Tag: Jaden Ivey

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.

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.

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

Ohio State’s furious rally falls short vs. Purdue as Jaden Ivey strikes again with game-winning shot

A heartbreaking loss for Ohio State at Purdue.

Ohio State ran into a Purdue team playing at the top of its game for times on Sunday in front of its home crowd and nearly got run off the court, before showing character and battling back to lose a tough one 81-78.

It didn’t start out so bad with the Buckeyes jumping out to an early lead when the game started, but the Boilermakers began to impose their will down low on both ends of the floor. The size and talent on the blocks clearly bothered OSU on the offensive end and contributed to a poor day shooting until midway through the second half. Purdue’s lead got all the way up to 20 points about a quarter of the way into the last 20 minutes.

E.J. Liddell, in particular, struggled to be the normal force he is early but ended up finding the range, finishing with 20 points while going 7-of-16 from the floor. As OSU began to shoot better from the outside and get some defensive stops, things began to tighten up. Improbably, Liddell hit a long 2-pointer to tie the game to complete the comeback with just 20 seconds left.

As time wound down, however, Purdue was able to get the ball into Jaden Ivey’s hands with the clock running down. He faded away from 3-point range and hit the game-winner to send Purdue off the court with a dramatic win. It’s now the second time in Ivey’s career he’s hit a walk-off jumper against Ohio State. Despite the outcome, you have to give the Buckeyes credit for making a game of it when it looked like things were sailing away from them quickly.

Malaki Branham and Liddell led OSU with 20 points, but the Buckeyes just dug themselves too much of a hole to be able to steal one in West Lafayette. You hate to point to moral victories, but the way OSU finished had to at least give the team a boost for what it might be able to do going forward.

With the loss, Ohio State drops to 13-5 overall and 6-3 in the Big Ten, 1/2 game behind Purdue in fifth place in the conference. OSU next takes on Iowa at home on Thursday.

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Phil Harrison on Twitter.

Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

2022 NBA mock draft roundup: Potential Houston Rockets picks entering February

In the latest wave of 2022 NBA mock drafts, Gonzaga big man Chet Holmgren is the most popular selection to the Houston Rockets with their own first-round pick.

As we enter February, the 2021-22 NBA regular season is well past the halfway mark and college basketball is in the middle of conference play. Thus, mock drafts are becoming more valuable to monitor.

After all, the Houston Rockets, who sit at the bottom of the Western Conference, know they have very strong odds to draft high in the first round. Moreover, the track records for many available college players are coming into better focus, since many of the top prospects are facing quality opposition on a more frequent basis.

The Rockets are currently slotted to have two first-round picks in the 2022 NBA draft: Their own, along with the better pick between Miami and Brooklyn. As of now, Houston’s pick is likely to be high in the draft, while the Miami/Brooklyn pick appears likely to be in the 20s — since both the Heat and Nets appear poised to easily make the playoffs.

As of Saturday, the Rockets (14-35) were in possession of the league’s third-worst record. Scroll on for a look at the associated draft lottery odds, if that position holds, along with prospects that recently released mocks have going to Houston with those two 2022 first-round selections.