Friday, March 19th – 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament: First Round

No. 12 Akron (29-5, 17-1 MAC) vs. No. 5 Texas Tech (22-10, 12-6 MAC)
Tom McCarthy (PxP), Candace Parker (Analyst), Dan Bonner (Analyst), AJ Ross (Analyst)
LIVE on truTV | Live Stats | 12:40 PM ET

The No. 12 Akron Zips battle the No. 5 Texas Tech Red Raiders on Friday, Mar. 20, at 12:40 p.m. for the first all-time meeting between the two schools. Akron and Texas Tech can be viewed on truTV with Tom McCarthy  (PxP), Candace Parker (Analyst), Dan Bonner (Analyst) and AJ Ross  (Analyst) on the call. Fans can listen to the action on the Varsity Network with Dave Skoczen (PxP) and Joe Dunn (Analyst) on the call or Westwood One with John Sadak (PxP) and Tom Crean (Analyst) on the call. Live stats are also available on GoZips.com/coverage.

Akron will make its 23rd postseason appearance, including the NCAA Tournament 17 times with nine of those showings coming as a Division II institution. 

John Groce will be leading the Zips in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time as the head coach at Akron. Groce is 4-5 in the NCAA Tournament as a head coach (3-1 at Ohio,1-1 at Illinois, 0-3 at Akron) and is 3-3 in the first round. Groce has recorded wins in the opening round with Illinois (2013) and Ohio (2012 and 2010). 

In addition to the 2010 and 2012 NCAA Tournament performances at Ohio , the Bobcats became just the sixth school ever to win games as both a 13 and 14 seed. Also 1-of-6 teams to win two games. In 2012, Ohio advanced to the Sweet 16 defeating No. 2 Michigan and No. 12 seed South Florida before falling in overtime to No. 1 seed North Carolina.

Akron has taken home six MAC trophies since 2020. The Zips won the regular season title in 2020 and 2025 while winning the conference tournament in 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026

Setting and breaking records have become a common occurrence for the Zips the past couple of seasons. After winning the Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship in 2026, Akron became the first MAC school to capture the Tournament title in three consecutive seasons.

No. 12 Akron battles No. 12 Texas Tech in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.

The Zips enter the NCAA Tournament with a 29-5 overall record. The Blue and Gold went 17-1 in conference action.

Akron recently defeated Toledo, 79-76, in the Mid-American Conference Championship on a last-second 3 from Shammah Scott. Four Zips scored in double figures, led by Tavari Johnson and Amani Lyles' 15 points. Lyles also tied his career-high in rebounds with 16 against the Rockets to post a double-double. 

Johnson leads the Zips in points (20.1) and assists (5.0). Amani Lyles leads the Blue and Gold in rebounds (8.1). Evan Mahaffey leads the way in steals (1.7) and total blocks (26). 

Akron is scoring 88.4 points per game while outscoring its opponents by 14.9 points. The Zips shoot .503 from the field while shooting .379 from beyond the arc and average 10.9 3s per game. The Blue and Gold hold a .754 ft percentage while averaging 38.1 rebounds, 18.4 assists, 10.9 turnovers, 7.5 steals and 3.1 blocks per game.

The Zips rank in the top five in the MAC in scoring offense (2nd - 88.4), scoring defense (3rd - 73.5), scoring margin (2nd - +14.9), fg pct (2nd. - .503), opp fg pct (1st - .421), 3pt pct (3rd - .379), 3s made per game (1st - 10.9), ft pct (2nd - .754), rebounding (2nd - 38.1), opp rebounds (2nd - 33.1), off rebounds (4th - 11.4), def rebounds (2nd - 26.7), rebound margin (3rd - +5.0), turnover margin (2nd - +2.56), assist-turnover ratio (1st - +1.69), assists (1st - 18.44) and steals (5th - 7.53). 

Akron ranks 18th in the NCAA in assist-turnover ratio (+1.69), 7th in assists per game (18.4), 32nd in bench points per game (29.21), 8th in effective fg pct (.588), 29th in fastbreak points (14.53), 10th in fg pct (.503), 64th in fg pct defense (.421), 55th in fewest fouls per game (15.8), 64th in ft pct (.754), 46th in rebound margin (+5.0), 46th in def rebounds (26.71), 53rd in rebounds per game (38.06), 9th in scoring margin (+14.9), 7th in scoring offense (88.4), 21st in 3pt pct (.379), 9th in 3s made per game (10.9), 47th in turnover margin (+2.6) and 57th in turnovers forced per game (13.53).

