“A tradition unlike any other” takes place the weekend of Feb 18-20. Well, okay, not to the level or history of The Masters, but ESPN’s Bracketbusters has been one effort the “four letter” seems to have gotten right this decade.
Attn Young Ballers: Think Before You Ink
January 25, 2010 By 1 Comment
Before I get into my recap of Cleveland State’s one point win over the University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon, I have to first revisit something from Friday.
Vikings Coach Gary Waters made a comment Friday night in talking about new Cavalier Cedric Jackson (who played two minutes in Saturday’s 100-99 win over the Thunder on Saturday - pictured below) that I found particular interesting, and didn’t quite get to in my previous post.
2009 NCAA Tournament Viewer’s Guide: Second Round – Sunday Games
March 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Note: This post is from 2009. To view our 2010 March Madness coverage, use the following links:
- March Madness 2010 Schedule, Sites, and Tickets
- MSF Bracket Challenge
- Mens NCAA Tournament Bracket, TV Schedule, Announcers, Spreads
- Midwest Region Bracket Picks, Predictions, TV Schedule, Sites, Announcers
- East Region Bracket Picks, Predictions, TV Schedule, Sites, Announcers
- South Region Bracket Picks, Predictions, TV Schedule, Sites, Announcers
- West Region Bracket Picks, Predictions, TV Schedule, Sites, Announcers
- History of Final Four in Indianapolis
- Women’s NCAA Tournament Schedule, Sites, Tickets
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As I write this, one team has already punched their ticket to the Sweet 16: Villanova, who looked awesome in dismantling UCLA 89-69. I am feeling quite good about my pick of ‘Nova going to the Elite 8. However, my pick of Memphis losing in Round 2 is not looking so hot right now as the Tigers lead Maryland by 20 in the first half.
What is looking really hot right about now is the Sunday games of the second round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament. After a pretty ho-hum Thursday and early batch of Friday games, the drama exploded on Friday
night. Wisconsin and Arizona both became the latest #12 seeds to advance to round 2. Siena beat Ohio State in a thrilling two overtime classic. And the Cinderella story of the first round was written when #13 seed Cleveland State clobbered #4 seed Wake Forest.
Cleveland State may not have a rich tournament tradition in terms of volume, but they certainly create quite a stir every time they make it. Can they advance to the Sweet 16, as they did during their last tournament journey? They will have to beat #12 seed Arizona to do so — meaning we are guaranteed to have a double-digit Cinderella seed in the Sweet 16.
Now onto your daily viewer’s guide for the Sunday games of the second round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament:
NCAA Tournament Second Round – Sunday Games: TV Schedule, Announcers, Spreads
South #3 Syracuse v South #6 Arizona State
- TV Time: 12:10 PM
- Location: Miami, FL
- Announcers: Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel
- Point Spread: Syracuse -1 1/2
- Over-Under: 139
- My pick: Syracuse
East #4 Xavier v East #12 Wisconsin
- TV Time: 2:20 PM
- Location: Boise, ID
- Announcers: Craig Bolerjack and Bob Wenzel
- Point Spread: Xavier -3 1/2
- Over-Under: 121 1/2
- My pick: Wisconsin
Midwest #3 Kansas v Midwest #11 Dayton
- TV Time: 2:30 PM
- Location: Minneapolis, MN
- Announcers: Gus Johnson and Len Elmore
- Point Spread: Kansas -7 1/2
- Over-Under: 133
- My pick: Kansas
Midwest #13 Cleveland State v Midwest #12 Arizona
- TV Time: 2:40 PM
- Location: Miami, FL
- Announcers: Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel
- Point Spread: Arizona -3 1/2
- Over-Under: 134 1/2
- My pick: Cleveland State
East #1 Pittsburgh v East #8 Oklahoma State
- TV Time: 2:50 PM
- Location: Dayton, OH
- Announcers: Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery
- Point Spread: Pittsburgh -8 1/2
- Over-Under: 150
- My pick: Pittsburgh
West #3 Missouri v West #6 Marquette
- TV Time: 4:50 PM
- Location: Boise, ID
- Announcers: Craig Bolerjack and Bob Wenzel
- Point Spread: Mizzouri -3 1/2
- Over-Under: 147 1/2
- My pick: Marquette
Midwest #2 Michigan State v Midwest #10 USC
- TV Time: 5:00 PM
- Location: Minneapolis, MN
- Announcers: Gus Johnson and Len Elmore
- Point Spread: Michigan State -4 1/2
- Over-Under: 129 1/2
- My pick: Michigan State
Midwest #1 Louisville v Midwest #9 Siena
- TV Time: 5:20 PM
- Location: Dayton, OH
- Announcers: Verne Lundquist and Bill Raftery
- Point Spread: Louisville -11 1/2
- Over-Under: 141
- My pick: Louisville
I like the top dogs like Pittsburgh, Louisville, and Michigan State to keep rolling, but I think a few darkhorse candidates gain some steam tomorrow.
I think Cleveland State’s physical style, plus the confidence they gained from throttling Wake Forest, will power them to a victory over Arizona.
I am sticking with my original pick of Wisconsin over Xavier. It won’t be pretty — it never is — but the Badgers’ D will lead them to victory.
