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

#6 – DeAndre Williams – Memphis

My favorite part about Memphis is that these dudes are old. They have players in the starting lineup that would be one of the two or three oldest players on the Memphis Grizzlies. One of these players is DeAndre Williams. Williams is 26 years old and has played a lot of college basketball. It also helps that he’s very good.

Williams has played incredibly as of late, scoring 35 against UCF, 27 against Tulane, and a 16-13 double-double against Houston in the AAC Championship. Kendric Davis is the star on the team and has gotten most of the spotlight but Williams will be the most important player on the floor for the Tigers going into the NCAA Tournament.

In the first round against Florida Atlantic, he’ll be tasked with keeping 7’1 center Vladislov Goldin off of the glass. Easier said than done when you consider Williams is only 6’9. However, he’s long and very athletic and possesses a great ability to keep even the best offensive rebounders off the glass (not many dudes are grabbing ten defensive boards against Houston, I can assure you).

Memphis will be in an absolute dogfight against FAU but I expect them to pull through. If they do, they’ll (barring a miracle) face Purdue and big Zach Edey in round two. Williams will draw the assignment of guarding him, protecting the paint against him and trying his gosh darn best to keep him from grabbing a ton of offensive boards.

Like other players on this list, Williams plays with an elite offensive player (Davis) who will grab a majority of the defense’s attention. For a player like Williams, who averages 17.8 points, eight rebounds and almost three assists per game, he makes the ideal offensive wingman that can spark an 8 over 1 seed upset.