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Akron will meet Irish in Chicago |
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Monday, March 14 2011 |
 AKRON, OH– The University of Akron men’s basketball team, fresh off its 66-65 overtime win over Kent State in the FirstEnergy Mid-American Conference Tournament, received the No. 15 seed in the Southwest Region and will face No. 2 seed Notre Dame on Friday, March 18, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
THIRD DANCE FOR ZIPS
The Zips (23-12, 9-7 MAC), appearing in their third NCAA Tournament (2009, 1986), won four games in five days to earn the MAC’s automatic bid into the “Big Dance.” The Zips and Fighting Irish will play at the United Center in Chicago. Game times will be announced on Monday.
Akron, a No. 6 seed, won 11 of its last 13 games on the way to its second MAC Tournament crown. In 2009, the Zips won 14 of 18 games down the stretch, including four games in five days as the No. 5 seed, to defeat No. 3 seed Buffalo 65-53 on March 14, 2009.
IRISH RANKED NO. 4
Notre Dame (26-6, 14-4 Big East) finished second in the regular season in the Big East and advanced to the Big East Tournament Semifinals before falling to the Louisville Cardinals. The Fighting Irish are ranked No. 4 in both the AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Polls.
Akron and Notre Dame have met twice before, with the Fighting Irish winning both meetings. The Zips fell 80-45 in South Bend on Feb. 21, 1983. On Nov. 25, 1995, Akron fell 65-54 in the second meeting between the two schools, also in South Bend.
The winner of this year’s matchup will face the winner of the No. 7 Texas A&M/No. 10 Florida State match-up on Sunday, March 20. Akron is 1-1 against Texas A&M and 1-0 against Florida State.
Courtesy of Akron Athletics
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