Wooden Award-level players apparently make a real difference in terms of team performance. The 2021 men's NCAA tournament field and this ranking of its best players both feature Wooden finalists front and center.
Collin Gillespie is, unfortunately, injured for Villanova, and, yes, Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis and Western Kentucky's Charles Bassey are both watching the tournament from home. That said, the other 12 Wooden finalists are all champing at the bit to propel their teams deep into the bracket. They're all here, along with 38 other players meriting special recognition.
First, a note on who's not here in addition to Gillespie. Michigan's Isaiah Livers is sidelined until further notice by a foot injury. Georgia Tech's Moses Wright is being held out of action for the time being due to COVID-19. We wish both players a speedy return.
Here are the top 50 players in the 2021 NCAA tournament:
Brackets are open! Head to Tournament Challenge and fill out your bracket now!
1. Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State Cowboys
The eager interest of the NBA and tangible team-improving results from a one-and-done freshman haven't always aligned in recent years, and indeed, projected No. 1 overall picks have even been known to miss the tournament entirely. Not this year. Cunningham is the heart and soul of the offense for an Oklahoma State team that was seeded too low (No. 4) by the NCAA yet still earned the program's highest seed in 16 years.
Cunningham is an all-around basketball player, a deadly 3-point shooter who distributes the ball skillfully and, at 6-foot-8, serves as his starting five's second-leading rebounder on the defensive glass. His 40-11 double-double in an overtime win at Oklahoma was special but not really so very aberrant. The freshman is the best player in this 68-team field.
2. Luka Garza, Iowa Hawkeyes
What is there left to be said about an active player who has already had his number retired? Garza has put together the best season of his storied career. His 3-point accuracy has never been higher, his turnover rate has never been lower and he has never drawn so many fouls. Iowa has quite possibly the best offense in the country in large part because Iowa has Luka Garza. He is the keystone in that arch.
3. Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois Fighting Illini
Dosunmu was outstanding even before he started wearing a cool mask, but now he is as visually distinctive as his game is polished. The junior has taken a great leap forward in nearly every performance category this season, including workload on offense. At the core of a very good Illinois offense is a pick-and-roll run with Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn. It's not intricate, and opponents know it's coming, but that look has launched hundreds of effective possessions for the Fighting Illini.
4. Jared Butler, Baylor Bears
Let's not overthink this: Butler's shots go in the basket, and he is personally responsible for 27% of the Baylor attempts that occur when he is on the floor. It's a remarkable combination of volume and accuracy, and the junior has been doing it all season from both sides of the arc. Butler also accounts for a higher share of the Bears' assists than ever before, and his steal percentage has never been higher.
5. Corey Kispert, Gonzaga Bulldogs
In the latest draft projections, Kispert is showing up as a likely lottery pick at around the No. 10 slot. Shot-making comes in handy at all levels of the game, and the accuracy that has drawn the interest of the NBA is paying dividends for Mark Few here and now. When you're listed at 6-foot-7 and 220 pounds and you're hitting 44% of your 3s at a rate of 6.2 attempts per outing, you are a future pro who also happens to be a nightmare for opposing defenses in March.
6. Evan Mobley, USC Trojans
Mobley's trophy case is filled to capacity after walking off with both the Pac-12 player of the year and defensive POY awards. Only Cunningham is projected to go higher in the draft than Mobley, who possesses more or less the ideal size and skills for today's NBA big man. His combination of a high block percentage with an exceptionally low foul rate alone has been something of a neon-sign predictor of future greatness for past freshmen.
7. Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga Bulldogs
With all due respect to the stars listed at Nos. 1-6, Suggs might win the "appointment television player" award. His full-court outlet pass against BYU in the West Coast Conference title game was a thing of beauty from a freshman who already imposes his will on opponents. Suggs has smoothly stepped in alongside Kispert and Drew Timme as a member of Gonzaga's high-scoring nuclear triad. All three make the right reads and hit their shots while pushing the ball in transition.
8. Kofi Cockburn, Illinois Fighting Illini
Somehow, nearly 70 years after Bill Russell first perfected the shot as a high-volume art form, dunking is still painfully underrated. Our eyes register the fact that Cockburn is dunking yet again, and we think, well, I too could do that if I were 7 feet tall, 285 pounds and 21 years old. Believe that if you wish, but there has to be some explanation for why Illinois lapped the Big Ten field in 2-point accuracy in league play. Cockburn's impact at both ends of the floor can't be overstated.
