Hansbrough, Irish beat Akron in NCAA opener - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Chicago - Ben Hansbrough scored 15 points despite another sub-par shooting game and Tim Abromaitis added 14 as second-seeded Notre Dame fought off scrappy Akron for a 69-56 second-round victory Friday in the Southwest Regional.

Notre Dame (27-6) will meet the winner of Florida State-Texas A&M on Sunday at the United Center.

The Irish led 34-30 at the half before scoring the first nine points of the second to build their lead to double digits and then held off the cold-shooting Zips.

Hansbrough, the Big East Player of the Year who shot just 3-for-16 in a loss to Louisville in the semifinals of the conference tourney, hit just 4-of-11 from the field but was 6-of-6 from the line and had six assists.

The 15th-seeded Zips (23-13) were appearing in just their third NCAA Division I tournament and second in two years.

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