March Madness is back in Cleveland
State of play: Eight teams, and thousands of their loyal fans, will be in town for NCAA Men's Tournament games Friday and Sunday at Rocket Arena.
Meanwhile, the No. 13 Akron Zips — our region's lone team in the tourney — take on the No. 4 Arizona Wildcats Friday in Seattle.
Catch up quick: For the uninitiated, the annual tournament starts with 68 teams divided into four regions and competing to win a national championship.
The action began Tuesday and Wednesday with four play-in games and continued with first-round action Thursday.
Friday's games: East Region No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 15 Robert Morris at 12:40pm and No. 7 Saint Mary's vs. No. 10 Vanderbilt at 3:15pm.
From the South Region, No. 7 Marquette faces No. 10 New Mexico at 7:25pm, while No. 2 Michigan State takes on No. 15 Bryant at 10pm.
The winners of those regions' games will face each other Sunday to advance to the Sweet 16.
If you go: Tickets for games at Rocket Arena are available.
Prices for Friday''s afternoon and evening sessions start at $20; prices for Sunday's games start at $126.
Zoom in and out: The Zips (28-6), who won the MAC Tournament but are 0-6 all-time in March Madness history, face a tough Arizona team 2,000 miles away on the West Coast.
That game airs at 7:35pm on truTV.
What they're saying: After Sunday's selection show, Akron coach John Groce praised Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd and the Wildcats, who won 22 games this season.
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