Arizona and Akron square off in first round of NCAA Tournament
Associated Press
Akron Zips (28-6, 20-1 MAC) vs. Arizona Wildcats (22-12, 16-8 Big 12)
Seattle; Friday, 7:35 p.m. EDT
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Wildcats -14.5; over/under is 167.5
BOTTOM LINE: No. 21 Arizona and Akron play in the NCAA Tournament first round.
The Wildcats are 16-8 against Big 12 opponents and 6-4 in non-conference play. Arizona averages 81.7 points while outscoring opponents by 9.3 points per game.
The Zips are 20-1 against MAC opponents. Akron has a 3-1 record in one-possession games.
Arizona's average of 6.8 made 3-pointers per game this season is only 0.6 fewer made shots on average than the 7.4 per game Akron gives up. Akron averages 12.2 more points per game (84.6) than Arizona allows (72.4).
TOP PERFORMERS: Caleb Love averages 2.5 made 3-pointers per game for the Wildcats, scoring 16.6 points while shooting 32.3% from beyond the arc. KJ Lewis is shooting 39.8% and averaging 12.1 points over the past 10 games.
Bowen Hardman averages 1.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Zips, scoring 6.7 points while shooting 39.6% from beyond the arc. Nate Johnson is averaging 14.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.5 steals over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Wildcats: 5-5, averaging 80.4 points, 33.5 rebounds, 14.7 assists, 6.1 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 47.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.7 points per game.
Zips: 9-1, averaging 84.5 points, 33.4 rebounds, 16.3 assists, 7.6 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 48.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 77.1 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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