Arizona vs. Akron: 2025 NCAA Tournament Preview & Predictions

by BettingPros Staff |
Mar 16, 2025

The 2025 NCAA Tournament is officially here! The March Madness Bracket is set, and first-round NCAA Tournament matchups are in place. It’s time to make your picks and predictions for the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament! We’re here to help as we’ll have picks and predictions for each of the first-round 2025 NCAA Tournament games. Here are our NCAA Tournament previews and predictions for Arizona vs. Akron.

2025 NCAA Tournament Preview & Predictions: Arizona vs. Akron

Here are the odds for this opening-round matchup of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Let’s dive into our preview and predictions for this first-round NCAA Tournament matchup.

Arizona 2025 NCAA Tournament Preview

After moving to the Big 12, there was a question about whether Arizona could play up in class in the most physical league. The Wildcats started 4-5 with some ugly losses to Wisconsin, Duke, and West Virginia. Since mid-December, however, Arizona ranks as the eighth-best team in college basketball, per Bart Torvik, with a top-10 offensive unit. That unit is propelled by Caleb Love, who can be one of the streakiest DI players. The team might live and die with him in the tournament.

Otherwise, Trey Townsend transferred well from Oakland, Jaden Bradley is the second-leading scorer with his ability to slash and get to the hoop, and Anthony Dell'Orso can catch fire from deep as a 40% perimeter shooter. As a team, Arizona’s three-point shooting is lacking, but its transition play and 10th-ranked near-proximity shooting make up for it.

It's also worth noting that Arizona ranks 355th in Haslametrics' paper tiger metric. This is a team whose numbers are bolstered by its ability to crush weaker opponents. When they played up in class, especially out of conference, the Wildcats played much worse. Their recent win against Texas Tech was nice, but it was with the Red Raiders missing two of their best players. Otherwise, Arizona split the regular season with Tech and beat Iowa State thanks largely to a halfcourt buzzer shot that sent the game into overtime.

This is an experienced team with an effective offense, so it would be surprising to see Arizona suffer a first-round upset. But the deeper they get into the tournament, the harder it will be to trust this Wildcats squad, especially considering that their defense ranks 87th over the final month of play.

Akron 2025 NCAA Tournament Preview

Coming out of the MAC, Akron begins March Madness play with a dynamic yet unpredictable profile. Playing at breakneck speed, the Zips generate abundant scoring opportunities and convert with a top-35 effective field goal rate. They won't get to the charity stripe all that often but they don't give up the ball easily and manufacture second-chance points.

Their defensive approach forces tough two-pointers and limits second-chance opportunities effectively, but leaves more to be desired. Nate Johnson - the lone returning starter from last year’s tournament team-provides clutch scoring in tight situations while Tavari Johnson has stepped up in his junior campaign.

Tournament success hinges on whether their high-major talent can overcome consistency issues and the fact that they only played three teams in the KenPom top 100 and lost to all of them. In 2025, they are 21-1 with the ninth-best effective field goal rate and their offense is playing their best ball of late. At their best, Akron’s uptempo style and efficient offense make them a genuine bracket-buster candidate capable of surprising higher-seeded opponents.

Check out all of our 2025 NCAA Tournament Bracket & Betting Coverage >>

2025 NCAA Tournament Game Previews

March Madness is officially here! The 2025 NCAA Tournament Bracket has been announced, and the teams are lining up for the Big Dance. Let's take a look at the early odds, previews, and predictions for the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

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