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The best player on the best remaining team gets the nod for the No. 1 spot with a bullet. Sanogo is averaging 20.0 points per game in UConn’s run — most among all players remaining in the field — and adding 9.8 rebounds per game to boot while playing just 25.5 minutes per night.2
No player in the field is more equipped than Hawkins to heat up and drop 30 on any given night. He sprints around the floor more than anyone to get open and has the flame-throwing ability to knock down shots from anywhere on the floor.3
Wong led Miami in scoring this season and is hitting nearly 40% of his 3-pointers on the year. This Hurricanes team is built to thrive on its depth and there are multiple players who can take over a game, but Wong’s the most steady and consistent option on this team and has been a big performer in big spots for two straight postseasons.4
Davis has reached double figures in scoring in each of FAU’s tournament wins while accumulating 31 rebounds and 13 rebounds in those four contests. The Owls have a nice blend of depth and experience on both ends of the floor, but the versatility Davis brings as a playmaker, scorer and defender is what keys the Owls.5
Miller became the second player in NCAA Tournament history to score at least 27 points on 100% shooting from the field and from the free-throw line since Christian Laettner in an Elite Eight win over Texas, so he’s deserving of a top-five spot here. He’s a big guard who adds scoring and playmaking to Miami’s deep backcourt.6
Averaging 13.3 rebounds and 10.5 points per game, Omier — after averaging a double-double in the regular season — is quietly powering the Hurricanes this postseason with his steady-as-usual production. The former Arkansas State standout is 6-foot-7 but plays like he’s 6-11 with physicality and toughness inside that Miami relies on.7
It’s been tough sledding of late for SDSU’s leading scorer in the regular season — Bradley scored eight combined points on 3-of-17 shooting in the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament — but he still lands the nod as the No. 1 on his team here. He’s second on the team this season in offensive box plus/minus, and if SDSU advances into the title game, it will undoubtedly be because Bradley wiggles out of his slump.8
Pack leads all Miami players in scoring this NCAA Tournament after combining for 74 points — including 26 in the Sweet 16 win over No. 1 seed Houston — in four straight wins. He’s made at least six shots in all but one of his outings in March Madness.9
No player has been more critical to SDSU’s ability to survive and advance this postseason than Trammell. He scored 21 points in a win over No. 1 seed Alabama then added 13 in an Elite Eight win over Creighton two days later, touching off his day with the go-ahead free throw late to seal the win.10
Martin did it all for FAU in its Elite Eight win over Kansas State with a team-high 17 points to go with two blocks, four boards and a pair of assists. FAU’s success is predicated on taking — and making — a high volume of 3-pointers, and no Owl takes more this season than Martin, who is hitting close to 40% on high volume.11
Vlad The Lad came alive in the Elite Eight with an epic 14-point, 13-rebound, two-block, two-assist outing in which he dominated inside for the Owls. He’s a skilled shot blocker who uses his 7-1 frame to his advantage as an effective finisher and punisher around the rim on both ends of the floor.12
No player in this year’s NCAA Tournament has more blocks than Mensah, the towering big man who stabilizes San Diego State’s defensive fortress on the interior. He’s not a big-time scorer but his shot-blocking and defensive awareness is key to what SDSU does defending at one of the highest levels of this year’s tournament.13
Boyd is just a freshman and has not quite found his groove this tournament but no newbie in this year’s field has more of a green light than he does. He’s a 15-point boost if he starts nailing shots he normally does, and his shot-making opens up FAU’s offensive potential.14
Jackson played his most complete game of the season vs. Gonzaga in the Elite Eight with 10 assists, nine rebounds and eight points in 31 minutes of action. The ultimate glue guy who holds the keys to a national title for the Huskies.15
UConn has several combo guard chameleons — guys who can slip into different spots in different games depending upon what it needs — and no one more perfectly encapsulates that luxury it has than Newton. Can create and score and is additive in every way; he ranks first on the team in plus-minus on the season according to data from EvanMiya.com .16
SDSU has relied heavily on Johnson during the NCAA Tournament as a do-it-all defender whose scoring and rebounding helps maximize the pieces on this Aztecs roster. He played 27 turnover-free minutes vs. Creighton in the Elite Eight and brought down five rebounds while hitting two of his four shot attempts.17
Miami dug out of a 13-point second-half deficit in the Elite Eight thanks to a nine-point, five-rebound, two-assist second-half from Poplar, who finished with his best showing of March Madness: 16 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals and zero turnovers.18
After combining for three made baskets in the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, UConn’s sometimes-overlooked freshman, Karaban combined for 10 shots in the second weekend with five makes in each of the wins over Arkansas and Gonzaga. He’s money as a 3-point threat and able to keep defenses honest with so many other weapons on this UConn team.19
With SDSU’s offense stuck in the mud vs. Creighton, Butler stepped up to score 18 points — the most for him in a game in more than two months — to help SDSU advance to its first-ever Final Four. He can be a streaky scorer but his microwaveable ability is key for a team that relies almost entirely on its defense, not offense, to get by.20
Greenlee has had a great NCAA Tournament run and made some big-time shots in the last few weeks for FAU. He’s coming off a 16-point game vs. Kansas State in which he made four 3-pointerss. If his outside shot is falling, he helps turn this FAU team from very good to borderline unbeatable.
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