Arizona Wildcats advance with dominant NCAA Tournament win over Akron

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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