The champions of the MAC will face an at-large team from the Big 12 as the Akron Zips face the Arizona Wildcats in the opening round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. This game is set to take place on Friday, March 21, 2025 from Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, and will feature the 13th-seeded Zips and the 4th-seeded Wildcats in the East Region. Arizona is expected to win this game handily, but Akron will attempt to put a scare into them in this matchup from the Pacific Northwest.
According to the odds from DraftKings Sportsbook, Arizona is a 14.5-point favorite. Meanwhile, the total for this matchup has been set at a massive 167.5 points. Here, we break down this MAC vs Big 12 matchup and make our pick for Akron vs Arizona.
Can Akron Score With Arizona?
Akron won the MAC championship, beating Miami (OH) 76-74 in the championship game to clinch the league’s automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. The Zips have won seven games in a row coming into March Madness. And while they are underdogs to win an eighth game in a row here, they will hope that their offensive firepower is enough to deliver them a win in this contest.
Akron ranks inside of the top-10 in the nation in scoring this season, averaging 84.6 points per game. As is always the case in these early-round NCAA Tournament games, the question will be whether or not Akron’s offense can get close to that level of production against a big-time program. If they can, we could be in for one of the more interesting first-round matchups in this year’s tournament.
Arizona Aims to Build On Big 12 Title Game Appearance
Arizona made it to the championship game of the Big 12 tournament in their first season as a member of the conference this year. They did not win that conference championship game, losing to a Houston Cougars team that is one of the top seeds in the tournament. Still, that run to the final helped Arizona’s seeding, as they come into this tournament with high expectations.
The Wildcats are led by a player with plenty of big-game experience in the NCAA Tournament. That would be Caleb Love, who helped North Carolina get to the national championship game in 2022. Love leads the Wildcats with 16.6 points per game, as he will look to avoid inefficient shooting performances to help his team get deep into the tourney.
Akron vs Arizona Prediction
Akron +14.5 (-110) over Arizona
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Claim Bonus - Akron is averaging nearly 85 points per game and could keep themselves in this game with their offense.
- Akron plays with the 16th fasted adjusted tempo according to Kenpom and they could get Arizona out of their comfort zone in this matchup.
