2024 NCAA Tournament: Ranking the Top 20 players from the East Region

2. Tristen Newton (Connecticut)

For three seasons Newton was a talented point guard at East Carolina, starting most of those games for a Pirates team that wasn’t exactly making headway in the AAC. He transferred to UConn two years ago and was a key piece in the Huskies’ national championship last season. Now, Newton has taken on an even greater role for the Huskies and could be the biggest reason they landed the Tourney’s #1 overall seed.

Newton averages 15.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 6.0 assists for the Huskies, putting up some ridiculous numbers that almost put him in a league of his own. He certainly established himself as the Big East’s best point guard and was excellent in the Big East Tournament, with 25 points and 9 assists in a semifinal win against St. John’s. Newton also had multiple triple-doubles earlier in the season and is a threat to stuff the stat sheet and will Connecticut to wins on a nightly basis.

1. Terrence Shannon Jr. (Illinois)

It’s almost fair to say that nobody is playing as well as Shannon right now. The former three-year starter at Texas Tech arrived at Illinois in 2022 and was an important piece during last year’s success but has been even more vital in his final season of eligibility. Shannon did miss time earlier in the season while suspended but has come on with some of the best basketball of his career in recent weeks.

Overall he averaged 23.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game and shot 36% from outside the arc, sometimes putting up video game numbers for the Fighting Illini. Shannon really came alive in the Big Ten Tournament, with 40 points against Nebraska in the semifinals en route to Tournament MVP honors this past weekend. Shannon is quite possibly the nation’s most explosive scorer to the basket and has Illinois feeling like a deep Tournament run is certainly possible in the weeks ahead.