Let the madness begin. March is in full swing and with it is the madness. Last week we had one of the craziest conference tournament champ weeks ever, which resulted in 4-5 bid stealers. Now that we have a bracket the action starts in full on Thursday afternoon. With all the talent on these 68 teams, there are plenty of players to watch out for in this year’s NCAA Tournament. This is some of those players, and ones that are lesser known to the masses than the stars. More specifically these are players on teams that are double-digit seeds.
Players To Watch In The 2024 NCAA Tournament
Tucker DeVries
If you somehow don’t know who Drake’s Tucker DeVries is then prepare to be amazed. The junior guard has been awesome this year and continues to get better and better with each game. He is now the two-time defending Missouri Valley Conference Larry Bird Player of the Year award winner. He’s earned all-conference honors every year and has now won the MVP of Arch Madness twice. DeVries is averaging 21.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. That’s a great statline no matter where you play. He has the chance to be one of the darlings of this year’s tournament.
Jaelen House
New Mexico was a victim of the selection committee hosing the Mountain West. But that just adds fuel to the newly crowned MWC champions’ fire. Leading the way for the Lobos is super senior guard Jaelen House. He just won MVP of the MWC tournament. Besides the fact that he’s a very good player, he is also one of the leaders of this team. The Lobos are red hot right now and House is a big part of why. He’s not the only one though, as New Mexico has a host of elite guards.
T.J. Bickerstaff & Terrence Edwards
James Madison’s T.J. Bickerstaff has been one of the most dominant big men in the Sun Belt this season. He won the conference’s Newcomer of the Year award. His 63% shooting percentage is the second-best in the Sun Belt and 12th in the country. Bickerstaff had 10 double-doubles on the year, including a 21-point 14-rebound one in the massive opening night upset in East Lansing against Michigan State. His teammate Terrence Edwards was named SBC Player of the Year two weeks ago. His 17.6 points per game was tops in the conference. The two of them led the Dukes to a school-record 28 regular season and now 31 wins overall.
Achor Achor
Samford scores a whopping 86 points per game which is the 5th most in the country. Leading the way for the Bulldogs is Achor Achor. The Aussie leads the team in scoring at 15.8 points per game, and he shoots just a hair under 60% from the field. He also averages 6.1 rebounds per game. All of that is despite playing just a modest 22.4 minutes per game. During the team’s run through the SOCON tournament en route to a conference championship, Achor averaged 21.7 points per game, including a 28 point 14 rebound double-double in the semifinals against Furman.
Danny Wolf
Yale faces an Auburn team on a hot streak in the first round. However, center Danny Wolf gives the Bulldogs a chance. The seven-footer averages just shy of a double-double with 14.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Obviously a force on the glass, the big man is also great on the defensive end and averages more than a block per game. Wolf is just a sophomore, and his first year getting significant playing team. He is fresh off of winning MVP of the Ivy League Tournament.
Shahada Wells
McNeese State is two wins away from matchup their win total from the last three years combined. Shahada Wells had a lackluster season last year at TCU. Then he transferred to McNeese State to play for Will Wade and shined, putting together a career year. He was recently crowned Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year in the Southland and earned All-Conference and All-Defense honors. He also averaged career-highs across the board. Wells had 27 points in both of the Cowboys’ conference tournament games, and scored 30+ points in a game three times this season.
