The NCAA Tournament is filled with big names and big schools, but that doesn’t mean there are other players who don’t deserve your attention. Smaller major schools and mid-major powers have their own star players who are every bit as capable of taking over a game as your Malik Monks and Luke Kennards of the world. Some of these players are good enough to surprise a team or two and spark a surprise run into the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Here are a few players you may not have heard of who have the potential to take over and win a game in the NCAA Tournament, and are certainly worth watching when things get underway Thursday.
1. T.J. Cromer, East Tennessee State
East Tennessee State is a legitimate upset possibility, and if they pull it off, Cromer will likely have a lot to do with it. The senior guard makes the Buccaneers run, averaging 19.1 points per game while making 40.4 percent of his threes, the 18th best mark in the country.
The community college transfer has several remarkable performances to his name.
He went off for 41 points in the SoCon semifinal against Samford, and he dragged ETSU into the tournament with a 23-point showing in the final. The only concern is that Cromer has had games where his shot just wasn’t falling. If that happens for him in his team’s opening round game, the Buccaneers are in line for an early exit. If he’s scoring, though, East Tennessee State can absolutely down Florida.
2. Mike Daum, South Dakota State
No one in the NCAA Tournament has averaged more points per game than Daum, who finished second in the nation in scoring with 25.3 per contest. The trick is that the Summit League Player of the Year isn’t a guard or a jumpshooter or anything like that. He’s a 6-foot-9 forward who can score in the paint while also shooting 41.6 percent from three-point range. As such, Daum is incredibly difficult to match up with, as he can score from anywhere on the floor.
Daum’s signature performance came in the Summit title game, as the Jackrabbits got by Nebraska-Omaha behind Daum’s 37 points — including 5-of-9 from three — plus seven rebounds. The Jackrabbits probably won’t get by Gonzaga, but you can bet Daum will show off some of the skills that made him such a stat-sheet stuffer all year long.
3. Keon Johnson, Winthrop
The first thing everyone brings up when it comes to Johnson is his diminutive stature. He stands just 5-foot-7, largely the reason he’s playing at Winthrop and not a more prominent school. The Eagles won’t be complaining, though.
Johnson averaged 22.5 points per game this season, good for 10th in the country. He’s also a 40-percent shooter from beyond the arc. He’s shown he can do it against a power conference school, too, as he dropped 38 points in a win over Illinois back in November.
Butler will certainly be a difficult opponent for Johnson and Winthrop, but if the energetic point guard starts scoring at will, look out.
4. Jock Landale, St. Mary’s
St. Mary’s was overshadowed by the gargantuan performances of their WCC cohorts Gonzaga, but Landale has been the key man on one of the better, more unheralded teams in the country all season.
The 6-foot-11 Australian dominates the paint for the Gaels, dropping 16.8 points per game while also proving to be a force on the glass, grabbing 9.3 boards per contest. He can be hard to get by in the paint as well, blocking over a shot a game for the 7th-seeded Gaels. He was hindered by foul trouble in two of his three match-ups against Gonzaga this season, but in the contest where that wasn’t a factor, he proved that he could compete with the nation’s best. In the Gaels’ home loss to the Bulldogs, Landale led the team with 24 points, also adding five rebounds. He’ll be a handful for opponents in the tournament.
5. Marcus Marshall, Nevada
Another gifted senior guard, Marshall is a Missouri State transfer who left his previous program after being suspended for the infamous “conduct detrimental to team.” Nothing of the sort has happened in Nevada, where Marshall has drained 113 three-pointers this season.
The senior shoots the ball a lot, but he also scores a lot — his 19.8 points per game leads the team. He put up 25 against a talented St. Mary’s team early in the season, and he was vital in getting Nevada to this point, including a 28-point performance in the WAC semifinal against Fresno State.
If Nevada pulls a 12-5 upset over Iowa State, it’ll probably be because Marshall was shooting the lights out.
Read Nos. 6-10 on Page 2
