SEATTLE — Jack Murphy was the head coach at NAU in 2017-18 but he has enough Wildcat blood in his veins as a longtime Arizona staffer to know all about what happened that season.
“So you were there at the Buffalo game?” he asked a Star reporter. “Was Buffalo big? What conference did Buffalo come from? What did Buffalo do?”
Murphy knew the answers, of course.
No, the Bulls weren’t especially big that season. They came from the Mid-American Conference. They also ran an up-tempo attack and shot a bunch of 3s.
All characteristics reminiscent of Akron, Arizona’s opponent in a first-round NCAA Tournament game on Friday at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
Buffalo was also the 13th seed, just as Akron is now; Arizona was the No. 4 then, as it is now.
Final score in 2017-18: Buffalo 89, Arizona 68.
Final score Friday? As the head game scout for the Zips, Murphy can’t help but worry that history could repeat itself. And naturally, he’s made sure the Arizona Wildcats know all about what happens if it does.
The end of Arizona’s 2017-18 season, one clouded by the FBI’s investigation into college basketball, ended that cold night in Boise, Idaho. Eventual No. 1 NBA Draft pick Deandre Ayton, fresh off a Pac-12 Tournament MVP award, along with veteran teammates Allonzo Trier, Parker Jackson-Cartwright, Rawle Alkins and Dusan Ristic all went home far earlier than expected after Buffalo hit 15 of 30 3s.
Akron (28-6) has hit 15 or more 3s seven times already this season, and at least 10 in 20 of their 34 games. Averaging 36.6% from beyond the arc, the nation’s 48th-best 3-point percentage, the Zips have hit 40% or better in 14 games, too.
On the other side, there’s also reason for concern for the Wildcats: They’re not always good at stopping the 3.
Arizona guard Jaden Bradley celebrates with forward Trey Townsend after besting the entire Wildcat basketball operation in a 3-point shooting contest the day before facing Akron in the opening round of the men’s NCAA Tournament in Seattle on March 20, 2025.
Arizona ranks just 166th in 3-point percentage defense (33.6) and has allowed six of its past eight opponents to shoot 38.1% or better. For the season, Arizona has allowed 10 or more 3s in 15 of 34 games, and they’ve allowed opponents to shoot 40% or better eight times.
The MAC competition Akron mostly has faced is below that of the Big 12 competition Arizona had to deal with for 20 games, but those are all still eye-catching numbers.
“They’ve been on a hot streak for some time now,” UA wing Anthony Dell’Orso said. “They like to shoot a lot of 3s and that’s been the big thing for us to focus on — how to get back, how to keep our same style of play against them, and essentially just dominate them physically.”
While guard KJ Lewis said the Wildcats’ have improved communication and other aspects of their 3-point defense, size may be their biggest antidote to the way Akron can shoot it from outside.
The Zips often run four shooters, none taller than 6-3 along with 6-8 big man James Okonkwo, but UA has 6-8, 250-pound Tobe Awaka in the low post and 7-footer Henri Veesaar out mismatching any number of power forwards and maybe, in this game, guards.
“We have to take advantage of our size,” Veesaar said. “With rebounding and inside, getting to the paint and getting layups, and we can shoot over them.”
But Veesaar said he thought the Zips were also pretty tough, and that was the point Murphy was trying to make.
Arizona forward Henri Veesaar (13) takes a bead on a long range shot from the key as he and the Wildcats get ready to face Akron in the round of 64 of the men’s NCAA tournament in Seattle on March 20, 2025.
Despite their size, the Zips are also an above average rebounding team, allowing them even more control.
“I’m just telling you: size doesn’t matter in terms of on the court,” Murphy said. “You’re talking about a team that’s 20-1 in their last 21 games. They’re studs, they’re winners, they play hard, they’re well coached. They can really shoot the ball and spread you out, and if you over compensate for that, then they’re going to score at the basket. So you have to come ready to play for 40 minutes.
“I’m just telling you: We have to be ready.”
But while the assignment might be a tough first-round game for the Wildcats, it could be worse.
Back in mid-December, they were 4-5 and they entered Big 12 play without a single win over a high-major team, they were in nobody’s NCAA Tournament bracket.
Then an 11-1 start to Big 12 Conference play put them into lock territory for a bid, before five losses in their final eight regular season conference games knocked them slightly down to a No. 4 bid.
That was OK with Lewis.
Getting into the tournament as a No. 4 has “been a true testament to us getting through some adversity early, not really giving up on ourselves or the program,” Lewis said. “We know what we’ve got in this locker room. We know we’re all talented. We all play our best basketball as a team, and then when we lock in defensively, obviously it’s hard to beat us.”
