Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/279061
GoldanDBlack express • volume 24, express 25 • 6 BY KYLE CHARTERS KCharters@GoldandBlack.com D uring Purdue's late-season surge, Coach Sharon Versyp praised the Boilermakers' attention to detail. That ability to scour a scout- ing report, pick out player nuances and slow opponents down is put to the test every March, when the foes are frequently unknown. That's the case again this season, as No. 4-seed Purdue takes on 13th-seeded Akron in the first round of the NCAA Tour- nament. Brackets were unveiled on Monday night. "It's the leadership," Coach Sha- ron Versyp said of the Boilermakers' attention to scouting report details. "I think it's understanding that if you do follow a game plan and ex- ecute it, we are successful. I think that takes time, it takes a journey and a process through the year. It doesn't happen overnight. I think their concentration is just a lot better." The Boilermakers will get a full scouting re- port soon, but first what's known about the Zips: Akron finished 23-9 this season, winning the Mid- American Conference au- tomatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by beating Ball State 79-68 in the league's tournament championship game. The Zips, who have won 16 of their last 17 games, are led by the high-scoring tandem of seniors Hanna Luburgh and Rachel Tecca, who combine to average 45 of Akron's nearly 83 points per game. "There's so much tape and video out there, I'm sure we'll get all the numbers and get some video later (Monday night) and (Tuesday)," Versyp said immediately following ESPN's tournament special. "Obvi - ously for them to beat the team that they beat (in Ball State in the MAC championship), they have to be pretty good. We'll just wait and see. Sometimes that's the exciting part. You don't know your opponent, so you pay attention to detail. And it's just exciting that we're a No. 4 seed." The Boilermakers (21-8) host the Zips at 1:30 p.m. Saturday in Mackey Arena, with the winner fac- ing the victor of the 11 a.m. match- up between No. 5-seed Oklahoma State and 12th-seeded Florida Gulf Coast on Monday evening. Before Purdue entertains thoughts on its second-round op- ponent, it will need to handle Ak- ron. The Ohio school is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance, guided there by Coach Jodi Kest, who in eight seasons has built the once-dormant Zips into a contend- er in the MAC. Prior to Kest's arrival in 2006, Akron had won an average of only four games per season dur- ing the prior six years. But the last two seasons, it has combined for 46 wins and missed out on the NCAAs last year after losing in the league's championship game. This Akron team wins on of- fense. The Zips' scoring average of 82.8 points was tops in the Mid- American Conference, as was their field goal percentage of 45.3 per- cent; the latter was nearly three percentage points higher than the MAC's second team. Luburgh (22.7 points per game) and Tecca (22.2) were the top two scorers in the league — and ranked 10th and 13th in the nation. Meanwhile, the Boilermakers' defense, once a hindrance to incon- sistency earlier in the season, has been a positive of late, and one of n c a a t o u r n a m e n t o v e r v i e w Boilermakers Draw Zips Scouting critical in March What: NCAA Tournament first round When: 1:30 p.m. Saturday Where: Mackey Arena Who: No. 4 Purdue (21-8) plays No. 13 Akron (23-9) TV: ESPN2 Of Note: No. 5-seed Oklahoma State plays No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast at 11 a.m. Saturday in Mackey. … The winners play 6:30 p.m. Monday. Ticket information: All-session tickets for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament hosted at Mackey Arena are as follows: Adult premium $40, chair back/lower bowl $32, upper bowl $22; youth premium $40, chair back/lower $22, upper bowl $16. Single-session tickets are available for adults ($22, $18, $13) and youth ($22, $13, $10). A family four-pack is $52 for the lower bowl and $40 for the upper bowl. Tickets are available by calling 1-800-497-7678, visiting the box office or clicking here. Jeff Harwell, UA Athletics Communications Eighth-year coach Jodi Kest has gradually built the Zips into a winner, hitting a school-record 23 victories in each of the last two seasons. Akron proBABle stArters No. Name Pos. Ht. Class PPG RPG 3 Kacie Cassell G 5-4 Sr. 6.5 2.1 14 Hanna Luburgh G 5-10 Sr. 22.7 7.1 32 Rachel Tecca F 6-1 Sr. 22.2 9.5 22 Hannah Plybon G 5-9 Fr. 7.2 2.7 23 Diandra Gibson F 5-11 So. 2.8 2.9