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March Madness 2022: Top 25 players in the NCAA tournament
ESPN PLUS $ MATERIALNow that we have a bracket, it's time to sift through those 68 teams for the top 25 players in the 2022 NCAA tournament.
First, a friendly reminder. As with all top 25 endeavors from this desk, these rankings are based on college performance. This is not a mock draft. We have people who do that, and quite well!
Now, here are the top 25 players in the NCAA tournament:
1. Keegan Murray, Iowa Hawkeyes
Here at "Top 25 players in the NCAA tournament" HQ, we endeavor to be the opposite of the men's basketball committee in every way. No Duke-over-Tennessee seeding miscues here. We also do away with "body of work" thinking and embrace recency effect in a big way. Why? Because you will too over the next three weeks. We all will.
Which is very much on point because Murray is the best player in the country right now. The word hasn't quite gotten through yet, but it is indeed the case. Murray carries a number for possession usage at KenPom that's virtually identical to what Zion Williamson showed in 2019, but the Hawkeye boasts a slightly higher offensive rating. It has been an incredible performance, and Murray's 103 points in four Big Ten tournament games suggests there's more to come.
2. Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky Wildcats
What really sets Tshiebwe apart from the rest are the minutes. We've seen high-effort dynamos who crash the boards, put up ridiculous rebound percentages and block shots -- and do so over about 50 or 60% of their team's minutes. Actually, that describes Tshiebwe's first year at West Virginia fairly well. But this season the 6-foot-9 forward is averaging better than 31 minutes per contest.
Tshiebwe's record-setting rebounding is extended across the length and breadth of Kentucky's most critical possessions. In SEC play, UK's shot volume was exactly as amazing statistically as its accuracy from the field, and the Wildcats shot better than any team in the league. Tshiebwe has been extraordinary.
3. Ochai Agbaji, Kansas Jayhawks
The development of Agbaji into a more or less complete scoring threat has been a genuine pleasure to watch over the course of four seasons. In just about every facet of the game, Bill Self's star is better than he has ever been before. Drawing fouls, hitting 3s, finishing at the rim (where he's shooting a cool 74% this season, per hoop-math.com), you name it. Agbaji is doing it all on a team that has the luxury of not needing him to do it all.
4. Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga Bulldogs
Holmgren straddles so many categories, but the first one that comes to mind is that he is a player who changes the game when he's sent to the bench. You can see the difference in opposing offenses as they eagerly take the ball to the rim, as long as they don't have to face that incredible wingspan. Add in the fact that he's hitting 41% of his 3s and that, despite your lying eyes, he is in fact an excellent defensive rebounder. Holmgren is unique.
5. Jabari Smith, Auburn Tigers
Well over 40% of Smith's shot attempts are of the 2-point jumper variety, and he's connecting on 38% of those tries. While that's a pretty good hit rate at his volume in that category, it does bring his 2-point shooting overall down to 44%. Pay no mind. The NBA will clean that up soon enough, and we're speaking of a prolific scorer who's also shooting 43% from beyond the arc as a 6-10 18-year-old. Believe the hype. Better yet, add 10 or 20% more.
6. Bennedict Mathurin, Arizona Wildcats
Mathurin is coming off a superb performance against UCLA in the Pac-12 title game. In 39 minutes the sophomore put up 27 points to go along with seven assists, four rebounds, a block, a steal and just two turnovers. Like stars on other loaded No. 1 seeds, Mathurin will occasionally be on the winning side in games where he only had to score eight or 12 points. He's fully capable of imposing his will on the opponent when the occasion demands it, however, and with any luck we'll see Mathurin do just that in the field of 68.
7. Collin Gillespie, Villanova Wildcats
When Villanova trailed Creighton late in the Big East title game, Gillespie played the good kind of hero ball. Instead of having their star dribble a hole in the floor leading into a contested step-back jumper, the Wildcats ran their stuff and Gillespie nailed back-to-back 3s to effectively seal the conference tournament title. He has been doing that seemingly forever for Jay Wright, and it really has been forever. Gillespie recorded 16 minutes and four points in the 2018 national title game.
8. Johnny Davis, Wisconsin Badgers
One popular discussion topic this season has been speculation over what Wisconsin would look like without Davis. Fortunately for fans of the Badgers, they don't have to find out the answer to that question: Davis is here, and he has been magnificent. The sophomore has functioned a bit like options 1, 2 and 3 all in one for a Wisconsin offense that relies heavily on his 2s and a team-wide lack of turnovers. An injury suffered on a flagrant foul committed against him in the Nebraska game at the end of the regular season might have slowed him some in the Big Ten tournament. Hopefully the field of 68 will witness Davis returning to full speed.
9. Drew Timme, Gonzaga Bulldogs
Any doubt that Timme is in fact the engine of a loaded No. 1 seed was erased when Gonzaga lost by 10 at Saint Mary's. The junior had an awful game, scoring just six points on 2-of-10 shooting from the floor. That's not a customary performance from Timme, who's carrying a heavier load in this offense than ever before. Despite getting fewer looks at the rim this season, Timme is still converting better than 60% of his 2-point attempts and recording a higher share of his team's assists than at any point in his career.
10. Paolo Banchero, Duke Blue Devils
When Duke defeated Miami in the ACC tournament, Banchero proclaimed that he wanted to see archrival North Carolina in the title game. That didn't happen, of course, and Virginia Tech's players even claimed Banchero's comment motivated them on their way to an automatic bid. Maybe so, but this is the "fire" and "leadership" we want from stars, right? This particular star pressures defenses on the interior and distributes the ball skillfully while playing an outsized role in the Duke offense.
11. Kofi Cockburn, Illinois Fighting Illini
Few if any players on this list have greater repercussions on both sides of the ball than Cockburn. On defense, the junior is something of a one-man force field inside the arc, by virtue of his size alone. Then on offense, of course, Cockburn records his fair share of dunks (49, to be exact, per barttorvik.com). Opponents have seen him as the roll man on Illinois pick-and-rolls roughly a million times to date. They will see that action in a few more instances in the NCAA tournament.
12. Johnny Juzang, UCLA Bruins
Juzang has made two 3s over his last four outings and may still be rounding into form after sitting out two games with a late-season ankle injury. When he's on, as he most memorably was during the 2021 NCAA tournament, Juzang overwhelms opposing backcourts with his combination of size (6-7) and perimeter range. His No.1 ranking for accuracy from the line in Pac-12 play two seasons running suggests his 3-point shooting may yet become more accurate.
13. Jaden Ivey, Purdue Boilermakers
Everything everyone said about Ivey coming into this season has been shown to be true. He really has had a sophomore breakout season, his 3-point shot truly has arrived and he most certainly has emerged as possibly the most lethal offensive threat in the country with the ball in his hands. Ivey dissects opponents in the open floor and even pitches in on the defensive glass. Despite 1-of-8 shooting on his 3s against Iowa in Purdue's Big Ten tournament title-game loss, Ivey still scored 20 points and recorded eight assists.
14. Walker Kessler, Auburn Tigers
In addition to posting the nation's highest block percentage, Kessler alters shots he doesn't swat away and prevents tries he doesn't get to see attempted. Most of all, the sophomore does all of the above while staying on the floor. Kessler's averaging 26 minutes per contest and has fouled out once since the beginning of February. He's also capable of truly amazing all-around games. His 12 points, 11 rebounds and 12 blocks against Texas A&M during the regular season marked his second triple-double of the year.
an.
