Tag: Jaden Ivey

NCAA Tournament: Saint Peter’s lead top performances from opening weekend

With the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament complete, Rookie Wire took a look at several of the top performances from the first four days.

The first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament are in the books as the opening weekend provided plenty of high-level basketball performances from teams and players alike.

Of course, the top story from the first four days of action was the play of 15th-seeded Saint Peter’s from Jersey City. With two stunning upsets, they became just the third 15th seed to reach the Sweet 16, joining Florida Gulf Coast (2013) and Oral Roberts (2021).

The tournament also saw several outstanding performances by those players projected to be drafted in the NBA this year. The Big Dance can often help prospects put their names on the map and improve their draft stock, and that was once again the case this year.

With the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament complete, Rookie Wire took a look at several of the top performances by players and teams from the first four days of action.

Texas’ season ends with a hard-fought loss to Purdue

Texas comes up just short of the Sweet 16.

Chris Beard’s first season at Texas has come to an end in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Purdue’s size and athleticism were just too much for this Texas team.

Jaden Ivey put a dagger through the heart of Texas fans everywhere with a deep step-back three-pointer giving the Boilermakers a six point lead with a minute left. The shot put the game away as Purdue held on to win 81-71.

Perhaps the most eye-catching stat of the game was the free-throw discrepancy. Purdue shot 43 free throws compared to just 12 for Texas. A big moment in the game came when the Horns leading scorer Timmy Allen fouled out with six minutes left in the second half.

The loss should not overshadow a remarkable performance from Texas point guard Marcus Carr. He was everything for the Texas offense, finishing with a game-high 23 points and seven assists.

Texas accomplished a lot in the 2021-22 season. Winning over 20 regular season games and winning the programs first NCAA tournament game since 2014 are both signs Texas is heading in the right direction.

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All-American Jaden Ivey led Purdue to first-round win with 22 points

Ivey went off in the first half as Purdue beat Yale and improved to 23-8 all-time in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

All-American Jaden Ivey on Friday scored 22 points to lead the third-seeded Purdue Boilermakers to a 78-56 win over the No. 14 seed Yale Bulldogs in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Ivey scored 18 points alone in the first half as Purdue took a 13-point lead into halftime. They outscored Yale by nine points in the second half to pull out the win and improve to 23-8 all-time in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Purdue will face No. 6 seed Texas on Sunday.

Ivey, who is projected to be a lottery pick this year in the NBA draft, finished the contest by shooting 6-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range. He also added four rebounds, two steals and one assist in 28 minutes of work.

With Ivey at the helm, Purdue is among the teams in contention to make a deep run in the tournament this year. He is as explosive of an athlete there is in college basketball and has emerged as one of the top players to watch in the tournament.

The Boilermakers caught a bit of a break with second-seeded Kentucky falling to No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s on Thursday. With a win on Sunday, Purdue would meet either No. 7 seed Murray State or Saint Peter’s in the Sweet 16, two teams they would likely be favored to beat.

Purdue appears to be on the verge of a deep tournament run, meaning the basketball world will soon have plenty of chances to watch Ivey on the biggest stage in the game.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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The 15 must-watch NBA draft prospects you need to see in March Madness

If your team sucks like mine, you should probably read this list.

March Madness is finally upon us, folks. The tournament officially started this week and, soon, we will have yet another national champion.

A lot of us are here for this for different reasons. Some of us have a favorite team we’re rooting for. Some of us are just here riding for a particular team hoping our brackets don’t get busted. Others? They’re just rooting for the chaos. Bring us upsets, baby.

But, if you’re anything like me and your favorite NBA team stinks, you’re here for a completely different reason. And that reason is you need to figure out who your team is drafting this summer.

This tournament is filled with NBA prospects that are sure bets for the NBA’s draft lottery this year should they choose to come out.

Here are the top 15 you need to watch this March.

First-round March Madness matchups for potential Houston Rockets draft picks

Here’s a roundup of the first-round NCAA Tournament schedule for top NBA prospects like Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren, Auburn’s Jabari Smith, and Duke’s Paolo Banchero.

With the 2021-22 NBA regular season nearing its conclusion, there isn’t a lot left to play for in Houston — at least not in terms of wins and losses. The Rockets (17-51) have the league’s worst record, so the priority is developing prospects like rookies Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun.

Fortunately, with the NCAA Tournament and March Madness (bracket) just around the corner, there is some more competitive basketball that Houston fans can enjoy — and with connections to the Rockets.

Next season, as a result of their on-court struggles, the Rockets are set to have at least two new rookies joining their young core. Houston owns their own first-round draft pick in 2022, as well as one from Brooklyn as a result of the January 2021 blockbuster trade for James Harden.

With the Brooklyn pick tracking to be in the middle of the first round, the options for that selection are almost limitless, at this stage. However, the Houston pick is coming into focus, since only two other teams (Detroit and Orlando) are within three games of the Rockets for the worst record. If they finish in the bottom three, the absolute lowest Houston could fall as a result of the May 2022 draft lottery is No. 7 overall.

As a result, assuming the pick isn’t traded, it’s probably a safe assumption that Houston selects someone who is in the top 10 among current draft projections. From our latest consensus NBA mock draft, here’s a look at the season statistics of those top prospects and how to watch their opening NCAA Tournament games on Thursday or Friday.

2022 Big Ten tournament: Best bets, sleepers and storylines

Previewing the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament.

When the Big Ten Tournament begins March 9, neither of the top two seeds will be the team with the best national ranking. That’s all you need to know about the competitiveness of this conference.

Wisconsin, Illinois, Purdue and Iowa are all ranked, but only one team can leave Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis with the conference title…and it may not even be one of them.

