March Madness: Breaking down Creighton-Akron men's basketball ahead of NCAA Tournament

PITTSBURGH — Had things played out differently last season, Creighton’s men’s basketball team would have reached its first NCAA Tournament Final Four in program history.

Instead, Darrion Trammell split two free throws with 1.2 seconds left to lift San Diego State over the Bluejays 57-56 in the Elite Eight.

Two years ago, Akron was close to winning its first tournament game in program history when it had UCLA on the ropes.

The Zips, who led for 27 minutes, faded down the stretch and lost 57-53 to UCLA.

What does it mean Thursday when third-seeded Creighton (23-9) takes on 14th-seeded Akron (24-10) in the first round of the Midwest Regional at 1:30 p.m.?

Like Akron’s nickname, zip.

“When you’re a possession away from the Final Four and you don’t get there, I think it really hits you square in the face,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “That’s kind of been our mantra since we’ve started the season is, like, this possession really matters. It only works if your leadership buys into it.”

Does past March Madness experience matter for Akron, Creighton?

That’s one perspective.

The Zips, and particularly Ali Ali, Enrique Freeman, Greg Tribble and Mikal Dawson, know just how much each possession matters when it comes to March Madness.

The four were part of the team that almost knocked off the Bruins. If the quartet has anything to do with it, they’ll be in Akron lore forever with a win.

“I think our experience in the tournament before is going to help us tremendously in this game,” Freeman said. “We can definitely pick up some mistakes we messed up on execution-wise when we played UCLA, so I think that’s going to help us in this game.”

What it might come down to is which All-American rises to the occasion and plays like the standout he is.

For Akron, that’s the honorable mention Freeman, who led the nation in rebounds (12.9 per game) and double doubles (30) to go along with an 18.9 points per game average.

There’s also Ali (15.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists), Tribble (10.5, 2.5, 2.2) and Sammy Hunter (8.8 points, 3.4 rebounds).

Creighton basketball comes into NCAA Tournament game vs. Akron ready to go

The flip side shows the Blue Jays, who can lean on third-team All-America guard Baylor Scheierman and honorable mention center Ryan Kalkbrenner, who joined Georgetown and NBA greats Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning as a three-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year.

Scheierman (18.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists) posted 15 double-doubles to become the first men’s player in the last 20 years to lead a Power 6 Conference in both defensive rebounds (226) and 3-pointers made (99). He became the first Division I men’s player to surpass 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 500 assists and 300 3-pointers.

Kalkbrenner (17. 1 points, 7.4 rebounds) led the Big East and was sixth nationally in both blocked shots (3.0) and field goal percentage (.650).

Add guard Trey Alexander (17.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists) and things get hairier.

“They’re such a tough cover,” Akron coach John Groce said. “(McDermott) does such a great job with his team. I don’t know that we’ve played one offensively and defensively in concert like Creighton.

“They’re elite offensively, obviously — they’re top 25 in the country in offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency rating. They’re the eighth-oldest team in college basketball. The majority of their guys have played together for a long time, just like our guys have.”

So where does the dam break with teams that are so evenly matched statistically?

“I do think from an experience perspective we’re similar,” Groce said. “Obviously, we have Enrique. Kalkbrenner is terrific and they have really good perimeter players. We do as well.

“… I’m not going to let you in on all the secrets we’re trying to do offensively and defensively with the game looming tomorrow at 1:30, but it’s going to be a challenge to guard them. … What they are offensively, what they are defensively, is very similar to UCLA two years ago.”

Contact Brad Bournival at bbournival@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @bbournival

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: What will happen with Akron-Creighton basketball nearly even on paper?