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Cleveland State To Face Wake Forest In First Round Of NCAA Tournament
By Tom Mieskoski
After waiting 23 years to get back to the big dance, Cleveland State's men's basketball team did not have to wait long to find out where they would be seeded and who they would be playing in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament.
Only four pairings into the first regional, CBS selection show host Greg Gumbel unveiled that the No.4 seed in the Midwest Regional is Wake Forest and they will take on the No. 13 seed, "The Vikings of Cleveland State," on Friday, March 20 in Miami, Fla.
CBS then showed a live image of CSU's players, coaches and family members, who were watching the selection show from the family room located in the basement of the Wolstein Center, burst out in celebration after hearing they would play Wake.
If CSU (25-10) upsets Wake they will face the winner of No.5 seed Utah versus No. 12 seed Arizona on Sunday.
"We were surprised that we are playing Wake Forest, but we are ready for whomever we play," said Cedric Jackson. "Now we are anxious to get back to practice tomorrow and get ready to play on Friday.
The 11th-ranked Demon Deacons won their first 16 games and were ranked the No.1 team in the country on Jan.19, after victories against North Carolina and Boston College. Their stay at the top of the polls lasted only a week as the Demon Deacons lost to unranked Virginia Tech.
"We're excited to play them (because) we got a chance to showcase our talent on a bigger stage," said Norris Cole.
CSU head coach Gary Waters said he was disappointed that the Vikings did not get an 11 or 12 seed because CSU's RPI was ahead of 16 other teams in the tournament.
As for Wake Forest, Waters said he saw them play about four times this season. "They're talented, athletic and play about 10 guys, but they're young and can make some errors," he said. "In my estimation, we can't let this game get into the 80's or 90's or we are in trouble. We got to make sure to keep this team down and (make them) have to execute against our defense. If we can do that it can be a different ballgame."
The Demon Deacons (25-6) are lead in scoring by second-team All-ACC selection Jeff Teague, a sophomore guard who averages 19.1 points per game. The other starting guard L.D. Williams, a junior, is a member of the All-ACC Defensive team.
Then they have plenty of size in the front court as they start two 6-foot-9 forwards. Sophomore James Johnson was named to the All-ACC third-team, after averaging 14.8 points and 8.5 rebounds. And Al-Farouq Aminu was named to the All-ACC freshmen team, after averaging 12.8 points and 8.2 rebounds. In the middle is 7-foot junior Chas McFarland who averaged 8.8 points and 5.9 rebounds.
Jackson said he played against Teague in AAU. "We watched them play early in the season. We know they have a lot of athletes and we have our hands full. All we have to do is do what we do (play defense) and we should be good on Friday," he said.
Chris Moore added, "I'm excited (to play Wake Forest). This is a good chance for us to help this program build a tradition. To be considered one of the best you have to play the best. This is a good opportunity to showcase all of our hard work and dedication we put in. This is the type of stage CSU should always be in," he said.
D'Aundray Brown update:
Waters said sophomore guard D'Aundray Brown is questionable for Friday's first-round game against Wake. Brown has been out since hyperextending his left knee during CSU's victory over Detroit in the first-round of the Horizon League Tournament.
"He's walking around much better now, but when you talk about cut and run. That's a whole different concept. If we have him that gives us another body to go in there," Waters said.
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