Individually, Evan Mahaffey ranks 53rd in the NCAA in assist-turnover ratio (+2.68) and 74th in total steals (57). Tavari Johnson ranks 45th in total assists (170), 62nd in assists per game (5.0), 8th in made fg (251), 56th in ft pct (.870), 18th in total points (684) and 31st in points per game (20.1). Amani Lyles ranks 54th in double-doubles (9), 49th in fg pct (.557), 47th in total rebounds (273), 57th in def rebounds per game (5.79) and 79th in rebounds per game (8.0). Shammah Scott ranks 98th in total made 3s (81).

The winner of Akron-Texas Tech will advance to face the winner of No. 4 Alabama and No. 13 Hofstra in second-round play. 

No. 11 Miami (29-5, 17-1 MAC) vs. No. 6 Tennessee (22-11, 11-7 MAC)
Andrew Catalon (PxP), Steve Lappas (Analyst), Evan Washburn (Sideline)
LIVE on TBS | Live Stats | 4:25 PM ET

Miami takes on Tennessee on Friday, March 20 at 4:25 p.m. in an NCAA Tournament first-round game in Philadelphia. The winner between the 11th-seeded RedHawks (32-1) and the sixth-seeded Volunteers (22-11) will then face either Virginia or Wright State Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16. Miami is coming off an 89-79 victory over SMU in the First Four to earn its first NCAA Tournament win since the Wally Szczerbiak-led RedHawks won a pair of games in 1999. Wednesday's victory marked Coach Travis Steele's first win as a head coach in the NCAA Tournament. This is Miami's first appearance in March Madness since 2007 and the first at-large bid for a MAC team since 1999. Miami set records this year for the best start to a season in program history, the best start for a program in MAC history, the longest win streak in MAC history, the most consecutive conference wins in MAC history and the most wins in program history, becoming just the fifth NCAA D-I men's program this century to go undefeated in regular-season play.

Tennessee enters the NCAA Tournament with a 22-11 record (11-7 SEC) after losing to Vanderbilt in the SEC quarterfinals last Friday. UT finished tied for fourth in the conference standings during the regular season (they were picked third in the preseason poll). The Volunteers went 30-8 a year ago (12-6 SEC) and advanced to the 2025 Elite Eight under veteran coach Rick Barnes. Barnes has led the Vols to eight-straight NCAA Tournaments and owns 858 career victories in 39 years as a head coach between George Mason (1987-88), Providence (1988-94), Clemson (1994-98), Texas (1998-2015) and Tennessee (2015-present). 

Three Volunteers average in double figures, led by senior guard Ja'kobi Gillespie (18 ppg) and freshman forward Nate Ament (17.5). J.P. Estrella, a redshirt sophomore forward, contributes 10.1 ppg. Ament paces the Vols in rebounds (6.6), while Gillespie leads the team in assists (5.4) and steals (2.1). 6-foot-11 senior Felix Okpara blocks 1.4 shots per game. 

This will be the seventh all-time meeting between Miami and Tennessee, with the Vols leading the series 4-2. The series began in 1947 with a Miami win, and the programs also met three times in the space of 25 months from 1997 to 1999, including a RedHawk win over the Vols in Millett Hall (Nov. 19, 1998). The most recent matchup between the programs came on December 1, 1999, a 78-59 Tennessee victory in Knoxville.

Miami knocked down a First-Four record 16 three-pointers and rode the momentum from a pro-RedHawk crowd at UD Arena to defeat SMU 89-79 Wednesday night in Dayton. Eian Elmer led Miami with 23 points and matched his career high with six triples, while Brant Byers added 19 points, Luke Skaljac chipped in 17 and Almar Atlason finished with 12. For a notebook including celebrity faces in the crowd, how Miami's Speedo-wearing swimmers sparked a game-changing run, Elmer's 1,000th career point, and more, check out the game story.