Madness starts tonight for Akron Zips

AKRON, Ohio (BNN) – – Let the madness begin! It's game day for the Akron Zips as they take on Creighton.

The 14th-seed Akron Zips take on 3rd-ranked Creighton at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday. The Zips are 1-3 all-time against Creighton with the last match-up eight years earlier.

The Zips said they understand the opposing team has good-sized gamers and huge skills on both offense and defense however they're looking forward to the obstacle.

The Zips flirted with ending up being a Cinderella team in the 2022 NCAA tournament nearly taking out UCLA in the very first video game. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire by means of Getty Images).

" Our experience in a competition before is going to assist us tremendously," stated Forward Enrique Freeman. "We can pick up mistakes we ruined on execution-wise when we played UCLA.".

" It assists us having familiarity with the bright lights," stated Zips Guard Ali Ali. "At the end of the day it's a 40-minute game. We'll have to play tough and carry out on both sides of the ball.".

" They have actually been around some time," said Coach John Groce. "They've played in big games – – the excellent, the bad, the awful, the ups and downs that you have to fight through.".

All eyes will be on Forward Enrique Freeman who has an incredible story.

CLEVELAND, OH – – MARCH 16: Mid-American Conference Commissioner Dr. Jon A.Steinbrecher presents the MAC Tournament Most Valuable Player prize to Akron Zips forward Enrique Freeman (25) following the MAC Men's Basketball Tournament Championship video game in between the Kent State Golden Flashes and Akron Zips on March 16, 2024, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire by means of Getty Images).

When he went to Akron he had no plans of playing basketball. He decided to become a walk-on and now is one of the very best professional athletes in the MAC. During his years he has won Defensive Player of the Year, MAC Tournament MVP twice, Conference MVP and now All-American.

Cavs coach states he received hazards from gamblers.

" I'm simply genuinely happy for the journey," said Freeman. "We've all put in a great deal of work to get to where we are now and we can continue to press forward.".

Coach Groce stated Freeman's mother is a Cleveland City Police Officer who raised him right.

This will be Akron's 6th NCAA Tournament appearance however they have yet to advance from the preliminary.