'He is just a winner': Xavier Castaneda brings toughness to Akron men's basketball team

University of Akron men's basketball coach John Groce felt very comfortable offering junior guard Xavier Castaneda a scholarship this past summer when Castaneda's name was in the NCAA transfer portal.

"Castaneda is so tough — physically tough and mentally tough," Groce said Sunday night at Rhodes Arena after UA's name was called on the NCAA Tournament Selection Show.

"He won a state championship at [Chicago] Whitney Young High School. He is just a winner, man."

Castaneda displayed those qualities last weekend at the Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament in Cleveland to help UA win the championship and earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

UA (24-9) received the No. 13 seed in the East Region and is set to meet No. 4 seed UCLA (25-7) in a first-round game at 9:50 p.m. Thursday at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.

The Bruins were a Final Four team last season and have a rich history that includes 11 national championships.

"We have great respect for them," Castaneda said Sunday at Rhodes Arena. "We know that they made it to the Final Four last year. They are a great program, and we are going to be prepared to play them."

Castaneda is UA's second-leading scorer at 13.5 points per game this season, and he also averages 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists. The 6-foot-1, 188-pound Castaneda has started all 33 games this season and has played a prominent roles in Akron's eight-game win streak.

"We are playing well right now," he said. "We are playing for each other, most importantly. We are playing with great intensity, we are playing aggressive and we are focused."

Castaneda is averaging a team-high 16.6 points and 4.0 rebounds during the eight-game win streak while joining sophomores Enrique Freeman, Ali Ali, Greg Tribble and Mikal Dawson in the starting lineup.

Castaneda came to Akron after playing three seasons at South Florida. He is considered a junior because all players were eligible to get another year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We knew X when I was at Illinois," Groce said. "He came in on some unofficial visits. I saw him play in high school. I saw him win a state championship. I am very familiar with his high school coach. His high school program, Whitney Young, is a great program not only in Illinois, but nationally. I saw him play AAU, too, and he is a winner. He is a tough player [who] can make shots."

Castaneda has scored in double figures in 26 games this season, including 10 in a row entering the NCAA Tournament. Castaneda scored a career-high 29 points and had six assists and five rebounds in an 84-74 win at home over Ball State University on Jan. 11.

"I try to bring leadership, toughness and my ability to play the game at a high level," he said.

UA's win streak started with a 67-48 victory at Eastern Michigan on Feb. 19. The Zips then finished the regular season with wins at home over Bowling Green (82-68), at Ohio (91-83), at Ball State (79-60) and at home over Central Michigan (57-56).

UA entered the MAC Tournament as the No. 4 seed at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland and defeated No. 5 seed Buffalo 70-68 on Thursday, No. 1 seed Toledo 70-62 on Friday and No. 2 seed Kent State 75-55 on Saturday.

Castaneda scored a team-high 56 points in Akron's three MAC Tournament games to earn a spot on the All-MAC Tournament team along with Freeman and Ali.

Castaneda had 15 points, six rebounds and four assists in UA's quarterfinal win over Buffalo, scored 26 points and grabbed four rebounds in the semifinal victory over Toledo and contributed 15 points, five steals, two assists and two rebounds in the final triumph over KSU.

"X always seems to give us a bucket whenever we need one," Ali said. "He did a great job [defensively Saturday night] on [KSU's Sincere] Carry. He has been doing a good job all year guarding the other team's best guards."

Carry, the MAC Player of the Year, struggled Saturday and had six points, nine turnovers and three assists.

"X is an amazing player," Freeman said. "When he came in, he was kind of quiet and now we talk almost everyday."

Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBeavenABJ.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Xavier Castaneda brings toughness to Akron men's basketball team