NCAA Tournament 2012: 6 Players Most Indispensable to Their Teams

Basketball is a team sport, but losing one player is often enough to derail a team's hopes at winning the NCAA championship. 

Duke lost in the first round without third-leading scorer Ryan Kelly.

Syracuse is still alive, but has struggled since center Fab Melo has been declared ineligible.

Now, North Carolina is sure to get a wake-up call after star point guard Kendall Marshall broke his wrist. It is unclear whether he could still play in later rounds of the tournament, but his presence will certainly be missed by the Tar Heels.

Hopefully the rest of the tournament features teams at full strength, but here are six players whose teams would suffer most if they went down.

6. Cody Zeller, Indiana

Not only does Zeller lead his team in points and rebounds, but he also makes so few mistakes.

Zeller makes 62.2 percent of his field goals and 75.2 percent of his free throws as the catalyst for a very efficient offense.

5. Anthony Davis, Kentucky

The only thing keeping Davis so low on this list is that the Kentucky squad is a very talented. However, he singlehandedly affects a game more than anyone else in the country.

Davis is an excellent on the boards, an even better shot-blocker, and is the key to Kentucky's run towards the national championship.

4. Peyton Siva, Louisville

Although he is by far the lowest scorer on this list at only 9.2 points per game, Siva is vital to the success of Louisville.

The point guard is one of the quickest players in the country and is a great ball-handler, which allows his teammates to be productive.

The Cardinals struggle when he plays poorly, so Siva needs to stay injury-free in order for Louisville to advance.

3. Jared Sullinger, Ohio State

There are other capable scorers on this Ohio State team, but Sullinger is the key to the offense.

Without the sophomore forward, the Buckeyes would lose their biggest rebounding and scoring presence. But it would also put a lot more pressure on the guards who currently benefit from teams double-teaming Sully in the post. 

2. Thomas Robinson, Kansas

Other players were able to lead Kansas to victory over Purdue, but the contest showed how much the team needs Robinson.

Robinson was being double- and triple-teamed all game and ended 2-12 from the field. 

The junior is one of the toughest players in the nation and helps create an identity that the Jayhawks would lose without him.

1. Draymond Green, Michigan State

It would be very difficult to replace a player that has already registered a triple-double in the tournament.

Draymond Green leads his team in points, rebounds, steals and blocks, and has only one less assist than point guard Keith Appling. 

Green does it all for one of the best teams in the nation.