Just getting into the NCAA tournament isn't a big deal for Butler anymore.

"We've done a lot so far, but we want more," guard Mike Green said.

Green matched his career high with 24 points Tuesday night, leading the Bulldogs (No. 10 ESPN/USA Today, No. 12 AP) to 70-55 victory against Cleveland State in the Horizon League tournament championship. Butler earned an automatic bid in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2001. The Bulldogs have made the tournament as an at-large team twice since, but waiting for the selection committee to make up its mind isn't as much fun as getting into the field of 65 like this.

"This is what it's all about," Green said.

Butler (29-3) blew a 14-point lead in the first half but pulled away again midway through the second half and took control with a 17-3 run while a key Cleveland State player was out with an ankle injury.

"We stuck to our game plan," Green said. "We've been here before. We took everything they could throw at us, and we had the experience to carry it off."

The Bulldogs took a 60-44 lead with six minutes to go on consecutive 3-pointers by Drew Streicher and reserve Zach Hahn.

J'Nathan Bullock, who led Cleveland State (21-12) with 21 points, scored the next five for the Vikings, but they never came closer than 13 points the rest of the game.

Matt Howard added 16 points and Streicher scored a season-high 11 for the Bulldogs.

"We did a much better job in the second half," Butler coach Brad Stevens said. "We weren't very good in the first half. They did a good job, and we needed to match that intensity in the second half."

The Bulldogs lost in the regional final last year to eventual NCAA champion Florida.

Cleveland State, which split a pair of close games with Butler in the regular season this year, came in as the Horizon's No. 2 seed behind the top-seeded Bulldogs and reached the championship game for the first time.

Cleveland State defeated Valparaiso 78-73 today and will face the winner of the University of Illinois Chicago-Butler game that is currently underway for and automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Vikings led by as many as 18 points but let the lead evaporate in the final minutes but held on for the win going on a run after Valparaiso, who CSU defeated three times this season, tied the game. Cleveland State is now 21-11 while the Crusaders fell to 21-13 on the season.Cleveland State is trying to make their first NCAA tournament since 1986.

Cleveland State's Men's Basketball team finished an exciting season today by defeating the Youngstown State Penguins. The win, coupled with a Wright State loss today, put the Vikings into the second seed for the Horizon League Tournament which starts Tuesday. The Vikings will have two byes and are seeded all the way to the semi-finals. So the Vikings, who were predicted by many as the cellar dweller in the league, find themselves only two wins to the NCAA Tournament. That quest will begin on Saturday as they wait to see who advances.

The tournament will be played at regular season champion Butler. Cleveland State defeated the Bulldogs earlier this season for their first victory over a top 25 team since their magnificent upset of Indiana University in the NCAA tournament in 1986.

Even if the Gary Waters led squad does not win the tournament, they have a great chance to earn an invitation to the NIT or the newly formed 2K Sports College Hoops Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer. The Vikings have not been to a postseason tournement since 1987 when the played in the NIT so it would add a nice cherry on top of an excellent season in which they doubled their win total from a year ago in Water's second season on the sidelines for the Vikings.

Cleveland State, despite dropping four straight road games, have made huge strides this season. The team sits at a solid second place in the competitive Horizon League and the news got even better for the once struggling program. The team has been selected to play on of ESPN's family of networks in the ESPNU Bracketbuster Game. Fourteen games are selected and the game, which will take place February 23rd this month, between Marist and Cleveland State is one of the marquee games.

"I am ecstatic that Cleveland State has been chosen as one of the televised games this year," CSU Director of Athletics Lee Reed said. "That decision shows how far the Viking Basketball program has come in just a short time and I look forward to showing off our team to the nation that night."

"This should be an interesting matchup," CSU head coach Gary Waters said. "I coached for five years in New Jersey and during that time, I learned a lot about the teams in that area. They play hard and will be a big challenge for us, especially considering that we are so focused right now on Horizon League play. It will be a welcomed change to play them in a couple of weeks and then again at Marist next year."

The Vikings come back to Cleveland after the tough road trip on Thrusday. CSU is set to tip off against Wright State which will be for sole possession of second place in the Horizon League.

Cleveland State basketball fans are dreaming about what seemed improbable at best before the season started: Their Cleveland State Vikings in the big dance in March. While that sounds wonderful, remember it's still only January and there is a lot of Horizon League basketball to be played. The good news, of course, is that the Vikings are 7-0 and as hot of a team as any in NCAA basketball. The bad news is that the schedule now turns to the road, where conference championships are won and lost.

Gary Waters' squad hits the road for four games. The road swing starts in Wisconsin playing Green Bay and Milwaukee. After Wisconsin it is off to Illinois to play University of Illinois Chicago and Loyola. If the upstart CSU team can take care of business and go a solid 3-1 on the road the chances grow for at least a solid #2 seed in the conference tournament which would automatically put Cleveland State in the semi-finals of the Horizon League tournament and also put pressure on Butler, the overwhelming favorite in the preseason, to keep winning so that the Vikings don't shock the conference and steal home court advantage when not only the most ardent Cleveland State fan would have predicted before the season began.

