Mid-Major Madness has selected Akron forward Enrique Freeman as the Men’s Mid-Major Player of the Week for the week of Mar. 11-17 after carrying the Zips to a MAC Championship title.
Finishing out the 2023-24 regular-season with a 24-10 record despite losing its last two contests, Akron garnered the second seed at the MAC Championship in Cleveland.
Last Thursday, in a quarterfinals matchup with seventh-seeded Miami (OH), Freeman went off to book the Zips a spot in the semifinals with a season-high 30 points, adding 12 boards to complete the double-double.
In the 75-63 rout of the RedHawks, Freeman went 13-for-16 shooting from the floor and was a perfect 4-for-4 at the charity stripe to see out the win.
Come Friday, Freeman put in another double-double performance with 24 points while tying his career-high of 21 rebounds. In addition, his career-best seven blocked shots helped the Zips to manage a tightly contested 65-62 win over third-seeded Ohio.
In the MAC Championship Final on Saturday, Freeman’s 17 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots staved off a comeback effort against red hot eighth seed Kent State for a 62-61 win.
Securing the conference’s automatic bid for the program’s second NCAA Tournament appearance under head coach John Groce, the Zips were a 14 seed in the Midwest Region of the bracket.
Honorable Mentions:
Trey Townsend (Oakland) – After being selected as the No. 1 seed at the Horizon League Championship, Townsend led the Golden Grizzlies to the title with 15 points, eight boards and four assists against Cleveland State before a career-high 38 points and 11 boards in a Finals win over Milwaukee.
Jaelen House (New Mexico) – Emerging as the automatic qualifier out of the six-bid Mountain West, House led the Lobos to four wins at the MWC Championship with 16 points over Air Force, 29 points against Boise State, 19 points and eight assists vs. Colorado, and 28 points to upset No. 21 San Diego State in the Final.
Robert Ford III (Montana State) – To secure back-to-back Big Sky Championships for the Bobcats, Ford led three consecutive wins with 27 points and four assists over Weber State, 19 points, three assists and four steals against Sacramento State, and finally, 22 points, nine rebounds, four assists and five steals in a finals win over Montana.
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