NCAA Tournament 2023: Top 10 biggest x-factor players to watch for

#9- Flo Thamba – Baylor

I teased this pick on the opening page. Baylor is elite offensively and has the best combination of guards in all of college basketball, blitzing teams from behind the three-point line. But they have a major fatal flaw. The Bears can’t guard anyone.

This is an astonishing contrast to the team that won the championship in 2021 where the backcourt and frontcourt were the best defensive team in the nation. But to play off a Rick Pitino quote, Davion Mitchell, Jared Butler, and MaCio Teague ain’t walking through that door.

This is where Flo Thamba comes to play. Baylor ranks 299th in defensive rebound percentage and 314th in opponent two-point percentage. With the offensive firepower they have, those flaws alone were enough to cost them a few games this year. In March, you have to rebound and you have to protect the paint. At 6’10 and being the team’s best defensive rebounder and rim protector, this burden will all fall on him.

But if anyone on this team can handle this kind of pressure, it’s Thamba, as he played a vital role as a defensive stopper on the 2021 championship team.

Keyontae George, Adam Flagler, and LJ Cryer will be the focal points of the offense and are all three capable of big games. But if Thamba doesn’t at least keep the opposing team off the glass and protect the paint, that sexy perimeter scoring simply won’t matter.