Akron Defeated...Big Dance Ends for MAC

Notre Dame eventually overpowered Akron today, winning by 13 points in the end.  Akron was only down 4 at the half and 5 with 11 minutes left in the game, but the Zips never got that close again.  They entered as a #15 seed, the lowest seed since the 2007 RedHawks, and therefore got a tough assignment, a Notre Dame team that had a shot at getting a #1.  It was a credible performance under difficult circumstances.

Akron shot only 35%--Zeke Marshall was 2-13, McNees 3-9, McKnight 3-12--and Notre Dame dominated them in terms of getting those missed shots, holding Akron to under 20% offensive rebounding.  Quincy Diggs had 11, no other Zip was in double figures.

So, just to catalog it, since the Kent run to the Elite Eight in 2002, when Sweet 16 runs were fairly common for the MAC, the conference is 2-8, with CMU getting one win and OU getting one (last season).