The NCAA tournament is as defined by players as it is by filling out brackets, according to ESPN. Superstars can carry their teams to a national championship and NBA draft prospects can raise their stock.
ESPN has ranked the top 50 players to watch this March Madness, considering both talent and expected impact on their teams’ trajectory in the tournament. The best of the best — the All-Americans and the future lottery picks — are still at the top. The ranking also factors in players’ expected impact on their teams’ trajectory in the tournament.
ESPN also featured potential first-weekend Cinderella breakout stars on mid-major teams with double-digit seeding who could enter the national spotlight by the end of the week.
Teams with Multiple Players on the List
Five teams had three players make the cut: Arizona, Florida, Iowa State, Michigan and UConn. Another six teams had two players make the cut: Duke, BYU, Arkansas, Kansas, Tennessee and Louisville.
Players to Watch
ESPN highlights several players. Seth Greenberg discusses how far Cameron Boozer can lead 1-seed Duke in the NCAA tournament.
Suder decided to reject NIL offers from power programs in favour of staying with Miami after the RedHawks lost to Akron in the MAC tournament final last season. That decision compelled other key players to return, setting the stage for Suder and his teammates to become just the fifth Division I men’s college basketball team of this century to finish the regular season with a perfect record. Suder is averaging 14.6 points and 4.0 assists while shooting 42.9% from 3.
Davis started his career with stops at Iona then St. John’s, but he didn’t truly find his footing until transferring to Hofstra to play for coach Speedy Claxton. Davis has established himself as one of the premier mid-major scorers in the country, averaging 20.2 points this season while shooting nearly 40% from 3 on 6.0 attempts per game. He is capable of eruption performances, as evidenced by averaging 29.0 points in wins at Pitt and Syracuse in December.
Daniels is fifth in the country in scoring at 23.2 points per game. He put up 41 points in the WAC semifinals and hit the winning shot in the conference title game. He also had 47 points against regular-season league champ Utah Valley earlier this season and put up 31 against Utah in December. Daniels is an absolute bucket-getter.
A New Coach Celebrates
Billy Armstrong captured the Southland tournament title in his first season at the helm — a year after former coach Will Wade achieve