Arizona basketball is back in the March Madness spotlight. Only this time the Wildcats withstood their first Big 12 gauntlet to reach their 39th NCAA Tournament and fourth under Tommy Lloyd. Arizona advanced all the way to the conference title game before falling to eventual champion Houston.
Arizona has new momentum for this version of the tourney. But they’re still on upset alert. Even after ranking as high as No. 9 and claiming third in their new conference.
Arizona may be earning a high No. 4 seed before trekking to Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. But there’s multiple reasons why Arizona isn’t a lock to surpass the first round of the East regional.
Time to look at what could doom this Arizona team. And how the 13th-seeded Akron Zips really match up to ‘Zona.
Arizona is facing March Madness veteran coach on Akron
Akron doesn’t have the litany of NCAA Tournament history that’s seen in Tucson. But the Zips have a March veteran on their side.
John Groce returns to the national spotlight after guiding a 28-6 mark. He’s now taken three different programs to the big dance in Ohio University and Illinois — the latter his last coaching stop.
But this Akron team is his best one yet. The Zips hit a school record 28 victories ahead of the tournament.
Arizona’s opponent can score at will
Groce has created an offensive machine in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) representative.
Akron is walking into Seattle averaging 84.6 points per game. That’s the highest mark under Groce. The Zips are bringing with them the nation’s eighth-best scoring offense.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats produced the 13th ranked Big 12 defense. They rated 13 out of 16 conference teams. Lloyd’s defense already could have their hands full.
Akron has multiple scorers for Arizona to account for
To continue with the offensive aspect, Akron brings scoring depth in this contest.
Nate Johnson is the leader at 14 points per game. Tavari Johnson follows by hitting 13 PPG.
But Akron then has this rare depth on its side: Ten different players average more than 6.3 points per game. Groce prefers to play up to 10 players on any given night and play fast, all to wear down opponents.
Akron is red-hot in 2025
The year 2025 has been awfully kind to the Zips.
They’ve only lost once after the calendar flipped to the new year. Akron’s lone ’25 loss came on Feb. 22 against Ohio.
Groce has led an astonishing 21-1 mark in ’25. He’s turned Akron into one of the hottest teams in this tournament.
Arizona has first round demon on its side
Past history could snake bite Arizona on Friday.
Every other season, Lloyd guided a semifinals run. But not long ago Arizona got bounced in the first round in 2023 by Princeton. And that was a Tigers team that entered as a No. 15 seed.
Arizona has endured a total of three first round exits in the last decade. And the last defeat from 2017-18 came following a semifinals run. The Wildcats also haven’t made the Final Four since their National Championship season of 1996-97. A fourth opening round exit since 2015 could get the fanbase to call out Lloyd.
Arizona must play its style of aggressively charging to the basket and avoid relying on the three-point shot. But Akron presents a more daunting challenge than many bracket fillers will think.
The post Why Arizona is on upset alert in 2025 NCAA Tournament appeared first on ClutchPoints.
