The Arizona Wildcats (22-12) will face the Akron Zips (28-6) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday in Seattle, WA.
Led by head coach Tommy Lloyd, Arizona enters the tournament as the No. 4 seed in the East region. The Wildcats average a robust 81.7 points per game and are coming off a runner-up finish in the Big 12 Tournament. Caleb Love (16.6 ppg), Jaden Bradley (11.8 ppg) and KJ Lewis (10.9 ppg) carry the bulk of the scoring load for Arizona.
Akron clinched the MAC regular-season title and secured the conference tournament championship by defeating Miami (OH). Like Arizona, the No. 13 seed Zips are known for their offensive prowess, averaging 84.6 points per game.
The winner of this game earns the right to play the winner of the Liberty vs. Oregon game.
Lets dive into the matchup and offer some information and possibly a sweat or two.
We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on the how to catch the opening tip, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
Game details & how to watch Akron vs. Arizona
- Date: Friday, March 21, 2025
- Time: 7:35PM EST
- Site: KeyArena
- City: Seattle, WA
- Network/Streaming: truTV
Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest scores and player news. Check out our day-by-day NCAA Basketball Schedule Page that includes live game updates.
Game odds for Akron vs. Arizona
The latest odds as of Thursday courtesy of BetMGM:
- Odds: Akron Zips (+750), Arizona Wildcats (-1200)
- Spread: Wildcats -14.5
- Total: 166.5 points
Expert picks & predictions for Akron vs. Arizona
NBC Sports Bet Best Bet
Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NCAA calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, injuries, and the schedule.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Friday’s Zips & Wildcats game:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Akron Zips +14.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Game Total UNDER 166.5.
Akron vs. Arizona: Top betting trends and recent stats
- Akron has won their last 7 games
- Akron is 4-3 against the spread in their last 7 games (14-15 ATS for the season
- Arizona is just 3-3 in their last 6 games
- Arizona is 2-4 against the spread in their last 6 games (16-15 ATS for the season)
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NCAA Basketball Top Trends Tool on NBCSports.com!
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· Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
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· Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
· Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)
