Most memorable players from 2021 NCAA Tournament

Every NCAA Tournament has its moments, and this year is no exception. Having gone a year without a tourney it was inevitable that when March Madness finally came back there would be upsets and drama of the highest order.

With that said every tournament produces not only memorable moments for the teams involved but also sheds light on players that will forever go down in NCAA Tournament lore. Here are the names on that list for this year’s edition.

Jalen Suggs – Gonzaga

Let’s face it, if there was a true MVP of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship game, it was Suggs. Gonzaga just happened to have one of their worst performances of the year in the game where it mattered most. Suggs’ form, however, did not drop off. He was the lone bright spot in an otherwise mediocre Gonzaga performance scoring 22 points in the championship game to go along with three assists and shooting a 40% clip from three.

This performance came after he lifted Gonzaga past a tough UCLA squad and possibly lifted his name into a top-three draft pick discussion. Suggs buzzer-beater against UCLA already goes down in tournament history but the freshman’s performances are memorable as they may reflect a boost to the talented guard for at the next level.

Suggs nearly shot Gonzaga to an undefeated national championship and may have shot up his own odds to be a top-three with his tournament performances.

Max Abmas – Oral Roberts

Oral Roberts’ story itself will go down in history. The small school became just the second 15-seed to reach the sweet 16 since the dunk show that was Florida Gulf Coast in 2013. Oral Roberts were led by star point guard and the NCAA’s leading scorer Max Abmas.

Abmas came into the tournament as the nation’s leading scorer averaging 24.2 ppg and announced himself on the national stage during the Golden Eagles run to the Sweet 16. Abmas ultimately came up JUST short on the final shot that would’ve taken the 15 seeded Golden Eagles where no 15 seed has gone before, the Elite Eight.

However, despite the heartbreaking loss, the run was truly iconic and wouldn’t have happened without the play of Abmas. Abmas came into the tournament an unknown scorer and may have come out of the tournament with a chance to be taken in the upcoming NBA draft, drawing comparisons to other mid-major guards such as Damian Lillard and Steph Curry as possibly having an impact on the next level.