'All filet mignon left in this tournament': Akron embraces challenge that Arizona presents
Working the sidelines during an NCAA Tournament game is nothing new for University of Akron men's basketball coach John Groce .
The same can be said for Zips associate head coach Dustin Ford .
Groce and Ford coached Ohio to two NCAA Tournament appearances with a first-round win in 2010 and a run to the Sweet 16 in 2012.
They guided Illinois to the third round of the NCAA Tournament in 2013, and will lead Akron to its third appearance in the NCAA Tournament in the past four years when the No. 13 seed Zips (28-6) meet No. 4 seed Arizona (22-12) at 7:30 p.m. Friday in an East Region game at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle .
"I am super excited obviously for our guys to get a chance to compete and to be a part of March Madness ," Groce said after a Selection Sunday watch party at Rhodes Arena. "It is special. That is why you saw all the joy when the announcement was made."
For Groce and Ford, the prospect of playing in March Madness never gets old.
"In terms of Arizona, Dustin brought up a good point to me [Sunday] morning with an analogy. He said, 'There is all filet mignon left in this tournament,'" Groce said.
Groce then laughed and added: "There is not going to be any hamburger. So, we know they're good. Obviously, I know Tommy Lloyd does a great job of coaching them. I've actually studied them a little bit in the past because I was fascinated with how fast they play, their pace, and I know he does a good job.
"So, I'll know more obviously once I get a chance to watch some film and prepare, but 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."
Arizona is a regular in the NCAA Tournament, with a national title victory in 1997 and a national runner-up finish in 2001 under former coach Lute Olson. The Wildcats have have made four Final Four appearances, 11 Elite Eight appearances and 20 Sweet Sixteen appearances.
Arizona features fifth-year senior Caleb Love, who is in his second season with the Wildcats after playing three seasons at North Carolina.
"They're a great team or else they wouldn't be in the field, so we know that much about 'em, but we're looking forward to getting to learn more about 'em as the next couple of days go ahead," Akron senior Seth Wilson said. "... [Love is] one of the best guards in the country."
Akron is seeking its first NCAA Tournament win since becoming a Division I program in 1980.
"It's a great feeling getting back to March Madness," Akron junior Tavari Johnson said Sunday. "We know Arizona's a great team. Can't wait to learn more about 'em ahead with scout and learn more what we're going to do in our game plan heading into the week."
Johnson said there is "definitely more adrenaline and definitely more intensity going into" NCAA Tournament games.
"The world is watching," Johnson said. "You want to play well in front of that many people, so it's definitely more nerves and intensity and more focus going into it."
Johnson added, "It'd mean a lot for us and the school and Akron " to get the first victory in the NCAA Division I Tournament for the Zips , who are 0-6 all time in the tournament.
"It'd be great to do that with this team, with all the things, all the records that we've broken already, all the great things that we've done this year," Johnson said.
Akron enters Friday with a program-record 28 wins after redshirt junior Nate Johnson's game-winning shot Saturday in a 76-74 victory over Miami in the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship .
"This year we've been making a lot of history with just Akron and MAC basketball in general," Johnson said. "Getting that [first NCAA Division I Tournament win] done wouldn't just be good for the program, it would be good for the city. I mean, just putting Akron out there on the map would be a great thing to do."
The Johnsons — no relation — start along with Wilson and seniors James Okonkwo and Isaiah Gray .
The Johnsons, junior Amani Lyles and senior Shammah Scott played on Akron's 2024 team that lost to Creighton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Pittsburgh.
Nate Johnson and senior walk-on Evan Wilson were on Akron's 2022 team that lost to UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Portland, but neither played against the Bruins.
"Three times in four years, man, it's like, wow, what a blessing," Groce said. "Certainly speaks of the character of the guys that we've had and have now currently. To do that is really, really hard and I hope that that's appreciated, and it is by our people. Our people are great. Saw 'em in here [Sunday] and they appreciate it. But, yeah, that's hard to do and very much a blessing.
"The thing we're most proud of is that we've had some competitive excellence consistently. When you look at the last six years, I believe, I think it's less than 15 — it may be less than 10 — that have finished third place or higher in their conference for six straight years. That's hard to do. We've been in the top three for six straight years.
"That's including the 2020 [MAC regular season] championship , the 2022 [MAC] tournament championship , 2024 [MAC] tournament championship , 2025 [MAC] regular season and 2025 [MAC] tournament championships . It's hard to be that consistent. The way you get that type of consistency is, first and foremost, you got to have the right people on the bus or the right people in the locker room, and we've got a lot of guys that care about winning and a lot of guys that care about each other. Obviously, they're talented."
Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron is excited to meet Arizona in NCAA men's basketball tournament
