While the first weekend of the 2025 NCAA Tournament didn’t provide us with much “madness” it has set up some fantastic Sweet 16 matchups. And with only one top-four seed going down in the first two rounds, Rick Pitino’s St. John’s Red Storm, many of the biggest stars in the sport are still alive for a national championship run, including all five AP First-Team All-Americans.
With the first-team All-Americans still in the field, ranking the top 10 players in the Sweet 16 should be easy right? Well, not if you disagree with the AP voters. Yes, all five First-teamers cracked my top 10, but this list doesn’t just start at No. 6.
The regionals are typically when it becomes clear which teams are truly national championship good and when the sport’s superstars take over the NCAA Tournament. Last year’s Zach Edey/Dalton Knecht Elite Eight showdown is the perfect example. Knecht was a great player having a memorable season, Edey was an all-time great, and Purdue came out on top.
EDEY SAYS NO ❌ @BoilerBall pic.twitter.com/b2y3hPQyN8
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 31, 2024
This year we’ve already had some unforgettable performances from stars like Walter Clayton Jr.’s dagger three against UConn or Derik Queen’s second-round buzzer-beater, and these 10 players are bound to give us more this weekend.
Mark Sears was a first-team All-American, but he should not have been. Sears has regressed as a shooter from last year’s Final Four run with Alabama and while that hasn’t been reflected in the overall efficiency of Nate Oats’ offense, it has been in Sears's individual analytics. By net rating, the Crimson Tide are 12.2 points per 100 possessions better with Sears off the court. The senior point guard took over in Alabama’s first-round upset scare against Robert Morris and is still one of the sport’s best closers, but he’s largely coasted on that reputation this season.
Trey Kaufman-Renn is one of the most efficient scorers in the country and with his variety of short-roll playmaking and push-shots, may even be a more effective pick-and-roll partner for point guard Braden Smith than Edey was. He’s scored 20+ points in Purdue’s last five games including a hyper-efficient 22-point 15-rebound performance against McNeese in the second round, but his defensive limitations will ultimately cost the Boilermakers. Matt Painter’s team has looked best on offense in the Tournament with the 6-foot-9 Kaufman-Renn at small-ball center and four shooters spacing the floor. However, Kaufman-Renn blocks just 0.3 shots a game and the Boilermakers allow opponents to shoot over 70% at the rim, so Painter is forced to play Kaufman-Renn next to 6-foot-10 senior Caleb Furst.
Vlad Goldin may be the more productive of Michigan’s twin-towers frontcourt, but Danny Wolf is Dusty May’s best player. The 7-footer is nearly averaging a double-double with 13.0 points and 9.8 rebounds, but he can also step out and knock down a three and is an effective pick-and-roll ball-handler, averaging 3.6 assists a night. With a shaky backcourt, Michigan leans on Wolf’s playmaking ability, and that makes him the more important of the two bigs. In 261 minutes with Goldin on the floor and Wolf off, Michigan’s net rating is -7.2, and in the 370 minutes with just Wolf and Goldin on the bench Michigan’s net rating is +8.4.
The 5-foot-9 senior plays much bigger than his size, but throughout his career, by his own doing or not, he hasn’t stepped up in the biggest moments for Tennessee. Zeigler missed the 2023 Tournament with an injury, and in last year’s Elite Eight loss to Purdue, he went just 3/12 from the field for nine points. Yet, he still managed eight assists to just one turnover. That’s the thing with Zeigler, he’s always finding ways to impact the game and might be the most disruptive point-of-attack defender in the country. Rick Barnes will need a big weekend from leading scorer Chaz Lanier to make the second Final Four of his career, but the veteran head coach knows that his team will go as far as Zeigler can take it.
The freshman center has already hit the biggest shot of this tournament, a remarkable game-winner at the buzzer against Colorado State. He’s the rare playmaking big who can get his own shot off the dribble while remaining a physical force on the inside. As a freshman, he’s shouldered massive offensive responsibilities for the Terps, and the number of difficult shots he’s asked to take has slightly limited his efficiency, but the Big Ten Freshman of the Year wants the ball in the biggest moments and has proven he can come through.
Much like Purdue’s first-round exit against 16th-seeded Farleigh Dickinson in 2023, turnovers have been an issue for Smith in the postseason, and they’ve nagged him throughout the year, but that didn’t stop the Big Ten Player of the Year from becoming the conference’s first player since Magic Johnson to register 450 points, 250 assists, 125 rebounds, and 60 steals in a season. Smith and Magic are the only two players in conference history to hit those marks, and the 6-foot junior point guard has now done it in back-to-back seasons.
In a season dominated by front-court stars, Walter Clayton Jr. has been the most terrifying guard in the country. The senior is constantly under control on the offensive end, getting to his spots with craft, not overwhelming athleticism, and still scoring at will. Clayton is a big-shot maker and his 23-point performance with a dagger three in Florida’s 77-75 second-round win over the back-to-back national champions, cement that. Florida is never out of a game with a playmaker like Clayton.
JT Toppin was the most overlooked player in the country this season. The New Mexico transfer averaged 18.1 points and 9.3 rebounds in just 26.8 minutes for an excellent Texas Tech team, and he took over the Red Raiders’ second-round matchup against Drake with 25 points and 12 rebounds on 11/13 shooting. The Second-Team All-American is an athletic force on the interior, and it's nearly impossible for defenses to prevent him from getting to his dominant left hand around the rim.
Speaking of a dominant left hand. Johni Broome has claimed Edey’s throne as the most dominant post-presence in the sport with his pristine footwork and soft touch. Broome is a monster in the paint and tough to keep off the boards, and he adds a playmaking element to the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed with a near 20% assist rate. Broome had just eight points on 4/13 shooting in a matchup with four-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year Ryan Kalkbrenner in the second round, and he’ll have his hands full in the Sweet 16 against Michigan’s twin towers, but he should be up to the challenge.
It’s hard to find a flaw in Cooper Flagg’s game. The 6-foot-9 do-it-all forward can finish in the lane, get his shot off the dribble, bury threes at a 36% clip, and has been the Blue Devils' primary playmaker averaging 4.2 assists per game. Yet, he’s actually better on the defensive end. Flagg averages over a steal and a block per game and is just as disruptive when roaming off the ball to create havoc as he is shutting down the opposing team’s primary option one-on-one. He’s having the best freshman season since Anthony Davis in 2011-12 and got my vote for National Player of the Year. There are plenty of reasons that Duke is the favorite to win it all, but Flagg is far and away the biggest one.