Winning on the road is never easy though. Ask Butler who came into a hostile Wolstein Center last week and walked away with a loss, and also fell to at Wright State (where Cleveland State managed its biggest road win of the year). CSU now is a marked team in the conference and if teams like Green Bay and Milwaukee want to climb back into Horizon League contention they will be desperate to knock the Vikings off from their lofty perch in the conference.

Green Bay is the first test on the road trek for CSU. The Phoenix own a 6-1 record at the Resch Center. Their lone loss came at the hands of Milwaukee on Saturday and will likely be eager to even their record (currently 3-4) in conference play.

It hadn't been since Rollie Massimino graced the sidelines for the Cleveland State Vikings that I attended a game at the Wolstein Center. For years, I had attended at least a few games but after seeing Vikings blow a great opportunity (the school was hosting the Horizon League tournament and upsets to the top 2 seeds opened up a possible Cinderella run but CSU couldn't capitalize) to make the NCAA tournament that year I was disillusioned.

The program looked like it would never be able to live up the "House that Mackey" built, a state of the art arena that sat over 13,000 fans. Every time that the program would make inroads, it would take a step back. First, the NCAA punished the CSU basketball squad when the team was primed to become a national contender. Even stranger, the sanctions revolved around a player (Manute Bol)who never even played for the team. Then Kevin Mackey, a young up and coming coach, was arrested and publicly disgraced.

The team that had beaten Indiana and looked destined for great things turned to a capable game coach but lousy recruiter in Mike Boyd. Boyd, with Mackey's players, nearly guided the CSU squad to a NCAA tournament berth losing only one game in the conference but upset on their home floor in the conference tournament.

Some observers even felt that like many of the other Cleveland sports teams, the Vikings were simply cursed. It wasn't a hard thing to argue. Jamal Jackson, who was the number one recruit in the entire country when he came to CSU, was gunned down on a Boston street when he was to entire his second year at the school. The curse seemed to be affecting former players as well. Sam Mitchell who starred with the team in the early 1990's died of carbon monoxide when playing professional basketball in Europe. Two former players, Jamaal Harris and Damon Stringer, were arrested for robbing Cleveland Indians pitcher CC Sabathia.

Cleveland State University has a big reason to celebrate tonight - their men's basketball team defeated #12 ranked Butler University, 56-52. The win over Butler marks the Vikings' first ever regular season win over an AP Top 25 team, an impressive feat to say the least.

Cedric Jackson scored 14 points, as did J'Nathan Bullock, to lead the team to victory. Following the impressive win, CSU students stormed the court after the final horn to celebrate. Cleveland State's record is now 13-5 overall, and 6-0 in the Horizon League.

The Vikings' last win against a ranked opponent was in 1986 against No. 16 Indiana in the NCAA tournament, with coach Kevin Mackey at the helm.

CSU hasn't seen a winning season since 2000-01, but second year coach Gary Waters is slowly turning things around. The Vikings were just 10-21 last year, and have already racked up more wins this season than they did last year. They're also faring much better within their league, as last year they were just 3-13.

The future of Cleveland State Basketball is looking pretty bright.

Cleveland State University has a big reason to celebrate tonight - their men's basketball team defeated #12 ranked Butler University, 56-52. The win over Butler marks the Vikings' first ever regular season win over an AP Top 25 team, an impressive feat to say the least.

Cedric Jackson scored 14 points, as did J'Nathan Bullock, to lead the team to victory. Following the impressive win, CSU students stormed the court after the final horn to celebrate. Cleveland State's record is now 13-5 overall, and 6-0 in the Horizon League.

The Vikings' last win against a ranked opponent was in 1986 against No. 16 Indiana in the NCAA tournament, with coach Kevin Mackey at the helm.

CSU hasn't seen a winning season since 2000-01, but second year coach Gary Waters is slowly turning things around. The Vikings were just 10-21 last year, and have already racked up more wins this season than they did last year.

Cleveland State hosted the Ohio State Buckeyes hoping for an upset against their in-state rivals, but kept away on the short end of a final score 85-65. Ohio State moved their record to 7-4, while Cleveland State fell to 7-4.

The Vikings, who have had the upset down pat this year defeating two big programs in South Florida and Florida State University, had a hard time finding the basket against the tough Buckeyes defense hitting only 30% the field. The Cleveland State squad but was burned by the sharp shooting of OSU as they allowed 12/21 (57%) of OSU's three pointers which was the major contributer to their loss.

Ohio State was led in scoring by Jon Diebler who netted 17 on 5/6 shooting from beyond the 3 point arc while Kosta Koufas added 16 and David Lighty contributed 15. Forward J'Nathan Bullock led Cleveland State with 16 points off the bench

Nearly 13,000 saw the game at the Quicken Loans Arena. The Vikings host Central Michigan at the Wolstein Center on Saturday.

Article Reprinted from The Cleveland Leader. Please visit their news website for the best CSU Coverage and other Cleveland area news.