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Arizona Vs Akron 🏀 Game Preview/Discussion Thread 3/21/25 435PM TruTV
The Wildcats and Zips face off on Friday at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle as part of the East Regional. It is the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
Akron (28-6) is competing in the NCAA tournament for the seventh time, with the most recent appearance in 2022.
The Zips earned the automatic NCAA bid with a 76-74 win over Miami (OH) in the Mid-American Conference tournament championship. Nate Johnson, a 6-foot-3 redshirt junior, won the game on a buzzer-beating layup. Johnson, who scored 22 points in the championship game, was an all-tournament selection, while Akron's 5-foot-11 junior Tavari Johnson was named the tournament MVP after averaging 14.6 points in three games. Nate Johnson became the first player in Akron history to be named both the MAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. Akron's leading scorer, Nate is averaging 14 points, 5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.7 steals. He is shooting .306 from three-point range and .797 from the foul line.
Tavari Johnson averages 13 points and 3.9 assists. Both Nate and Tavari Johnson were first-team all-MAC selections. Senior guard Isaiah Gray (9.6 PPG) was a third-team selection. The leading rebounder is 6-foot-8 senior James Okonkwo (7.3). Okonkwo also averages 7.0 points.
Akron comes with a balanced attack with 10 players averaging between six and 14 points with the 10 averaging between 18 and 30 minutes per game. Akron coach John Groce was named the MAC Coach of the Year after guiding the Zips to the regular-season MAC title with a 17-1 record, three games ahead of second-place Miami (OH).
Arizona (22-11) lost to Houston, 72-64, in the Big 12 tournament championship game. Head coach Tommy Lloyd has guided the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament in each of his four seasons.
Fifth-year guard Caleb Love, who played in the 2022 NCAA title game with North Carolina when the Tar Heels lost 72-69 to Kansas, is averaging a team-leading 16.6 points. The 6-foot-4 Love shoots .323 from three-point range and .885 from the foul line. He also averages 3.4 assists. He was a first-team All-Big 12 selection.
Love will look to bounce back from a subpar Big 12 title game performance when scored 19 points in 39 minutes, but shot 7 for 19 from the field, including 2 of 9 from deep. Arizona's other key players are 6-3 junior Jaden Bradley (11.8 ppg., 3.6 apg.), 6-4 sophomore KJ Lewis (10.9 ppg.), 7-0 redshirt sophomore Henri Veesaar (9.5 ppg., 5.0 rpg., 1.1 blocks), 6-6 fifth-year Trey Townsend (8.3 ppg.), 6-8 junior Tobe Awaka (8.2 ppg., 7.8 rpg.) and 6-6 junior Anthony Dell'Orso (7.1 ppg., .404 three-point percentage).
Arizona is favored at 14.5 points and the Over/Under is 166.5 points
Let's talk about the Wildcats Vs Zips
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Looks like it's Lisa Byington, Robbie Hummel, Jalen Rose & Andy Katz on the call.
Arizona's game on Friday is @ Climate Pledge Arena.
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https://x.com/ristic_dusan/status/1903111732928692416?t=6jtAhHB1M046ZOhjB8XDSg&s=19
https://x.com/Zona_Briggs/status/1903203720537813109?t=APNFA570po5NiC3ZuE7syw&s=19
Amazing all around game. The only reason it was "close" (10 points) in the first half was silly turnovers and missed free throws.
Arizona hit open shots, took advantage of the size mismatch and played nasty defense against a solid outside-shooting team.
If the Cats play like that on Sunday, Dana won't stand a chance.
https://x.com/ArizonaMBB/status/1903287236105474371?t=l-QbW6qD2aoj9ZGI-uHswA&s=19