After months of exciting college basketball action we finally have reached this year’s NCAA Tournament. Teams have poured their hard work into weeks, months, and even years of preparation to get to this point and we’re just six rounds away from crowning our national champion.
Our current focus is on the players who are going to make a major difference in determining that champion. Specifically we’re looking at the South Region, which is absolutely packed with talent. Auburn leads a crowded field that includes Michigan and Michigan State, feisty Louisville, and a number of squads like Iowa State and Texas A&M who may or may not be getting healthy at the right time.
Let’s get right into our list of the most important players in this regional. This isn’t the absolute best from these teams, but those who we think will play the biggest role in how this quadrant of the bracket plays out.
After bouncing around at several other schools, Baker-Mazara has really found his spot here with Auburn. He’s putting up 12.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game and affecting the game in many ways for the Tigers. What’s really important here isn’t just his contributions for top-seeded Auburn, but in keeping a level head. He’s a fantastic playmaker, but he was ejected from the regular season finale and didn’t play well in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
Thanks to the depth and balance at Michigan State, the Spartans can go deep in March even when a few of their players aren’t on their game, but Akins is perhaps the most vital piece of the puzzle. The senior guard averages 12.7 points and 3.6 rebounds a game and makes major plays on both sides of the ball. Michigan State leans on his leadership and his defensive contributions and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him leading the charge if the Spartans do have a deep and memorable March Madness.
New Mexico might be the 10-seed in this region, but you can guarantee that Dent will be a factor, regardless of how many games the Lobos play. The MWC Player of the Year and the conference’s top scorer, Dent put up 20.6 points and 6.4 assists per game and affects the game in a myriad of ways. New Mexico is in fantastic shape and this junior forward is a major reason why; it stands to reason he’ll have a big presence this upcoming week.
Last year, Edwards was the Sun Belt’s best player while at James Madison and helped lead the Dukes to an NCAA Tournament win. This year he’s averaging 16.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game with solid shooting numbers as a playmaker for Louisville. Edwards just had 29 points in the ACC title game loss to Duke and has really shown up down the stretch this season. If the Cardinals can make a run then he’ll certainly be the catalyst on this feisty under-seeded team.
With news that Keshon Gilbert won’t return this season, Jones becomes an even more vital piece of the puzzle for the Cyclones. The Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year averages 17.1 points and 4.3 rebounds and will continue to step up into a major role for Iowa State. He put up 31 points in the Big 12 Tournament while stepping into a starting role and you can bet that the Cyclones will lean on him without Gilbert and with the rest of the lineup not necessarily 100%.
For four straight seasons Kalkbrenner has been Big East Defensive Player of the Year and the league’s leader in field goal percentage. That’s no different this season, as he averages 19.4 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 2.7 blocks a game. Kalkbrenner and the Bluejays have been here before and have potential even as the 9-seed, but they’ll certainly need sharp play from their 5th year senior center if they’re going to last more than a game in this tough quadrant.
Both of Michigan’s fantastic 7-footers deserved a spot on this list, but we’re giving the nod to Wolf based on his efforts this season. The junior transfer from Yale experienced NCAA Tournament success last season and continues to produce at a high level, averaging 13.3 points and 9.9 rebounds in his first season at Michigan. The Wolverines’ frontcourt has been top notch and was a big reason they won the Big Ten Tournament, but can they make this March truly special with some tricky matchups ahead?
Throughout his four years at Texas A&M, Taylor has emerged as an important playmaker for the Aggies. The veteran point guard put up 15.7 points and 4.3 assists per game in a season briefly marred by injury, but Texas A&M has everything they want right in front of them. Taylor just put up 29 points in the SEC Tournament last week and has that kind of potential to shoulder the load but there’s a lot of talent on this team that can do significant work from the 3-seed.
Year four at Marquette has been Jones’ most productive with the Golden Eagles but the job is far from over. Jones was good for 19.3 points and 5.9 assists, really expanding his game as a distributor even while his shooting numbers took a slight step back. Nevertheless, he’s a very talented backcourt weapon and has put up more than 20 points in four straight games here in March. He’s the most talented and most important piece on a strong Marquette squad.
One of the overwhelming favorites to be the national player of the year, Broome’s third season in Auburn has been more explosive than the rest. The SEC Player of the Year, he averaged 18.9 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks a game, leading the nation’s best league in both rebounding and blocked shots. Broome’s impact can be felt all year long during an amazing season by the top-seeded Tigers and there’s no question that he’ll have a major say on Auburn’s run this month.