Trey Townsend is the perfect player to alert his Arizona teammates about what can happen if they don’t fully prepare for first-round opponent Akron.
Townsend was one of the stars of the 14th-seeded Oakland team that took down No. 3 Kentucky in last year’s first round of the NCAA Tournament.
After transferring to Arizona for his fifth season of college basketball, Townsend will aim to help the fourth-seeded Wildcats (22-12) avoid the upset attempt of the 13th-seeded Zips (28-6) in Friday’s East Region play at Seattle.
As Townsend knows, the terrain is treacherous in March. He contributed 17 points and 12 rebounds on a day 12 months ago in which teammate Jack Gohlke etched his name into March Madness lore with 32 points — including 10 3-pointers — in the 80-76 takedown of Kentucky.
“One hundred percent,” Townsend said. “It is March and anything can happen, especially nowadays. Any team can beat anybody. You don’t want to overlook anyone. You face problems if you are overlooking anybody, thinking about what’s ahead.
“We’ve learned from our struggles at the beginning of the season to never underestimate any opponent, and just play like it is your last game. Because really, now that we’re here, every time we stand on the court, it could be the last time.”
The Wildcats had a bumpy stretch run this season, going just 5-6 over the final five weeks. Two of the losses were to Houston — which earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament — including a 72-64 setback in the Big 12 tournament title game on Saturday.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said he hadn’t seen Akron play this season on the day when the pairing was unveiled. Of course, the coach has since seen plenty of the Zips.
He pointed out it really doesn’t matter that Akron is the lower-seeded team.
“We’re excited, but now that the tournament’s set, you’ve got to throw the seeds out now and go play the games,” Lloyd said.
Caleb Love leads the Wildcats with a 16.6 scoring average, but his aim is inconsistent. He is shooting just 38.6 percent from the field and 32.3 percent from 3-point range.
Akron has won seven straight games and pilfered the Mid-American Conference’s automatic bid in wild fashion while overcoming an 18-point deficit in the title game.
The Zips were playing on defense in a tie game and successfully stopped the attempt of Miami (Ohio) to go ahead. Akron then was in transition, and Nate Johnson drove for the layup with 2.3 seconds left to give the Zips a 76-74 victory.
“In that moment, I just told myself not to rush,” Johnson said. “If I’d have rushed, I probably would’ve air-balled it or something crazy.”
Johnson, who leads the Zips in scoring at 14.0 points a game, averaged 26.5 points over the last two games of the MAC tourney.
His exploits put Akron into the tournament for the third time in four seasons.
The Zips, though, have yet to win an NCAA game in six previous attempts. Akron lost to Creighton 77-60 in the 2024 first round.
Zips coach John Groce said he caught Arizona on television from time-to-time throughout the season.
“We know they’re good, obviously, and I know Tommy Lloyd does a great job of coaching them,” Groce said. “I’ve actually studied them a little bit in the past because I was fascinated with how fast they play and their pace. I know he does a good job.
“Obviously, you don’t have the type of season they’ve had unless you’re really good, and I know he’s a terrific coach.”
This will be the first meeting between the schools. The winner will face either No. 5 seed Oregon or No. 12 Liberty in Sunday’s second round.
