Now that everyone officially has a busted bracket, let's bring out a different kind of contest: naming the All-Second Round Players.
I know, I know, it isn't the same as predicting the winners of the actual games, but I've long since given that up.
I'm not basing this on anything except the player's performance in the second round. I know that this list won't be perfect, and should stir up a great debate in the comment section.
Well, here we go...
Guards
Stephen Curry, Davidson
My new favorite player. Not only did he get me a BR t-shirt, he helped the 10th seeded Wildcats advance to the Sweet Sixteen. Curry racked up 30 points in the win over Georgetown, and made nine of ten free throws late in the game to secure the win.
If you watched the game, you saw how controlled this young sophomore's emotions were. But after that buzzer sounder, boy, Curry couldn't stop smiling and jumping about.
This has got to be a tie. I can't decide between these two guys, so I'll just put them both.
Joe Mazzulla, West Virginia
I love to watch Mazzulla. Even though he played a crucial role in taking down my Duke Blue Devils, Mazzulla, a non-starter, almost reached a triple-double on Saturday.
Scoring 13 points, grabbing 11 rebounds, and dishing out eight assists is worthy of a spot on my All-Second Round team.
Guards/Forwards
Courtney Lee, Western Kentucky
We all knew that Western Kentucky would reach the Sweet Sixteen, didn't we?
I sure didn't, but Lee seemed to know where he was headed while he scored 29 points in route to a twelve point victory over San Diego. Lee also had seven rebounds and three steals.
Forward
Brook Lopez, Stanford
One of the two Twin Towers at Stanford, Brook Lopez scored the game-winning basket on an amazing shot with just 1.3 seconds remaining. Stanford went to Brook various times late in the game, and he delivered in the clutch.
Lopez scored 30 points in the game, but surprisingly the seven-footer collected only four rebounds.
Center
Kevin Love, UCLA
Love, who averaged a double-double this season, added yet another to his resume on Saturday. Not surprisingly, Love scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Add seven swats to that and you have a top notch performance.
Despite not pulling away from Texas A&M until late (actually, they never really pulled away), the 19-year-old Love played like a senior on Saturday night.
Honorable Mentions
Darren Collison
Michael Beasley
Trevon Hughes
Drew Lavender
Kyle Weaver
Joe Alexander
Jerel McNeal
12 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Ryan T about 1 year ago
Kevin Love over Joe Alexander?
Love played an outmatched A&M team while Alexander faced a #2 Duke team and he also had a double double and 3 swats. Just doesn't make since to me. I hope WV and UCLA meet so love and Joe can battle. Joe will break his ankles.
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Andrew Kneeland about 1 year ago
I can't really believe that Kevin Love will be outplayed by Joe Alexander, but whatever. You're entitled to your opinion.
Thanks for the feedback.
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Ryan T about 1 year ago
Oh, I'm sorry it makes sense now.
I didn't read well enough the first time, that's my fought, sorry. You was going by positions ok.
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Andrew Callagy about 1 year ago
Solid choices. Curry has to be the MVP of the tourney so far. The kid has been simply remarkable.
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Travis Bickmann about 1 year ago
Curry is the lead running choice for tournament MVP so far. I say watch out Wisconsin. Davidson is on a hot streak. Great article.
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Andrew Kneeland about 1 year ago
Yeah, isn't the streak at 24 now? Amazing...
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Ian Zymarakis about 1 year ago
you say that Western Kentucky played Siena when they didn't they played San Diego in the 2nd round.... I will edit it for you but I am just letting you know, good choices otherwise.
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Andrew Kneeland about 1 year ago
Thank you, I guess I mixed up those Tampa games.
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James Harvey about 1 year ago
Good choices on your picks. I've watched all of those guys play this past weekend and they are more than deserving.
Kevin Love is a beast. But Joe Alexander is a freak of nature. 46 inch vertical!!! Are you kidding? I would switch Courtney Lee for Alexander the great! But Lee has looked solid against what I am considering lesser competition.
Wonder if any of these guys will survive the sweet 16 and elite 8!
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Andrew Kneeland about 1 year ago
It would be great to see these guys play as much as possible. They're really fun to watch!
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
Gotta include AJ Abrams from Texas on this list. 26 points on 6-10 from deep is pretty impressive.
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Andrew Kneeland about 1 year ago
Yeah, it is. He was on fire from behind the arc this weekend.
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