Akron vs. UCLA NCAA Tournament First Round Picks (Archive)
Streaking at just the right time, the Akron Zips look to play the role of Cinderella on Thursday’s sports betting calendar when they take on the UCLA Bruins at the NCAA Tournament in Portland. Here is all you need to know for your NCAAB picks.
Akron Zips vs. UCLA Bruins
Thursday, March 17, 2022 – 09:50 PM EDT at Moda Center
Cinderella has been frequently seen in recent years wearing a No. 13 seed slipper, and Akron would love to add to that lore in the opening round against a college hoops giant and No 4. seed UCLA. The Zips just made an impressive run through the MAC Tournament to land the automatic bid, and they’ll be looking to build on an 8-game win streak by taking out one of college basketball’s winningest teams.
Relegated to the First Four a year ago as a No. 11 seed, UCLA was playing with house money as it roared through the bracket before falling to Gonzaga in the Final Four. The Bruins won’t be surprising anyone this time, and instead, have a target on their backs after preseason NCAAB futures made them a solid contender for a national championship.
Beware the Ides of No. 13 Seeds
One of the final contests of the first full day of action, TBS carries the broadcast for this 4/13 skirmish. For those bettors who might be chasing after seeing their brackets blow up earlier in the day, UCLA has a double-digit chalk line in the 13½-14 range, with 128½ showing up across the board on the NCAAB odds.
This is the first time for the Bruins and Zips to come together on the hardwood, so there’s no history to fall back on for potential betting trends. There are some healthy trends, however, in the recent history for No. 13 seeds, and some of those results fall squarely in the laps of teams from the MAC.
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Going back to the 2018 NCAA Men’s Tournament, No. 13 seeds have won 5 of the 12 matchups with No. 4 seeds outright. Those same No. 13 seeds have been ATM machines along the way by covering spreads in 10 of the 12 contests. Among those straight-up winners, two belong to MAC teams – Ohio upsetting Virginia last season as the 13th seed in the West Region while Buffalo upset Arizona as the 13th seed in the 2018 tourney.
Zips Cover 7 of Last 8 Games
Wrapping up his fifth season as the head zipper, John Groce has Akron returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013, and for just the fifth time in school history. The Zips have yet to advance past the first round and were blown out 88-42 by VCU as the No 12 seed in 2013. The closest they came was in 1986 when the Zips suffered a 6-point loss to No. 2 seed Michigan.
Akron’s three wins in the MAC Tournament all came as a small underdog at top sportsbooks, and there’s no question the beating the Zips put on rival Kent State in the title tilt was the most satisfying. That victory came after several Kent State players made some silly video at the expense of Akron, and after the Golden Flashes beat the Zips twice in the regular season.
It was the defense that carried Akron through the season, and the defense that has carried the Zips during their current 8-game win streak. The Zips are top 30 in the country allowing 64.2 PPG, and that number is 62.5 PPG in the streak when five of the eight contests were ‘under’ winners.
Bruins 6-0 ATS at Last Year’s Dance
Mick Cronin and the Bruins just saw a 5-game win streak of their own come to an end in the Pac-12 Championship. Closing as a 2-point underdog at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review), UCLA held a 12-point lead early in the second half before Arizona found its mark and rallied for an 84-76 final. The Bruins and Wildcats split their regular-season matchups with decisive home wins.
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Part of UCLA’s downfall in the conference championship was an off game from beyond the arc. The Bruins sank just 5-of-22 from 3-point range, with Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Jules Bernard a combined 2-12. Arizona also outscored UCLA by 10 points from the free-throw line.
While it wouldn’t bother me a bit to see the Zips finally win an NCAA Tournament game, I couldn’t pull the trigger on them in my brackets to pull off this upset. Still, I’ll be happy to take the points for my free college basketball pick.
NCAAB Pick: Akron +14 (-108) at Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.