March Madness is finally here and with it come all the ups and downs, joys and heartbreaks. Sometimes those heartbreaks are quite tragic and such was the case during the Mid-American Conference Tournament. Akron and Kent State squared off in the MAC Tournament championship game and it looked like Kent State was about to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament when Julius Rollins intentionally fouled Greg Tribble.

Kent State had just taken the lead with about six seconds to go when Rollins fouled Tribble to send him to the free throw line. Rollins was likely unaware of the score and thought the Golden Flashes were down instead of ahead. Tribble knocked down both free throws and the Akron Zips made it to the NCAA Tournament as the MAC Tournament automatic qualifier with a 62-61 win.

It's definitely a decision that Rollins wishes he could have back, but there's simply no excuse for not knowing the score in that kind of situation with everything that was at stake. Kent State was the MAC representative in last season's NCAA Tournament and Akron was the MAC representative in 2021.

With the win, Akron will likely enter March Madness as a low seed. Akron was led by senior guard Ali Ali who dropped 18 points, five rebounds and five assists.

With the entire NCAA Tournament ahead, this likely won't be the last heartbreaking or boneheaded play that happens. Such is the nature of the tournament especially considering it is single elimination. March Madness is officially here.