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Akron had one of the top regular seasons among mid-major teams last year. But things started to come apart in soon after beating D.J. Cooper and Ohio in the MAC Championship game.
First Alex Abreu got himself arrested, thanks to some extra-curricular activities. Then a flu bug ravaged the team, leaving them at less than full strength, but in terms of manpower and strength.
That is not a formula you want to have just before taking on VCU in the NCAA Tournament.
The forces of HAVOC rained down upon the Zips something fierce, making the team that so looked like a potential Sweet 16 dark horse look like a glorified 16 seed instead. That was nothing that Akron could do to either score, or slow down the Rams, and the result was an 88-42 loss.
It was brutal in every sense of the word. And at the end of it all, it was hard to get that much carnage out of your head. This wasn't a Southern-Champion Baptist mismatch. This was an Akron team that was supposed to compete and just couldn't
We attempted to pull it together long enough to chronicle the loss, part of the almost non-stop coverage we gave to the NCAA Tournament from Selection Sunday on. It was difficult, but it was fun still the same.
Here is the game when Akron died, once again.