Brutal: Kent State fouls with 4.8 seconds remaining while leading 61-60, hands Akron MAC Championship, bid to NCAA Tournament 

The MAC Championship ended in tragic fashion last night with the Akron Zips punching their tickets to the NCAA Tournament thanks to a costly foul from Kent State with just 4.8 seconds left of the clock.

Kent State went up 61-60 in the MAC Tournament championship game after center Cli’Ron Hornbeak made a dunk with five seconds remaining.

Akron inbounded the ball and Kent State guard Julius Rollins immediately fouled Akron guard Greg Tribble in the backcourt with 4.8 seconds left.

Why? I have no clue. That sent Akron to the free throw line down one point with just seconds remaining on the clock.

Kent State’s Julius Rollins fouls Akron guard Greg Tribble with 4.8 seconds left, leading 61-60

The Golden Flashes didn’t have a foul to give and sent Tribble to the free throw line, where he knocked down both free throws to take the lead 62-61. Kent State guard Jalen Sullinger got a shot off with one second remaining, but missed what would have been the game winner.

Talk about some good, old fashioned MACTION. 

Seriously though…Kent State literally was seconds away from winning back-to-back MAC Championships and punching their tickets to the NCAA tournament and because of a boneheaded foul with less than five seconds left on the clock, they lose in in tragic fashion. I’m not sure how a player recovers from a game like that.

Rollins might want to refocus on school work for the rest of the year in case he needs to make a career change. Just a brutal turn of events that simply cannot happen, even more so when it didn’t even come on a bang-bang type of play. 

Kent State went 8-10 in the MAC in 2023-24 and knocked off Toledo and Bowling Green to have a shot to make the NCAA tournament for the second straight season.

Instead, Akron now earns the MAC’s only tournament bid, their second trip to March Madness in the past three seasons. 

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Mandatory Credit: AP / Phil Long