9. Hunter Dickinson, Michigan Wolverines
Michigan looks like it has a balanced offense with a multitude of shooters when you watch the Wolverines in real time; but when you check the season stats, you see unmistakably that this attack goes through Dickinson when he is on the floor. That has proved to be highly effective, of course, as UM has scored enough points on its possessions to rate as one of the best offenses in Division I. Dickinson not only scores on post moves but makes his presence felt on the offensive glass and shoots 76% at the line.
10. Drew Timme, Gonzaga Bulldogs
Visual contrasts notwithstanding, Timme and Cockburn have both averaged seven made 2-pointers per contest and both players are recording 71% of their 2-point tries at the rim. Then again, the Gonzaga star is rather more reliable at the line (67%). Cockburn, West Virginia's Derek Culver, Abilene Christian's Kolton Kohl, LSU's Cam Thomas and Garza are the only players in this field who draw more fouls per 40 minutes than Timme.
11. Davion Mitchell, Baylor Bears
Mitchell sums up the excellence of this Baylor team rather well all by himself. The Big 12 defensive player of the year is also a shooter who connects on 46% of his 3s at a volume of two makes per game. This marriage of blue-collar tenacity on defense with NBA accuracy on offense goes a long way toward explaining why the Bears have come out on top in 22 of their 24 outings.
12. Herb Jones, Alabama Crimson Tide
At 6-foot-8, Jones does a little of everything for the Crimson Tide. The senior has developed into one of the SEC's better distributors as well as one who continues to battle Jahvon Quinerly for the honor of posting the highest assist rate on the team. Jones is additionally a scorer, of course, as well as a fair rim defender who also happens to possess an excellent steal rate. He was the right choice as SEC player of the year.
13. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Villanova Wildcats
The Wildcats will indeed have their hands full with Chandler Vaudrin and a very good Winthrop team, but fans eager to pick this 12-5 upset in their brackets will want to at least factor in the presence of a Wooden finalist. Robinson-Earl is a chip off the old, familiar Villanova block in terms of 2-point accuracy at a high volume, and his defensive rebounding at 6-foot-9 is quite good. A career 77% shooter at the line, the sophomore also will likely see his 3s start to fall at some point.
14. Quentin Grimes, Houston Cougars
Grimes played for Bill Self at Kansas in 2018-19 before transferring to Houston. Under Kelvin Sampson, the junior has become a featured scorer who hits his 3s while more than pulling his weight on D for one of the nation's most rugged defensive teams. The dip or possibly even crash in 2-point effectiveness from Grimes this season bears watching, certainly, but his excellent offensive rating has held steady thanks to the aforementioned 3s and frequent trips to the line.
15. James Bouknight, UConn Huskies
When you sign with UConn as a ball-dominating scorer out of New York City, you are in effect saying bring on the Kemba Walker comparisons. Bouknight channels that same spirit, hitting big shots and leading the Big East in both usage and shot percentage. A combination of a COVID-19 pause by the team and an elbow injury for Bouknight means at this late date we've still seen the sophomore take the court just 14 times this season. Bouknight might just be rounding into form.
16. Duane Washington Jr., Ohio State Buckeyes
A space alien that landed in Indianapolis in time for the first game of the Big Ten tournament would be forgiven for thinking it's Washington who is actually the best player in this All-American-laden conference. The junior scored 56 points in 72 individual minutes against nascent NCAA No. 1 seeds Michigan and Illinois. Never mind the third-team all-conference designation; Washington was arguably the best player on the floor in both games.
17. Chris Duarte, Oregon Ducks
Duarte is quite simply a basket waiting to happen, hitting an outstanding 62% on his 2s and an equally elite 43% on his 3s. With the scoring supplied by the senior and by his classmate Eugene Omoruyi, the Ducks reeled off six wins in the space of just 14 days before running aground against team of destiny Oregon State. Nevertheless, a rested and healthy version of Duarte and his teammates might yet prove to be a potent force in the West bracket.
18. Franz Wagner, Michigan Wolverines
While playing outstanding defense, Wagner has vied with Isaiah Livers all season long for the honor of claiming the best offensive rating in the Michigan rotation. Wagner, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, was a model of consistency and production from mid-February right up until the point at which he fouled out against Ohio State in 29 minutes in the Big Ten semifinals. UM's tournament fate will rest in part on whether Wagner can to some degree offset the absence of the injured Livers or whether his effectiveness is diminished by it.
