Arizona Wildcats advance with dominant NCAA Tournament win over Akron
The fourth-seeded Arizona Wildcats took care of business in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, dominating 13th-seed Akron in Seattle.
Caleb Love #1 of the Arizona Wildcats drives against Sharron Young #3 of the Akron Zips during the second half in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Climate Pledge Arena on March 21, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The fourth-seeded Arizona Wildcats men’s basketball team took care of business in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, dominating 13th-seed Akron 93-65 in Seattle.
Arizona will play 5-seed Oregon at 6:40 p.m. Sunday on TBS, after the Ducks trounced 12-seed Liberty in Friday’s nightcap.
Jaden Bradley led the team with 19 points to pair with six rebounds and two steals, but five Wildcats put up double-digit points. Trey Townsend put up 16 points with eight boards and two blocks, while Carter Bryant scored 12 off the bench.
The Wildcats started the game on a 9-0 run, capped by a logo 3-pointer by First Team All-Big 12 honoree Caleb Love.
Caleb Love from LOGO RANGE 😳#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/SoA0HXaBHg
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 21, 2025
Akron tied the game at 11-all before Bryant stuffed an attempt at the rim and ran the floor for a transition dunk assisted by KJ Lewis.
THE WILDCATS ARE FLYING AROUND THE COURT 🔥#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/XqMaQFv97T
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 22, 2025
Arizona took a 41-31 lead into halftime, ending the half after Bryant collected his own miss on a 3-pointer and slammed it down with two hands.
The Wildcats ran away in the second half, similarly starting the period on a 9-2 run. They jumped ahead by as many as 34 points.
Arizona shot 56.5% (39 of 69) from the floor and hit 12 of 25 three-balls.
Arizona entered the Big Dance having advanced to the Big 12 Championship game and falling to top-seeded Houston. The Wildcats defeated fellow NCAA Tournament teams Kansas and Texas Tech en route to the title game in their first year in the conference.
They are now 5-3 in the NCAA Tournament under head coach Tommy Lloyd.
Akron punched its ticket by winning the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
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Comments
4 Comments
Impressive squash win by UA. Next up an old rival in Oregon.
BTFD!
Looks like it's gonna be Oregon, next. Memories of the Pac12.....AZ/Oregon games are always classics. I'm sure this one will not be any different. Gonna have to bring it on Sunday.
Not a big Oregon fan I take it....lol
I'll be happy with a 1 point win, but +50 would be sweet.