Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay.  My, oh my, what a wonderful day.  A wonderful day it was yesterday for the Akron Zips, as they collect their first NCAA bid since 1986, winning the MAC Tournament over Buffalo.  The 65-53 victory for Akron is some vindication for the loss suffered at the buzzer two years ago in the MAC final.

Akron was led by a guy named "Humpty."  Anthony "Humpty" Hitchen's five point explosion in a thirty second span marked the end of Buffalo's chances.  Nate Linhart brought home some additional hardware, as he collected Tournament MVP.

We'll see if they can keep whistling "Zip-a-dee-doo-dah" after the jump.

Location: Lebron's Ohio hometown, Akron.

Enrollment: 21,635

Record: 23-12 (10-6)

Leading Scorers: Brett McKnight (11.4 ppg), Nate Linhart (10.1 ppg), Chris McKnight (9.2 ppg)

What to know:

• Akron was the 5 seed in the MAC tournament and they became the highest seed to ever win the conference championship.  Oh did we mention that they just stole another bid.
• Aside from Pittsburgh (who beat them like a drum), Akron really hasn't played anyone.  This is evident by their 174th strength of schedule. 
• Akron can get it done defensively, holding opponents to only 59.8 points, good for 19th in the nation.  Don't weigh that too much though, see previous bullet point.

Projection:  Squeaking into the tournament as a 5 seed in the MAC will undeniably put them in the 14 or 15 seed range.  At least they'll get some free stuff for showing up.