Cleveland State: Old Dominion Exposes Vikings' Lack Of Size, Wins on National TV

After following up two disappointing losses to Butler and Detroit with a comeback win against Youngstown State (which featured one of the most dominating performances of the year in college basketball—41 points, 20 rebounds, and nine assists—by senior Norris Cole) and a nail-biter against Wright State, the Cleveland State Vikings sought to win their third straight game against the Old Dominion Monarchs.

The level of excitement and anticipation surrounding this game was greater than usual for a regular season game because this matchup was nationally televised as part of ESPN’s BracketBusters series, and the Vikings sought to earn national respect and recognition and bolster their NCAA Tournament resume with a win against a quality team from the Colonial Athletic Association.

Despite another outstanding performance from Norris Cole in which he scored 35 points and set a new ESPN BracketBusters record for points scored, the Monarchs reigned victorious over the Vikings by a score of 74-63.

The reason for the Vikings’ loss can be summed up in one word—size.

Most sports fans have heard the phrase, “You can’t coach height” repeated numerous times by commentators, analysts and scouts. Some National Basketball Association players whose height has kept them in the league despite a glaring lack of talent probably even have this phrase written over their fireplaces!

While this may be true, coach Gary Waters will have to figure out a way to teach the Vikings how to defeat bigger teams if the Vikings intend to advance to and win games in the NCAA Tournament.

From the moment the ball bounced off of the rim after Old Dominion’s first missed shot and the Monarchs subsequently grabbed several offensive rebounds before scoring the first points of the game, Old Dominion used their tremendous size advantage to dominate the glass and control the game on both ends of the court. Old Dominion pulled down 53 rebounds, which was more than double the number of rebounds pulled down by the Vikings. Old Dominion’s 23 offensive rebounds allowed them to obtain 23 second chance points. Additionally, the Monarchs also had seven blocks.

The Vikings were also hampered by a lack of balanced scoring. At various points towards the end first half, Norris Cole scored all but four of the Vikings’ points. Jeremy Montgomery and Trevon Harmon, two of the Vikings’ reliable scorers, shot horribly from the field and did not score most of their points until the game had been decided. Aaron Pogue was not able to utilize his size inside and only finished with two points.

Despite their struggles, the Vikings kept the game close for much of the game and actually led by two points with 15 minutes left in the second half thanks to Cole's dominance and lights-out outside shooting.

However, once Old Dominion’s constant defensive adjustments were able to slow down Norris Cole, Cleveland State suffered a long scoring drought and Old Dominion was able to pull away to clinch the victory. Although the Vikings were able to pull within six points with a minute left, Cole fouled out while trying to tie up an Old Dominion player for a jump ball and the Vikings were unable to pull any closer.

With two home games left in the regular season, Cleveland State has an opportunity to clinch the first seed in the Horizon League Tournament with victories over UW-Milwaukee on Thursday and UW-Green Bay on Saturday. Aside from having the opportunity to host the tournament, the first seed will provide Cleveland State with two byes, allowing them to be fresh and rested for the Horizon League Tournament semifinals.

In 2009, Coach Gary Waters and the Vikings showed that they can be a dangerous team during the postseason when they upset heavily favored Butler for the Horizon League Championship and subsequently defeated fourth-seeded Wake Forest and put up a valiant effort against Arizona in the NCAA Tournament.

Clevelanders who have suffered through the Cavaliers’ tumultuous and disappointing season and who are desperate for a winner should pack Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center and cheer the Vikings on to victory!