Cleveland State Vikings

The Cleveland State Vikings play at the Wolstein Center in downtown Cleveland, and the program is forever tied to one of the most improbable Cinderella runs in NCAA Tournament history. Cleveland State has built its identity around upset-minded, high-pressure basketball capable of knocking off blue bloods when it matters most. The Vikings remain a proud member of the Horizon League with a fanbase that still talks about their most famous March. It's a program that has proven, more than once, that seeding doesn't guarantee outcomes.

Cleveland State's signature moment came in 1986, when 14th-seeded Cleveland State, led by coach Kevin Mackey and stars Ken "Mouse" McFadden and Eric Mudd, upset Bobby Knight's third-seeded Indiana Hoosiers to advance all the way to the Sweet Sixteen. That team finished 29-4 and remains the standard by which the program measures itself. Mackey went 142-69 over seven seasons before a personal scandal ended his tenure in 1990. Cleveland State has continued to be a Horizon League contender in the decades since, a program whose history is inseparable from that one magical tournament run.