19. Cameron Krutwig, Loyola Chicago Ramblers
Along with Lucas Williamson, Krutwig is one of two players for Porter Moser who know what it's like to record quality minutes in a Final Four game. Krutwig is additionally the reigning Missouri Valley player of the year, a scorer in the paint who at 6-foot-9 serves as the focal point of the Ramblers' offense. In light of the senior's excellence not only in terms of post moves but also in distributing the ball and on the offensive glass, Loyola Chicago records few scoring possessions where Krutwig doesn't play some role.
20. Jose Alvarado, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
During what was fated to be in at least one statistical category a miserable ACC title game for Florida State, ESPN's own Jay Bilas likened Alvarado to a cornerback who just takes one entire side of the field out of play. The Seminoles gave the ball away on a whopping 36% of their possessions in losing to Georgia Tech, and the disruptions caused and chaos sown by Alvarado were possibly the single most significant factor in the Yellow Jackets' victory.
21. Trevion Williams, Purdue Boilermakers
All hail the possession-usage champion of this NCAA tournament field. Williams is truly the sun and the moon of a Purdue offense that, truth be told, has sputtered at times this season. Imagining the Boilermakers' offense without the indefatigable junior, however, brings home just how valuable he really is. One of the nation's top offensive rebounders and the proud owner of his team's highest assist rate at 6-foot-10 and 265 pounds, Williams averages 25 minutes per contest.
22. Cam Thomas, LSU Tigers
March dawned with LSU coming off back-to-back losses and dropping steadily in the mock brackets. Thomas more or less righted that ship individually with 52 points on just 23 shots from the field in victories over Vanderbilt and Missouri. Will Wade's team has been tough to stop ever since, with its only blemish being a one-point loss on a neutral floor to Alabama. This season, no freshman in the country has accounted for a higher percentage of his team's shots during his minutes than Thomas.
23. Bones Hyland, VCU Rams
In the three games he has played since returning from a foot injury, Hyland has connected on 65% of his tries inside the arc while pulling down 20 defensive rebounds as a 6-foot-3 featured scorer. His 3-point accuracy has yet to return to the pre-injury level, but when it does, Mike Rhoades will once again have a dual threat on offense who harasses opponents into giveaways with his defense.
24. Neemias Queta, Utah State Aggies
Queta changes games with his rare ability to both defend the rim and dominate the defensive glass. He also is the leading scorer for an Aggies offense that stood head and shoulders above the rest of the Mountain West in terms of offensive rebound percentage in conference play. In a game that USU likely had to win to reach the NCAA tournament, Queta recorded an 18-14 double-double to go along with nine blocks in his team's 12-point win over Colorado State in the MWC semifinals.
25. E.J. Liddell, Ohio State Buckeyes
At 6-foot-7 and 240 pounds, Liddell puts the "tough" in a tough matchup for opponents. He launches nearly three attempts per contest from beyond the arc, yet he takes care of the defensive glass for Chris Holtmann's team. Liddell draws fouls almost as often as Kofi Cockburn and more frequently than Trevion Mitchell, yet unlike those Big Ten rivals he's a steady 75% shooter at the line who makes opponents pay. Ohio State's offense outperformed those of both Illinois and Michigan in Big Ten play, and the excellence supplied by both Liddell and Washington is a headache for every potential opponent in OSU's bracket.
26. McKinley Wright IV, Colorado Buffaloes
27. Jay Huff, Virginia Cavaliers
28. Moses Moody, Arkansas Razorbacks
29. DeJon Jarreau, Houston Cougars
30. Max Abmas, Oral Roberts Golden Eagles
31. Osun Osunniyi, St. Bonaventure Bonnies
32. Keve Aluma, Virginia Tech Hokies
33. Derek Culver, West Virginia Mountaineers
34. Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton Bluejays
35. David McCormack, Kansas Jayhawks
36. Joel Ayayi, Gonzaga Bulldogs
37. Blake Preston, Liberty Flames
38. Sam Hauser, Virginia Cavaliers
39. JaQuori McLaughlin, UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
40. Austin Reaves, Oklahoma Sooners
41. Kolton Kohl, Abilene Christian Wildcats
42. Scottie Barnes, Florida State Seminoles
43. Jordan Schakel, San Diego State Aztecs
44. Chandler Vaudrin, Winthrop Eagles
45. Isaiah Miller, UNC Greensboro Spartans
46. Tanner Groves, Eastern Washington Eagles
47. Jordan Burns, Colgate Raiders
48. Eugene Omoruyi, Oregon Ducks
49. Aamir Simms, Clemson Tigers
50. Tre Mann, Florida Gators