NCAA basketball: Ranking the 30 Naismith award finalists
No. 2: Keenan Evans – Senior guard, Texas Tech
2017-18 stats: 18.7 ppg 2.9 rpg 3.3 apg
Best season performance: 38 points, four rebounds and three assists in the overtime win over Texas
The best player on the best team in the best conference should be getting the most attention. But I’m not sure people still know who the leading scorer for Texas Tech is. After losing the team’s second best player from a year ago, Evans has taken a couple of freshmen and some role players to the top of the Big 12, something no one outside of Lubbock thought was possible.
The senior has played his best basketball of late, averaging 24.6 ppg in the past seven games, while being one of the top players in the country at getting to the line, where he shoots 83%. Evans has played as well as any player in the country, and to play at as high of level as he has in a league where you can’t take any games off, a ranking as high as No. 2 is well deserved.
No. 1: Jalen Brunson – Junior guard, Villanova
2017-18 stats: 19.8 ppg 3.1 rpg 4.7 apg
Best season performance: 31 points and five rebounds in the win over Marquette
He’s been the best player on the best team all season, and few would argue that the Wildcats aren’t still the best team even after taking a couple of losses. After losing Josh Hart from a year ago, Brunson has become the primary ball-handler, both scoring and assisting for Villanova. Considering the injuries that’s been accumulating, his steady hand has been impressive as well.
This has been the season of the “point guard” where great playmakers have been deciding games all season. That’s why the Wildcats are one of the favorites to win it all, led by one of, if not the best player in the country.