleveland State has an excellent chance to repeat the 1986 Vikings' appearance in the Sweet 16. The Vikings match up very well with Arizona and will upset the Wildcats if Cole, Bullock, and Jackson play the same type of game that they showed against Wake Forest.
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