The Big Ten boasts some of the best individual talents in the country; players capable of lifting their teams to victory. It’ll be as fun to keep an eye on them as it’ll be to simply watch the competitiveness of these teams on display.

Below is a look at the favorites, sleepers and players to watch when the 2022 Big Ten Tournament gets underway.

All odds via Tipico Sportsbook

5 players to watch during March Madness 2022

A who’s who of the best March Madness players to watch.

March lives on in fame (and infamy) for the heroes it creates. The underdogs it uplifts to incredible moments of glory. But every year, this month of men’s college basketball also presents an opportunity for some premier players to stamp their name into all-time lore. For as much as we preach teamwork and dedication, especially in the context of a college game, no one has as much influence in basketball as a true superstar. With only 10 players on the court at any given moment, they can hold all the power in the world if they want to.

Here’s a primer on the players and names that will likely be used quite often in your household over the next month and perhaps even years.

Potential Houston Rockets draft picks entering 2022 March Madness

As March Madness approaches, Purdue guard Jaden Ivey is increasingly cracking the top three in many of the latest 2022 NBA mock drafts.

With February coming to a conclusion, March is right around the corner. For college basketball players, it’s the home stretch leading into the postseason of conference tournaments and the NCAA Tournament.

From an NBA perspective, how prospects perform under the bright lights is often a key variable when it comes to projecting their likely upside at the highest level. Thus, for teams with significant draft assets in a given year, “March Madness” is a crucial period for evaluations.

In 2022, one of those teams with major stakes in the upcoming NBA draft is clearly the Houston Rockets. Not only have the Rockets (15-43) held the league’s third-worst record for most of the 2021-22 season, but they also have a second first-round pick headed their way from Brooklyn — and it could be better than expected, since the Nets (31-28) entered the All-Star break with 12 losses in their last 14 games.

It’s possible that Brooklyn’s pick could even end up in the lottery, since the Nets are currently in a spot where they have to make it through the Eastern Conference’s play-in tournament just to make the playoffs.

Given the NBA’s week-long hiatus and frozen standings, a new wave of mock drafts has emerged in recent days. Within those, here’s a look at the latest pick odds and who the experts are projecting the Rockets to select with both their own pick and that of the Nets. Prospect descriptions and analysis can be found at the corresponding mock draft links.

Aggregate NBA mock draft 4.0: Duke’s AJ Griffin is soaring back into the top tier

The best prospects in the world are all competing for the top spot in the 2022 NBA draft and it is hard to sort how everyone is stacking up.

The best prospects in the world are all competing for the top spot in the 2022 NBA draft and it is hard to sort how everyone is stacking up.

In order to help us get a better sense of where all of the projected top prospects in the class stand as of right now, we compiled mock drafts from Draft Express (ESPN), Aran Smith (NBADraft.net), Sam Vecenie (The Athletic), Jonathan Wasserman (Bleacher Report), Chad Ford (NBA Big Board), Krysten Peek (Yahoo), Matt Babcock (Basketball News) as well as USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win.

Please note that these rankings reflect the composite score in order to get a feel for consensus, not our own opinion. Predictions for a first overall pick earned a player 58 points while the second overall pick earned 57 points, the third overall earned 56 points, and so on.

AJ Griffin (Duke), Alondes Williams (Wake Forrest), Iverson Molinar (Mississippi State), Orlando Robinson (Fresno State), Walker Kessler (Fresno State), Justin Lewis (Marquette), Christian Braun (Kansas), and Tari Eason (LSU) have improved their draft stock the most since our most recent update last month.\

The most notable prospects who made their debut on our rankings were Shaedon Sharpe (Kentucky), David Roddy (Colorado State), and Jaylin Williams (Arkansas).

Meanwhile, the top prospects who were not included in any of these recent mock drafts are Daimion Collins (Kentucky), Alex Fudge (LSU), Justin Moore (Villanova), Darius Days (LSU), Jared Rhoden (Seton Hall), Tre Mitchell (Texas), Dawson Garcia (North Carolina), and more.

Otherwise, you can learn the latest updates on every single prospect who has been included in recent mock drafts by scrolling below.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

Aggregate NBA mock draft 4.0: Duke’s AJ Griffin is soaring back into the top tier

The best prospects in the world are all competing for the top spot in the 2022 NBA draft and it is hard to sort how everyone is stacking up.

In order to help us get a better sense of where all of the projected top prospects in the class stand as of right now, we compiled mock drafts from Draft Express (ESPN), Aran Smith (NBADraft.net), Sam Vecenie (The Athletic), Jonathan Wasserman (Bleacher Report), Chad Ford (NBA Big Board), Krysten Peek (Yahoo), Matt Babcock (Basketball News) as well as USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win.

Please note that these rankings reflect the composite score in order to get a feel for consensus, not our own opinion. Predictions for a first overall pick earned a player 58 points while the second overall pick earned 57 points, the third overall earned 56 points, and so on.

AJ Griffin (Duke), Alondes Williams (Wake Forrest), Iverson Molinar (Mississippi State), Orlando Robinson (Fresno State), Walker Kessler (Fresno State), Justin Lewis (Marquette), Christian Braun (Kansas), and Tari Eason (LSU) have improved their draft stock the most since our most recent update last month.\

The most notable prospects who made their debut on our rankings were Shaedon Sharpe (Kentucky), David Roddy (Colorado State), and Jaylin Williams (Arkansas).

Meanwhile, the top prospects who were not included in any of these recent mock drafts are Daimion Collins (Kentucky), Alex Fudge (LSU), Justin Moore (Villanova), Darius Days (LSU), Jared Rhoden (Seton Hall), Tre Mitchell (Texas), Dawson Garcia (North Carolina), and more.

Otherwise, you can learn the latest updates on every single prospect who has been included in recent mock drafts by scrolling below.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report