Credit: Chris Gillespie, Flickr
March Madness is as much about stories as it is about anything else. We love the big moments. The dream matchups. The eventual triumphs and heartbreaks. But it’s the players that draw us in. Last year, there was something special about watching Perdue and UConn square off. It wasn’t just that Perdue was there to collect its first-ever NCAA Championship. It wasn’t that UConn was trying to build its already impressive legacy further. It was the mythology that both teams had built all season. Perdue’s Zach Edey is up against UConn’s Donovon Clingan. What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? Well, we now know the answer. UConn wins. Again. Individual players have played an enormous role in driving team narratives come March. We all watch, knowing that our favorite college ballers might be writing their NBA tickets. Are you planning on waging the tournament this year? Developing your bracket is almost as old a tradition as March Madness itself. Take a look at the college basketball odds to make an informed bet.
Johni Broome
To have watched Auburn dominate this year is to experience a level of dominant play with all the inevitability of a natural disaster. The squad has played consistently with confidence and exceptionalism that suggests they’ve been here before. They haven’t. In 119 years, Auburn has never won a national championship. Meet the X factor. Johni Broome, senior forward for the Auburn squad, is averaging double-doubles—nearly twenty points per game, punctuated by an impressive eleven rebounds. The almost seven-footer has been an actual dominating influence this season. As the tournament ramps up, Auburn will remain a significant obstacle—as long as Broome stays in form.
Cooper Flagg
Can you say “young money”? Cooper Flagg, an eighteen-year-old freshman at Duke, is already receiving NBA draft buzz. The almost seven-foot-tall was already noteworthy for his high school record before ever stepping foot in Duke. Since then, he has been influential in helping the team develop an impressive winning record this season. Averaging almost twenty points per game, he will be a force to reckon with this March.
Trey Kaufman-Renn
At Purdue, Trey Kaufman-Renn has consistently scored nineteen points per game. Kaufman-Renn has been solid for the entirety of his college career, but until this season, he lived in the giant shadow of his former teammate Zach Eady, who helped lead Perdue last year before being drafted into the NBA. Now fully in the spotlight, Kaufman-Renn has been a true dominant baller, with all the potential to help the Boilermakers go the distance for a second year.
John Tonje
John Tonje was already famous for his play last year in Colorado. Last summer, he entered the draft portal and landed in Wisconsin. Since then, he’s been a true star at the Kohl Center, where he’s been one of the most effective ballers on both sides of the ball in the Big Ten conference. Averaging nearly twenty points, with a particularly impressive 38.9% field goal percentage on threes, Tonje is a versatile player who can be disruptive come March. While Wisconsin isn’t projected to go very far this year, it’s possible to put together an underdog run—mainly if Tonje shows up with a hot hand.
Liam McNeeley
You almost can’t talk about March Madness without at least mentioning UConn. While the Huskies haven’t quite lived up to the glory of their last two seasons—mainly because their lineup has shifted pretty considerably over the last twelve months—freshman Liam McNeeley has been a true bright spot on their roster. McNeeley may well bear the brunt of the Huskies long-shot odds on three-peating. Averaging fifteen points per game this season, he has been an influential force on the Huskies’ roster all year.
The March Preview
While sports fans love March Madness independently for its excitement and sheer concentration of great basketball, no one can deny that it is also a great sample of what is to come. No, the heroes of the NCAA championship do not always go on to achieve professional greatness. Yes, so many of the best pro ballers first showed their stuff on this grand stage. And, of course, to focus only on men’s ball is to exclude an exciting other half of the conversation. The women’s game has seen ENORMOUS growth over the last twelve months. This is thanks to stars like Angel Reese, Caitlin Clark, and Cameron Brink, who developed their own national audiences during last year’s NCAA playoffs. Paige Bueckers of UCONN has generated the most attention this year, but don’t sleep on Olivia Miles of Notre Dame either.