G: Mark Sears, Alabama
No team in the tournament plays faster than Alabama, and the player pushing that pace is Mark Sears. Both offensively and defensively, Sears has been a menace as he’s averaging 24.3 PPG, 3.8 APG, and 1.8 SPG. Sears sets up the Tides’ offense and is shooting 44.7% from beyond the arc through the tournament. Alabama hasn’t had an easy road playing tough underdogs like Charleston and Grand Canyon early on, and dominant squads like North Carolina and Clemson later. Every game, there’s a noticeable constant and it’s Mark Sears stepping up.
G: Cam Spencer, UConn
If there was ever a player that was type casted to a Dan Hurley coached squad, it’d be Cam Spencer. He matches his coaches energy and carries it to the court on both offense and defense. Throughout the tournament, Spencer, a grad transfer from Rutgers, is averaging 13.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 3.8 APG and 2 SPG. Against Illinois, Spencer rose to the occasion and was integral in UConn’s blowout win as he posted a stat line of 11 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks. Donovan Clingan and Tristen Newton do their thing for the Huskies, but Cam Spencer serves as a Swiss army knife that fills in the cracks for what UConn needs.
G: Tristen Newton, UConn
When a team has scorers like Clingan, Spencer and Karaban, you need a facilitator to get them the best opportunities to score, and that’s what Tristen Newton does. He’s averaging 13.8 PPG and 6.8 APG through the tournament. The best example of Newton taking the backseat as a scorer and letting his teammates who were hot take over was against Illinois. He had 5 points and 5 assists while Spencer had 11 points, Clingan had 22, and Karaban had 10. His leadership is his best asset to the Huskies. It doesn’t hurt that he’s a great passer, though.
F: DJ Burns Jr., North Carolina State
One of the tournament’s biggest storylines have been the NC State Wolfpack and their insane run. Within that storyline is another massive one and it is DJ Burns Jr. The 6’9, 275 pound forward, who is getting looks to play offensive tackle in the NFL, is averaging 18.3 PPG, 5 RPG, and 3.5 APG. He’s a beast. What makes Burns such a threat is his elite quickness in the post. He’ll slowly back a player down and then pull out a devastating drop-step to hit layups and floaters. But his offensive game doesn’t end there. He can spread the floor and hit jump shots at will. Having an arsenal like Burns makes him a matchup nightmare.
C: Zach Edey, Purdue
The 7’4, 300-pound Canuck Zach Edey has been virtually unstoppable during the Boilermakers tournament run as he’s averaging 30 PPG and 16.3 RPG. He has received some help from the officials getting to the stripe, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been dominate game in and game out. He has a tough matchup vs DJ Burns Jr. and possibly Donovan Clingan, but so far in the tournament, his size has proved to be too much to handle for bigs from Tennessee and Gonzaga.
Bench: Donovan Clingan, UConn
I so badly wanted to put Clingan in the starting five, but deep down I knew Edey was the right pick. But that doesn’t take away from what Clingan has down in the tournament. Over UConn’s four March Madness games, he’s averaging 15.8 PPG, 3.5 BPG, and 10 RPG. He’s averaging a double-double, which is insane. While Clingan has been a force all tournament, he was a major reason why the Huskies blew out a very good Illinois team. Against Illinois, who was led by (alleged) rapist Terrence Shannon Jr., he tallied 22 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks and 3 steals. One of the last people you want to meet in the lane is Donovan Clingan.
Bench: DJ Horne, North Carolina State
While DJ Burns Jr. has been the big story around North Carolina State, the player running their offense has been guard DJ Horne. Horne dropped 19 in a win over #2 Marquette and 20 in the Wolfpack’s win over #4 Duke. Throughout the tournament, he’s averaging 16.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 2.8 APG. Having a guard/big man combo of Burns Jr. and Horne has made life difficult for teams playing NC State and it’ll only continue when they play Purdue due to Horne’s skills as a facilitator and Burns Jr.’s skills in the post.
Bench: Aaron Estrada, Alabama
The transfer from Hofstra, Aaron Estrada, has been a huge contributor in the Tides tournament run as he’s a guard that doesn’t care if he has to do some dirty work. He’s averaging 12.5 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 5.5 APG, and 1.5 SPG. A big question would be, what doesn’t Aaron Estrada do? Yes, Sears and Nelson have been huge for Alabama’s success, but without Estrada, the Tide would be without a spark-plug player that boosts the teams energy with a steal or a big pass setting his teammates up. Having an Aaron Estrada on your team is imperative.
Coach: Dan Hurley, UConn
If you thought any other coach would get the nod here, you’re foolish. Dan Hurley is by far the best coach in the nation and has rallied his talented squad back to the Final Four for the second year in a row, and he’s done it by not taking his foot off the gas. UConn’s average margin of victory this tournament has been by 27.5 points. That includes a 30 point win over San Diego State and a 25 point win over Illinois. And in every double-digit win, Hurley carries his intense energy to the final buzzer.
