Technically the NCAA Tournament started last night with Albany playing Mt. St. Mary’s and NC State playing Xavier. With the round of 64 starting tomorrow I figured I would give my top 5 college basketball players to watch in the tournament. This isn’t just going to be an article on the best players in College Basketball, it will also feature some of the better players that don’t get enough recognition as some of the others. With that being said, let’s jump right into it.

1. Doug McDermott: Creighton BlueJays

You knew this guy was going to be in here, right? You had to. The Forward for the BlueJays averages 26.9 PPG, which leads the NCAA, 7 rebounds, and shoots 52% from the field. His efforts have earned Creighton a 3 seed in the West Region facing off with 14 seed Louisiana-Lafayette. Going into the tournament it’s a National Championship or bust attitude for Creighton, and look for Doug McDermott to lead them into battle.

2. Jabari Parker: Duke BlueDevils

Jabari Parker is the possible Number One overall pick in the NBA Draft. As only a freshman he managed to put up 19.3 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and shoot 48% from the field. It’s not like he is the only freshman putting up those numbers, though. He has some pretty good competition. Duke is a very talented team but they look to Jabari to bring the energy to Duke. He supplies the big plays and is the main scoring threat for the BlueDevils. Duke has got themselves a 3 seed in the Midwest Region. This Region is by far the most difficult region. Duke looks to advance past Mercer in the Second Round on the way to Final Four. Can Jabari provide the energy Duke needs to get the wins, or will they be an early exit?

3. Andrew Wiggins: Kansas JayHawks

Another highly recruited freshman to watch is Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins had some really high expectations coming into college, and in my opinion didn’t live up to them. Nobody would’ve lived up to those expectations, though. The way everyone talked about Wiggins is that he would come in and just dominate everyone. By all means, he is still a great basketball player, and his stats show it. He averages 17.4 PPG, 6 RPG, and shoots 45% from the field. Like I said, that is far from bad. People’s expectations for a 19 year old kid were just too much. Wiggins also got some unexpected help from Center Joel Embiid, who is said to be the Number 1 pick in the NBA Draft. Embiid averaged 11.2 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and shot 62%. Embiid has been sidelined with a back injury the past couple of weeks, and it’s up to Wiggins to lead them through the tourney. They are a 2 seed, facing off with Eastern Kentucky. Can Wiggins step up and pick up the slack for Embiid or are the JayHawks destined for an upset?

4. Julius Randle: Kentucky Wildcats

This guy is a flat out animal down low. That hasn’t stopped the Wildcats from struggling, though. They started out as the pre-season Number 1 and finished the regular season unranked. It’s been a crazy season for the Wildcats, right when you think they’ve started to turn it around, they go out and have a huge setback. Many people think that it is lack of a leader. Keep in mind this is the youngest team in College Basketball right now, but they had much higher expectations for the season. This team is packed with 5 star recruits but they just can’t seem to get it to gel together. The big piece in the recruiting was Julius Randle. Julius averaged 15 PPG, and brought down an average of 10.5 rebounds, averaging a double-double. He also shot 50% from the field. The Wildcats play earned them an unexpected 8 seed in the tournament. They start tournament play Friday when they face off with Kansas State. The Wildcats recent SEC Tournament play has people thinking they are a legit contender. They had the number one team in the nation on the ropes. Florida jumped out to a 15 point second half lead, but the Wildcats didn’t give up. They stormed back to cut the game to a one point game. They have the ball with 10 seconds left and they were only down one. Andrew Harrison drove, passed it to James Young who slipped and the ball rolled out to half court. What some people consider a moral victory, it still did not earn them a win. Many people have them advancing to the Sweet Sixteen and even farther, but it all depends on Julius Randle. Can he get his freshmen teammates to play Kentucky Wildcats basketball, or will they play like freshmen and tumble in the first round?

5. T.J. Warren

There is a reason he is the ACC Player of the Year. Warren showed it Tuesday, he posted 25 points in the Wolfpack’s win over Xavier to advance to play St. Louis in the round of 64. T.J. Warren is the only reason that I think NC State will win against St. Louis. Warren is a great scorer and is also great on the defensive end. I watched 3 possessions and he either assisted or scored all the points, he also came up with two steals. T.J. Warren averaged 24.8 PPG, trailing only Doug McDermott, brings down 7.2 RPG, and shoots an outstanding 53%. If you read my article on how to pick your bracket, you’ll know that you need to pick a couple 12 seeds over 5 seed games. I have a strong feeling that NC State will “upset” St. Louis. I say “upset” because I don’t really think it is an upset. St. Louis has really been on a skid lately and I think NC State will really take advantage. How far can T.J. Warren lead the Wolfpack into the tourney?

This is just my opinion on the top five most interesting players to watch come tourney time. This is by no means my top five college basketball players, it is just the players I think are under the most pressure.

Here is my previous article on how to pick your bracket, it provides all the necessities necessary for a winning bracket: https://thafantasybros.wordpress.com/2014/03/18/how-to-pick-your-bracket-dos-and-donts/