Inside The Wildcats

Arizona beats Akron in March Madness first-round game: Game recap, highlights

The Wildcats will play the winner of Oregon vs. Liberty in the second round of the NCAA Tournament
Ben Sherman|
Arizona Wildcats forward Carter Bryant (9) reacts after dunking the ball against the Akron Zips during the first half in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Climate Pledge Arena.
Arizona Wildcats forward Carter Bryant (9) reacts after dunking the ball against the Akron Zips during the first half in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Climate Pledge Arena. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

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SEATTLE — The Arizona Wildcats have advanced to the round of 32 in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

The No. 4 seed in the East Region, Arizona hammered No. 13 Akron 93-65 Friday night in an East Region first-round matchup in Seattle. The Zips struggled with the Wildcats' length and athleticism, exemplified by Arizona's staggering 53-22 rebounding advantage.

Akron dared Arizona to shoot 3-pointers, and the Wildcats obliged. They hit 12-of-25 from downtown to blow up the Zips' defensive strategy. They also outscored Akron 48-20 in the paint.

Read our complete game recap below, featuring in-game analysis, big-play highlights and much more from Arizona's first-round March Madness victory over Akron at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.

(Refresh for the latest updates.)

Arizona-Akron Second Half Recap

Arizona 93, Akron 65, final: The Wildcats advance to face the winner of Oregon vs. Liberty on Sunday. Arizona ran away with the game in the second half, outscoring Akron 52-34 over the final 20 minutes. Jaden Bradley led Arizona with 19 points and 6 rebounds, and Trey Townsend racked up 16 points and 8 rebounds.

Arizona 88, Akron 59, 2:27 left: Tommy Lloyd clears his bench. This one is officially over.

Arizona 84, Akron 55, 4:45 left: Chants of "U of A" are ringing out inside Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle — which is Washington Huskies territory. There is a lot of red in the crowd.

Arizona 75, Akron 53, 7:13 left: Arizona freshman Carter Bryant is putting on a show with his athleticism. He has 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks and several big-time dunks.

Arizona 64, Akron 46, 11:47 left: The Wildcats might score 100 in this one. They're getting out on the break and encountering little resistance as they throw down thunderous dunk after thunderous dunk. Akron has no choice but to play even faster to try to catch up, which could lead to a rather large point total for Arizona.

Dunk fest: I lost track of the dunk count, but Arizona has thrown down multiple vicious two-handed jams. Like this one from Carter Bryant.

Arizona 54, Akron 37, 15:47 left: The Wildcats are starting to pull away. Trey Townsend has 14 points and Jaden Bradley has 12. Arizona is beating Akron down the floor in transition and pounding them on the boards (35-16).

Arizona 47, Akron 33, 18:18 left: Trey Townsend gets a dunk on a run-out and Akron coach John Groce calls a quick timeout.

Dell'Orso and-one! Arizona starts the second half with a bucket and a foul on an Anthony Dell'Orso drive. He makes the Wildcats' first free throw of the night. 44-31 Arizona.

Halftime Stats: Arizona 41, Akron 31

Arizona is shooting the heck out of it — 54.5% from the field (18-of-33) and 41.7% from downtown (5-of-12) — but they've kept Akron in the game by turning it over 12 times. Arizona is outrebounding Akron 30-13.

Trey Townsend leads Arizona with 11 points and 5 rebounds and Jaden Bradley has 9 points. Carter Bryant has 7 points, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks, and Caleb Love has 5 points and 5 rebounds. KJ Lewis had a brutal first half — 1-of-6 shooting, 2 turnovers and had his shot blocked twice.

Akron is shooting 32.4% from the field (12-of-37) and 30% from downtown (3-of-10). Tavari Johnson leads the Zips with 13 points.

Arizona Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley (0) makes a pass against the Akron Zips during the first half in the first round
Arizona Wildcats guard Jaden Bradley (0) makes a pass against the Akron Zips during the first half in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Climate Pledge Arena. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Arizona-Akron First Half Recap

Arizona 41, Akron 31, halftime: The Wildcats did not play sound basketball in the first half and are fortunate to be up by 10 points. They turned the ball over 12 times, went 0-of-5 from the free throw line and KJ Lewis played one of his worst stretches of the season.

Arizona 33, Akron 22, 3:50 left: The Wildcats should be up by 20-plus points, but they've turned the ball over 11 times and have missed all four of their free throws. They're outrebounding Akron 25-11 and have five blocks. Akron is shooting just 29% from the field (9-of-31).

Carter Bryant 3! A late-clock 3-pointer by freshman Carter Bryant gives Arizona a 31-21 lead with 4:30 left in the half.

9 turnovers for Arizona: Crazy sloppy passing and careless footwork so far for the Wildcats. They lead 25-17 with 6:44 left.

Arizona 23, Akron 16, 8:15 left: The Wildcats have a huge size advantage and are dominating the glass so far, 22 to 9. But they have turned the ball over 7 times and are 0-of-4 from the free throw line.

Arizona 17, Akron 13, 10:58 left: As predicted this game is being played at a fast pace — and the Zips already look a little tired. Akron is 6-of-19 from the field and Arizona is 7-of-15. Akron has only taken four 3-pointers, while Arizona has shot 7. Jaden Bradley leads Arizona with 7 points.

Sloppy start for Arizona: The Wildcats have four turnovers and are 0-of-2 from the free throw line in the first six minutes of the game.

Arizona 11, Akron 6, 16:00 left: The Wildcats are applying max ball pressure to take away 3-pointers, and Akron is adjusting by driving to the hoop and hitting cutters on backdoor pressure releases. The chess match between Tommy Lloyd and John Groce is unfolding.

Arizona 9, Akron 0, 18:11 left: The Wildcats start the game with three consecutive 3-pointers: Jaden Bradley, Trey Townsend and Caleb Love. Akron is daring them to shoot. Timeout Zips.

Arizona starting 5: Tommy Lloyd is starting Trey Townsend, Tobe Awaka, Jaden Bradley, Caleb Love and Anthony Dell'Orso. Here we go. There are maybe 2,000 fans in the arena right now, about half Arizona fans.

Arizona-Akron Pregame Notes

Empty arena: There's a bottleneck trying to get fans back into the arena after clearing it out following the first session. It is going to be unusually quiet in here for the first part of the game. Tons of empty seats.

No. 12 seed Colorado State upset No. 5 Memphis in the first game of the day at Climate Pledge Arena, and No. 4 Maryland is handling No. 13 Grand Canyon in the second game. Grand Canyon has the largest fan presence here so far. We'll see how many Arizona fans made the trip. Tip off is 60 minutes away.

This is the home of the NHL's Seattle Kraken, and the transformation from ice to a basketball court is pretty cool to watch:

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Ben Sherman
BEN SHERMAN

Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his 27-year journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. A basketball junkie, March Madness is his favorite time of the year.

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