The Cleveland State Vikings are set to take on the Detroit Titans on Saturday, as part of the 2012 Horizon League Tournament semifinals. Cleveland State recently beat the Wright State Raiders in their last outing, a dominating 77-55 win. They also bested Detroit just before that, winning 77-64, and also bested them in their first outing, back on Dec. 3, in a close 66-61 win. Now, they'll take them on for the third time with stakes just a little bit higher than before.
A recent win over Detroit has to do wonders for a Cleveland State squad that lost five of its last seven games, with all five coming in a row before the aforementioned victories over Detroit and Wright State. Detroit, to their credit, picked up some solid wins to end the season, with high-scoring wins over Youngstown State and Loyola, winning those games 93-76 and 80-71, respectively. They're on a three-game winning streak, with just a single loss separating them from an eight-straight games as the winner.
Though Cleveland State has won more games recently, Detroit has dominated the all-time series, with a 35-17 record against the Vikings. Detroit was riding hot in their most recent outing, shooting 60 percent from the floor, something that has been a near-constant for them this season. The Vikings will depend on Trey Harmon to keep pace with Detroit, though it's no secret that they plan to win this game with defense.
The Vikings are the No. 2 seed, but the Titans are a strong, strong No. 3 seed, so this one will be interesting. Cleveland State should have the advantage with their defensive personnel, though. The game is set for 6:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPNU and ESPN3.