MIAMI (AP) -The latest upset win by the Cleveland State Vikings in the NCAA tournament didn’t surprise them at all.
Before their victory over Wake Forest, the Vikings were already thinking about the second round of the Midwest Regional.
They advanced Friday night by beating the one-time top-ranked Demon Deacons 84-69. On Sunday, No. 13-seeded Cleveland State plays No. 12 Arizona.
“We’re not celebrating, because we still know we have games to win,” Cleveland State guard Norris Cole said.
The victory was reminiscent of the Vikings’ only other tournament appearance in 1986, when they upset Indiana and Bob Knight in the opening round.
The Vikings (26-10) claim they saw this one coming. Before the game, coach Gary Waters said, his players discussed how they would react to the victory.
“One of the things one of our seniors said to the team is that once this game is over with, we’re going to take it in stride and be ready for the next one,” Waters said. “I was pretty excited that he said that.”
1986 went on to the East Regional final before losing in the final seconds to Navy and David Robinson. The 2009 Vikings must now face Arizona (20-13), which advanced by beating Utah 84-71.
“We understand what the ’86 team did was important for our school,” Cole said. “But now it’s time for a new chapter.”
No. 4-seeded Wake Forest (24-7) lost playing in its first tournament game since 2005. The Demon Deacons won their first 16 games and were No. 1 for a week in January, and many expected them to play deep into the tournament.
“It’s very disappointing,” Jeff Teague said. “We expected to do damage in this tournament. To lose in the first round is hard to take.”
The Demon Deacons committed 18 turnovers to six by Cleveland State, which held Wake Forest well below its scoring average of 81 points.
Teague was shut out for the first 13 minutes, totaled two points in the first half and finished with 10, half of his average. Cole scored 22 points for Cleveland State.
The upset was the latest sign of revival in the Vikings’ program. They went 4-25 in 2003-04 and 10-21 two years ago, when Waters was in his first season as coach.
“I’m sorry to a lot of people that we broke their brackets,” forward George Tandy said. “But we had a lot of confidence. We were prepared.”
Arizona 84, Utah 71, Midwest Regional
inger added 20 and 12th-seeded Arizona sent a message to those saying it didn’t belong in the field of 65: “We do,” Wise said.
Jordan Hill added 17 points and 13 rebounds for Arizona (20-13), which has been in the NCAAs 25 years in a row, but hadn’t reached the second round since 2006.
Tyler Kepkay scored 19 points for fifth-seeded Utah (24-10), which was 8-for-32 from 3-point range and matched a season high with 20 turnovers. Lawrence Borha finished with 11 points for Utah, which got 10 points and 10 rebounds from Shaun Green.
The Utes trailed by 13 in the first half, got within 64-62 with about 5 minutes left, but went cold as Arizona sealed the game with a 10-1 run.
Kyle Fogg scored 12 for Arizona, which sweated out Selection Sunday, its tourney streak in serious jeopardy after losing five of its last six games.
“We definitely belong here, and today was not about proving that,” Arizona interim coach Russ Pennell said. “That was not our motivation. Our motivation was to win the game and move on.”
Syracuse 59, Stephen F. Austin 44, South Regional
Jonny Flynn scored 16 points, Rick Jackson and Arinze Onuaku each added 12 and the third-seeded Orange exploited a big size differential inside to cruise past NCAA first-timer Stephen F. Austin.
State in Sunday’s second round.
Benson Akpan led Stephen F. Austin (24-8) with 12 points, with Nick Shaw adding 10. The Lumberjacks missed 12 of their first 13 shots, and didn’t connect from 3-point range until Walt Harris hit from the left wing with 11:25 remaining – on their 16th try from beyond the arc.
They finished 2-for-21 from 3-point range, which played perfectly into Syracuse’s hands.
“How big a win was it?” asked Onuaku, repeating a question posed his way. “Can you say huge?”
Arizona State 66, Temple 57, South Regional
Junior Derek Glasser scored a career-high 22 points, and Arizona State overcame a second consecutive subpar performance by Pac-10 player of the year James Harden.
Harden scored nine points, less than half his average. And while he made only one shot, it was a big one: a 3-pointer with 4:02 left that helped to squelch a Temple comeback.
Glasser also connected from behind the arc. The junior went 4-for-5 on 3s for Arizona State (25-9).
No. 11-seed Temple (22-12) was eliminated in the opening round for the second year in a row and hasn’t won a tournament game since 2001. Senior Dionte Christmas scored 29 in his final game for the Owls.
“If you would have told us that James Harden would have ended up with nine points and I would have had 29 points and we lost the game, I would have thought you were crazy,” Christmas said.
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