2024 NCAA Tournament: Ranking the top 20 Players from the West Region

20. Marcus Tsohonis (Long Beach State)

Not many people watched much Long Beach State basketball this season or even knew much about this program before last week, but they missed out on an incredible year from Tsohonis. A former bench player at both Washington in the Pac-12 and VCU in the A-10, Tsohonis found a home with the Beach these past two seasons and has really become an impactful guard for this program.

Building on last season, Tsohonis averaged 17.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists, improving his game in virtually every aspect these last few seasons. Not only was he a great offensive weapon but was one of the most heavily-utilized players in the Big West. He had 35 points in a shocking road win at Michigan back in November, dropped 28 at USC a month later, and just dragged the Beach to an incredible Big West Tournament title.

19. Harrison Ingram (North Carolina)

This North Carolina team greatly underachieved last season and the addition of Ingram (and a few other pieces) is a major reason why that did not repeat in 2024. Ingram is a former Pac-12 Rookie of the Year who put up great numbers in two seasons starring at Stanford before opting to transfer to North Carolina this past offseason. If anything his numbers got even better for a Tar Heels team that secured a 1-seed in the Big Dance.

Already a double-digit scorer for the Cardinal, Ingram averaged 12.1 points and 9.0 rebounds as a major frontcourt piece for the Tar Heels during this junior season. Ingram hit 37% of his 3-pointers in limited attempts, was among the league’s leaders in steals and certainly has found a nice role with North Carolina this year. He had multiple 20-point outpourings against NC State, has had great rebounding numbers in recent weeks, and is a player to watch in the coming weeks.