NCAA Tournament 2022: Players to watch in Friday’s Sweet 16 matchups

Tyrese Hunter, 6-foot-1 guard, Iowa State Cyclones

In the lone meeting of double-digit seeds in the Midwest Region, No. 11 meets No. 10 as the Iowa State Cyclones and Miami Hurricanes square off what should be an exciting matchup. The Cyclones have become quite the storyline after winning just two games in 2020-21.

Head coach T.J. Otzelberger has made quite the turnaround with the Cyclones and much of that is thanks to 6-foot-1 freshman guard Tyrese Hunter.

His shot wasn’t falling in their victory over Wisconsin (1-of-10 shooting from the field), he still made his presence felt as a playmaker (5 assists) and defender (3 steals) while snagging six rebounds. He’s an active presence in the Cyclones’ backcourt that makes an impact on both ends of the floor.

After putting up just four points in their last victory, look for Hunter to play a big role in Friday’s game. In their upset bid of LSU, he exploded for a career-high 23 points on seven made 3-pointers, also a career-high. He also had five steals in the victory as well.

Hunter is averaging 13.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.0 apg, and 4.0 apg and still managing to shoot 39.1 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range entering their meeting with the Hurricanes.