UCLA is back in the NCAA Tournament, and this time, none of this ‘play-in game’ stuff.

The Bruins (25-7) earned the No. 4 seed in the East Region and did it with tall expectations after last year’s Final Four run, but now a new season begins, a cliché that even head coach Mick Cronin is endorsing.

“When you coach (and play) at a school like UCLA, these guys have aspirations,” he said Sunday. “The season starts (Monday) for us. It’s exciting.”

It’s a one-game-at-a-time approach, and the one game in front of the Bruins is No. 13 seed Akron at 6:50 p.m. Thursday (TBS) at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.

“If you lose, you’re looking ahead, you’re done,” Jaime Jaquez Jr. said. “Your season is over. It’s really just as simple as that.”

Here are the five things you need to know about the Akron Zips:

1. THE BASICS

Akron is 24-9 after finishing tied for third with Ohio (24-9) in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) behind regular-season champion Toledo and second-place finisher Kent State (16-4).

The Zips did not beat either of the top two teams in the regular season, but took them down as the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament on back-to-back days to earn their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2013. Akron beat Kent State 75-55 in the conference final Saturday.

It will be the program’s first run to the dance under fifth-year coach John Groce, who was the head coach at Illinois from 2013-2017 before he was fired and took the Akron job.

“John Groce and I go way back. We worked at a 5-star camp together,” Cronin said. “We lost our hair at the same time. I’ve known John for a long time. He’s a very good coach.”

It marks the program’s fifth overall tournament appearance (1986, 2009, 2011, 2013). Thursday’s game will be the first meeting between UCLA and Akron.

2. SCOUTING AKRON

Akron’s best player is Ali Ali, a 6-foot-8 wing averaging 14.2 points per game. He’s taken the most shots (163 of 349) and free throws this season (96 of 133). He can shoot the 3 (41%), but it’s not his strength. He’s long, athletic and likes to attack the basket. He’s also crafty, using an array of pivots and shot fakes 12 feet and in.

Point guard Xavier Castaneda scores 13.5 points per game. He’s reliable with the ball, averaging less than one turnover per game, and is tops with 73 3-pointers on 194 attempts (37.6%).

Enrique Freeman is a 6-foot-7, broad-shouldered forward who averages 13.2 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. He and Castaneda have started all 33 of Akron’s game this season.

Bryan Trimble Jr. is the team’s fourth player averaging double-digit scoring (10.4 points). The junior guard likes to shoot the 3 – 61 of his 82 makes this season have been from beyond the arc.

3. AKRON’S BIGGEST POTENTIAL THREAT

Freeman has 357 rebounds this season and 109 of them are offensive. For context, Miles Johnson leads UCLA with 86 offensive rebounds. Freeman’s effort on the glass could pose the biggest threat to UCLA Thursday night. If he’s grabbing offensive rebounds and creating more possessions for the Zips, that could create problems.

UCLA is a good rebounding team, and they do it by committee. Four Bruins have hauled in more than 100 rebounds this season, led by Johnson’s 183 and Jaime Jaquez’s 179. Keeping an eye on Freeman is important. No other Zip averages more than 3.6 boards per game.

4. THE ZIPS HAVE YOUNG EXPERIENCE

There’s no March Madness experience, but Akron has winning experience on its roster that adds grit to its game.

They Zips might not have a senior on their roster, but they can play.

“We’re relatively young and it’s a great experience for our guys,” Groce said Sunday in an interview by the school after the Zips learned their NCAA Tournament fate.

“Ali Ali, Freeman, Tribble were around for the MAC (regular-season) championship in 2019-20. They know what winning looks like. That experience has been helpful. It’s hard to believe those guys are in their third year, but still tagged as sophomores (due to COVID-19).”

5. SHOULD BRUIN FANS BE WORRIED?

No.

Mick Cronin’s will alone will not allow UCLA to be knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by Akron. Remember when the Bruins played Abilene Christian in the second round of last year’s tournament?

The Bruins won by 20 (67-47). Expect the same thing here.

The Zips have played just two Quad 1 (top-tier) games all season and both – 67-66 at Ohio State in their season opener and 84-76 at Toledo during conference play. Eighteen of their games were Quad 4 games (lowest tier), in which they went 16-2. Akron was 4-4 in Quad 3 games and 2-1 in Quad 2 games.

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Thursday’s first-rounder, according to the NET rankings, will be a Quad 3 game for UCLA, similar to the likes of Long Beach State and Bellarmine. The Bruins are 8-1 in Quad 3 game this season – the lone loss coming to Oregon at home.

NCAA Tournament

Who: No. 4 seed UCLA vs. No. 13 seed Akron

When: 6:50 p.m. Thursday

Where: Moda Center, Portland, Oregon

TV: TBS