And Marquette, despite the absence of Dominic James, will find a way to beat a very good Missouri team. Marquette still has the talent and experience in the backcourt to solve the Missouri press, and I’m sticking with the Golden Eagles as one of my Sweet 16 teams.
Enjoy the games tonight and tomorrow everyone.
Cleveland State Dominates Wake Forest in 84-69 First Round Upset
March 21, 2009 By Leave a Comment
When you jump out to a 9-0 lead, and then go on to beat a team by 15 that was ranked #1 in the country at one point in the season, you can go ahead and shatter that whole glass slipper notion on the curb outside the Big Dance.
This isn’t a fluke, and its not a fairy tale either.
Cleveland State is solid basketball team, and their win last night against Wake Forest was a wire-to-wire domination.
On the defensive end of the floor, CSU was simply too much for the Demon Deacons. Specifically, too much for George Teague. And the Wake Forest star did not have an off-night either, so don’t go there. He got completely locked-up, and manhandled by CSU Sophomore Guard Norris Cole (who also had a game high 22 pts). From there, the Vikings cut the Wake Forest attack off at the proverbial head, and were left to do whatever they wanted offensively.
Cedric Jackson led the charge for the Vikings on that end of the floor, and he was the best player on the court last night. He’s a big time player, and his game last night, while it will come as a surprise on the national level, shouldn’t really shock anyone if you knew the path his career has taken to get here.
As a prep star, he was highly recruited by the Big East coming out of New York, and when CSU coach Gary Waters was at Rutgers, he was after Cedric Jackson back then. Waters ended up coming down to having one scholarship left, and he was going to either give it Jackson, a highscool senior at the time, or Quincy Douby. He gave it to Douby, and Quincy went on to be a 1st round NBA draft pick – out of Rutgers? – and is still currently playing in the NBA. Jackson, as a result, took a scholarship offer from St. John’s, and transferred to CSU a few years later for his Junior season, upon Gary Waters taking the job that he has now.
After last night, you can say it worked out in the end for all parties involved.
Cedric Jackson was special last night, going for 19 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds, and he played the perfect game from the PG position. He is going to be a handful for Arizona in the next round. And speaking of Arizona, you gotta think that CSU can’t really be that much of an underdog against this perenial power either – as crazy as that sounds.
This season, Cleveland State has beaten three teams that are better than Arizona, the “last team in” the tournament according to most pundits. Oh, and CSU beat them all away from home. That list includes a win over Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, Buter at Butler, and now Wake Forest on a neutral floor. The second round should get interesting. I expect J’Nathan Bullock (21 points) to be a tough match-up for the Arizona front line, and he will give Chase Budinger and company fits around the basket.
Stay tuned for Sunday, Gary Waters’ club is just starting to break a sweat.
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Brendan Bowers is a featured columnist at Midwest Sports Fans who also runs Stepien Rules (and formerly ran Shaver Sports), where they discuss everything you ever wanted to know about the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Brendan Bowers’ contributions to Midwest Sports Fans are sponsored by BigTimeGameBoards.com, the company that helps you tailgate like a champion with our high quality cornhole boards, sets and accessories. And if you don’t know what cornhole is, you aren’t a Midwesterner.
Cleveland State Vikings Beat Butler and Win Horizon League to Qualify for NCAA Berth
March 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Cleveland State’s basketball team went to the NCAA tournament 23 years ago. They beat Bobby Knight’s Indiana team while there, and almost beat David Robinson’s Navy team. They bowed out in the Sweet 16, completing a banner year for the program. Star point guard Mouse McFadden and company had put the Vikings on the map. They were here to stay.
That stay would be short lived however.
In the off season, the coach and architect of the ‘Run and Stun’ Vikings of ’86 was found one night in a crack house, strung out on crack cocaine. The run was over. The coach, Kevin Mackey, would be soon relieved of his duties, and the Cleveland State Vikings would sink to an all-time low that they would not emerge from for 20 years.
Until now.
Cleveland State beat Butler on Tuesday 57-54 and got their Dance Card punched — again — for the first time in 23 years. The job done by this coach, Gary Waters, and his kids is nothing short of incredible. In 3 seasons as coach, Waters has taken possibly the worst Men’s Basketball Program – on a consistent basis – for the last two decades – in America – and turned them into an NCAA tournament team. His Vikings won 21 games last season, and won 25
this year, including wins over #12 Syracuse on the road, and #17 Butler last night for the Horizon League title and automatic bid.
They are not done yet either. Cedric Jackson is a point guard that can play. The St. John’s transfer, and Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year, can match up with any PG in the nation. Anybody. And J’Nathan Bullock, the undersized, Tight End-looking, post player that roams the key for the Vikings is a tough cover inside as well.
They’ve come a long way this group…and Cleveland can’t help but be proud of them. If you don’t know about CSU, I’ll tell you this: you better be careful when you fill out your bracket, that’s all I am going to say.
Coach Waters’ group is just getting started.
Cleveland State photo credit: AP Photo/Darron Cummings
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Brendan Bowers is a featured columnist at Midwest Sports Fans who also runs Stepien Rules (and formerly ran Shaver Sports), where they discuss everything you ever wanted to know about the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Brendan Bowers’ contributions to Midwest Sports Fans are sponsored by BigTimeGameBoards.com, the company that helps you tailgate like a champion with our high quality cornhole boards, sets and accessories. And if you don’t know what cornhole is, you aren’t a Midwesterner.
