AKRON, Ohio — Akron won't have to travel very far for its opening game of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament.
On "Selection Sunday," the Zips were seeded 14th in the Midwest Region, and will battle No. 3 Creighton in the first round Thursday in Pittsburgh. UA earned its second March Madness bid in three years with a thrilling 62-61 win over rival Kent State in Saturday's Mid-American Conference championship game.
Ever since the hiring of Keith Dambrot as head coach back in 2004, Akron has emerged as arguably the best program in the MAC, making the NCAA Tournament five times in the last 20 seasons. The success has continued under John Groce, who in his seven years has now made "The Dance" twice.
The 2023-24 Zips (24-10) topped the conference standings for most of the winter, but faltered down the stretch and lost the title to Toledo on the final day of the regular season. Their momentum sapped, the team then faced halftime deficits in each of their MAC tourney games, only to overcome adversity each and every time.
The group is led by senior forward Enrique Freeman, the unanimous MAC Player of the Year who also just won his second conference tournament MVP in three years. The Cleveland native leads the nation with 12.9 rebounds per game and 30 double-doubles, averaging 18.6 points per game in the process.
Also playing a huge role is guard Ali Ali, whose journey may be among the most unique in college basketball. After helping Akron win the conference two years ago, he transferred to Butler the very next season, only to return to Summit County another year later. With 15.6 points per game on 48.2% shooting, he was named a first-team All-MAC selection along with Freeman.
Meanwhile, Creighton (23-9) is making its ninth tourney appearance in 14 years under head coach Greg McDermott, and is fresh off a run to the Elite Eight just last season. Three starters returned from that group, including unanimous first-team All-Big East guard Baylor Scheierman (18.4 points, 9.0 rebounds per game) and three-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year Ryan Kalkbrenner (17.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.0 blocks per game).
The Bluejays finished the regular season tied for second in their conference, but were upset in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. This will be the fifth all-time matchup between the two school, with Creighton winning three of the previous four meetings.
Overall, this will be Akron's sixth March Madness berth since 1986, but the squad has yet to win a tournament game. In their most recent trip in 2022, the Zips led powerhouse UCLA late as a 14-seed before falling 57-53 in the first round.
Thursday's game will tip off at 1:30 p.m. from PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.