TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Jaylen Petty scored 24 points, Christian Anderson scored 18 and fifth-seeded Texas Tech beat 12th-seeded Akron 91-71 on Friday in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The Red Raiders (23-10) will play fourth-seeded Alabama or 13th-seeded Hofstra in the second round of the Midwest Region on Sunday.
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Texas Tech had five players score in double figures without All-American guard JT Toppin, who tore his ACL in his right knee last month.
Josiah Mosley scored 16 points, Donovan Atwell scored 15 points and LeJuan Watts scored 14 points.
Amani Lyles led Akron with 26 points and Shammah Scott scored 20 points.
Akron (29-6) became the first team to win the Mid-American Conference tournament three years in a row. But the Zips again failed to advance to the second round in their eighth March Madness appearance.
At the beginning of the second half, Petty and Atwell hit consecutive three-pointers, and Texas Tech led by 11 points.
Midway through the second quarter, Akron chased the score to 64-60 when Eric Mahaffey hit a layup and a three-point free throw. But the Zips couldn’t get any closer.
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Anderson’s steal led to Petty’s fast-break dunk, giving Texas Tech a 77-64 lead. Petty then hit a 3-pointer, extending the lead to 16 points. He answered Sharon Young’s layup with another jumper, and the Red Raiders cruised the rest of the way.
Akron didn’t score until Lyles hit a three-pointer more than three minutes into the game. The teams combined to miss nine of their first 13 shots.
After Petty’s breakthrough layup started an 8-0 surge, the Red Raiders established their largest lead in the first half at 37-25. But Akron ended the half with a 10-3 run, chasing the score to 40-35 at halftime.
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Texas Tech is aiming to advance to the Sweet 16 for the second straight year.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
