From Jon Rothstein's article on the 10 Mid-Majors to Watch
Akron: John Groce lost his top scorer — Ali Ali (Butler) — from last season’s team that nearly beat UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but there’s still more than enough left over for the Zips to make a return trip in 2023. Akron’s two best players against the Bruins — Xavier Castaneda (13.6 points) and Enrique Freeman (13.2 points, 10.8 rebounds) — are back and so are juniors Greg Tribble and Mikal Dawson, who both started against UCLA. Northern Illinois transfer Trendon Hankerson (11.4 points) and Ole Miss transfer Sammy Hunter should both play key roles as newcomers. The MAC is as competitive of a mid-major league as there is in the country, but Groce has enough to get back to the NCAA Tournament next March.