This is what a great team does in its biggest game of the season. That’s what I kept thinking while watching Akron beat Miami 76-74 in the finals of the Mid-American Conference tournament. Akron not only won their third trip to the NCAA Tournament in the last four years,

BOTTOM LINE: Akron and Miami (OH) meet in the MAC Championship. The Zips have gone 19-1 against MAC opponents, with a 7-5 record in non-conference play. Akron is fourth in the MAC with 35.0 points per game in the paint led by Nate Johnson averaging 6.3.

Nate Johnson hit a short pull-up jumper with two seconds left and top-seeded Akron rallied from 18 points down to beat Miami (OH) 76-74 for a second-straight Mid-American Conference Tournament champio