Cleveland State-Arizona: Tale of the Tape

Exposition: This 12-13 seed matchup comes compliments of No.4 Wake Forest's climactic collapse after a 16-0 start, and Arizona's not so unexpected win against No.5 Utah in the Midwest Region.

Plot: Who has more to prove? The team nobody wanted to get in, or the little school that could? No.12 Arizona continues on a mission to prove that they are supposed to be here. Bracket pundits want the Wildcats to fall, proving their unworthiness. No.13 Cleveland State fits right into the glass slipper, as they remain the highest seed left.

Despite being undersized, Cleveland State, led by Coach Gary Waters, takes pride in their defense. They caused 18 turnovers against a young Demon Deacons team despite being out-rebounded, and shooting a lower percentage from the field.

Waters and company did well in jumping all over the youth-laden Deacons, but how will his Vikings do against an experienced junior Wildcat core?

Protagonist: Cleveland State

There is little doubt as to who the nation views as the hero in this storyline.

CSU will look to counter the Wildcat height with speed. Norris Cole led his team with 22 points in the first round.

J'Nathan Bullock will have his hands full down low. The 6'5" 240 pound forward plays bigger than he is, averaging seven rebounds a game.

Cedric Jackson realizes the importance of being an all-around player for his squad. The 6'3" senior guard averages 11 points, close to 6 assists, nearly 6 rebounds, and 3 steals.

Antagonist: Arizona

Most would like to see this pseudo 12 seed exit stage left.

Arizona do-it-all 6'7" forward Chase Budinger, who shoots 40 percent from beyond the arc, has been cold as of late. He's only made 1-11 in the last two games. No worries, his 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals in the first round shows that he can do whatever his team needs.

Jordan Hill will prove quite the problem for the smaller Vikings. At 6'10", and with a game many NBA scouts are lauding, he may be the best that this defensive CSU team has had to face all year.

Sub Plot: Will either bench be a factor?

Cleveland State has played without sophomore guard D'Aundray Brown quite a bit this season. He's sat out for a fractured rib, and most recently he hyper extended his knee in the Horizon League tournament. Without him the Vikings are still 9-3.

He could, however, add some much needed depth to an already thin bench. Against Wake Forest in the first round the CSU bench only provided 7 points, and a single rebound.

Arizona's bench did far worse against Utah, scoring only 3 points. It didn't seem to be an issue as their three-headed junior core of Budinger, Wise, and Hill combined for 66 of the Wildcat's 81 points. This was capped off by Nic Wise's 21 point second half performance.

Flashback: The Horizon League Champion Vikings did not fare well in their only meeting with a PAC-10 foe this season. Washington defeated the Vikings 78-63 on November 18 in Seattle. Cleveland State's front-court could not handle the Huskies' 6'7" senior forward, Jon Brockman, who went for 23 points and 13 rebounds.

If this is a bit of foreshadowing, Arizona's Jordan Hill might be looking at his best tournament opportunity yet.  

Arizona has done well in the past against Horizon League opponents in the NCAA Tournament. They defeated Valparaiso in 1996, and stopped an upset-minded Butler team in 2001; in the second round.

Conflict: Cedric Jackson of Cleveland State v. Nic Wise of Arizona

The Vikings' 6'3" guard knows how to rebound; he had a team high seven rebounds in the first round. This could be troublesome for Arizona's smaller guard, the 5'10" Wise.

Cleveland State demonstrated that they're able to play as quick as any other team in their first round upset. Jeff Teague was challenged all night long by Viking guards, and if there is a weakness for Arizona, it might be their ball handling.

Denouement: The Winner will get No.1 seed Louisville, assuming they defeat #9 Siena. Expect Arizona to slow the game down and exploit Cleveland State's size disadvantage down low. They'll control and protect the ball in half court situations, and will not be as hasty as Wake Forest in transition. Arizona should prove that the committee was not picking solely off of past merit.

Appreciation to the following:

Casey at Pickin' Splinters

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