#1 Seeded Vikings Have Inside Track at NCAA Tournament Berth

Cleveland State is hosting the 2009 Horizon League volleyball tournament. The winner of the tournament is will be awarded a berth in the NCAA Tournament field of 64. The Vikings have an inside track at the berth with a #1 seed and home field advantage. Here is the entire schedule of action next weekend.

(all matches at Woodling Gymnasium in Cleveland, Ohio)

Friday, Nov. 20 -- quarterfinals
Match 1 -- #3 Milwaukee vs. #6 Green Bay -- 5:00 p.m. ET
Match 2 -- #4 Butler vs. #5 UIC -- 7:30 p.m. ET

Saturday, Nov. 21 -- semifinals
Match 3 -- #1 Cleveland State vs. lowest remaining seed -- 1:00 p.m. ET
Match 4 -- #2 Valparaiso vs. highest remaining seed -- 3:30 p.m. ET

Sunday, Nov. 22 -- championship
Match 5 -- Match 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner -- 1:00 p.m. ET

Click Here for the press release from the HL.

Click Here for the bracket.

Cleveland State head coach Gary Waters has given the disclaimer not to judge his 2009-2010 team early and that is a good thing. The young Vikings took one on the chin tonight in Western New York falling to St. Bonaventure 72-62. The Vikings had only one lead all evening (2-0) and allowed an astounding 17-22 (77.3%) shooting from the floor in the first half in the loss.

Norris Cole lead the Vikings with 13 points in the losing effort. Aaaron Pogue and Jared Cunnigham both scored 11 points and grabbed 9 boards in solid debuts as Vikings. Trevon Harmon, who had a hot hand all preseason went scoreless and heralded sophomore Nigel Ajere was notably absent from the contest leaving the frontcourt of the Vikings thin.

The Bonnies shot 16 more free throws in the contest than the Vikings in the victory and were led by Jonathan Hall's 20 points and 8 boards. Heralded center Andrew Nicholson added 17 points and 7 rebounds.

The Vikings will host Division III sqaud Wilmington at 11:30 a.m. on Monday for the teams home opener.

The Cleveland State basketball program starts its regular season tonight against Saint Bonaventure. Bonaventure loos like it will be an improved team this season after a .500 finish last season. The Bonnies feature Andrew Nicholson who stands 6' 9'' and was the Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year last season. The Vikings are finding themselves learning on the fly with only two starters back and four players who gave big contributions in a season that won over the city with wins against ranked opponents such as Syracuse, Butler, and Wake Forest, who fell to the underdog Vikings in dramatic fashion in the NCAA Tournament last season.

WHKW, 1220 AM The Word in Cleveland will once again serve as the flagship station of the Viking Basketball Radio Network for the 2009-10 season as part of an agreement between Cleveland State and Salem Communications. The announcement was made on Friday by CSU Director of Athletics Lee Reed.

In addition, the Vikings will get additional exposure under the agreement as WHKZ, 1440 AM The Word in Warren will also broadcast the games.

"The Cleveland State athletic department is happy to continue our partnership with Salem Communications and have WHKW and WHKZ serve as our primary broadcast outlets this year for Viking basketball," Reed said. "This partnership ensures that Viking fans have a high quality, regular radio destination for CSU Basketball."

Salem Communications General Manager Mark Jaycox noted, "We are excited to be teaming up again with such a great institution and we look forward to another great season of Viking basketball on board The Word 1220 AM."

Under the agreement, every game during the 2009-10 season will be aired live on both stations and streamed live on the internet via whkwradio.com. The broadcasts will include a 30-minute pre-game show.

When the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Miami Heat on their home turf recently, Michael Jordan was in the stands and apparently inspired LeBron James to give up his number, No. 23. Instead, James will sport the No. 6 next season, which was his number on Team USA, on whatever team he plays for.

James wishes that the league would take honoring Jordan even further, and believes every player in the NBA should give up the No. 23 out of respect for Jordan. He stated:

"I just think what Michael Jordan has done for the game has to be recognized some way soon. There would be no LeBron James, no Kobe Bryant(notes), no Dwyane Wade(notes) if there wasn't Michael Jordan first."

Is LeBron really that concerned with honoring one of his predacessors? He's never shown an interest before, and with his contract in Cleveland nearing an end speculation is high that he will be looking to move to a bigger, more profitable market. Perhaps the number switch is merely a sign that James is looking for a fresh start - a new number AND a new team.