CBB's Biggest Star 'Sidekicks' Who Will Make or Break March Madness Runs

Having a superstar is not a prerequisite for an extended run through the men's NCAA tournament. Even on rosters that do, the programs rely on a vital secondary player, too.

For every Ochai Agbaji and Oscar Tshiebwe, there's a David McCormack and TyTy Washington Jr. And those are just two of the strongest examples of star sidekicks in the 2021-22 season, which is rapidly approaching the win-or-go-home madness that is March.

While the list is subjective, the key factors are overall production and team role, while season splits and recent performance are also considered.

Kerr Kriisa, Arizona

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When talking about the Pac-12 leaders, Arizona's Bennedict Mathurin takes the spotlight. He's both the team's leading scorer with 17.7 points per game and the rotation's most efficient three-point shooter at 37.7 percent.

Kerr Kriisa, meanwhile, is a model of consistency.

Even if he's not scoring, Kriisa makes a regular impact. He's averaged 4.8 assists in 13 games of 10-plus points and 5.1 assists in 14 outings with single-digit points. Kriisa's ability to positively affect the 'Cats in a complementary role is key to their success.

He also attempts a team-high 7.3 triples per night, and his 35.2 percentage only trails Mathurin and Pelle Larsson (35.3) in the rotation.

Jaylin Williams, Arkansas

Michael Woods/Associated Press

Last season, Arkansas leaned on key scorer Moses Moody while do-everything forward Justin Smith served as the X-factor. This year, the titles have switched to JD Notae and Jaylin Williams, the latter of whom has enjoyed an incredible midseason surge.

Williams has been a fixture in the lineup, but his production has increased sharply.

Through 15 games, he'd averaged 7.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.1 steals. Not awful, by any means! During the last 14 games, however, Williams has racked up 14.5 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.2 blocks per outing.

Not surprisingly, Arkansas has soared from 10-5 to 23-6—meaning a 13-1 run, which includes wins over Auburn, Tennessee and Kentucky, coincides with Williams' torrid stretch.

Andre Curbelo, Illinois

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Entering the season, Illinois expected Andre Curbelo to lead the backcourt while Kofi Cockburn dominated the paint. Curbelo, through no fault of his own, hasn't fulfilled that role.

He missed nearly two months because of a concussion. But after scoring 20 points in his return, he's been regaining fitness and trying to find a dependable place in the rotation. During his last nine appearances, Curbelo has managed 6.3 points and 2.0 assists in 16.1 minutes per game.

For comparison, he averaged 9.1 points and 4.2 assists in 21.5 minutes per contest last year. Curbelo offered 9.3 points and 5.5 assists in 22.3 minutes in November this season, too.

Cockburn, Alfonso Plummer and Trent Frazier can propel the Illini to multiple NCAA tournament wins, but a deeper run in March is contingent on Curbelo.

David McCormack, Kansas

Ray Carlin/Associated Press

Ochai Agbaji is Kansas' unquestioned leader with 20.4 points per game and a sterling 43.3 percent three-point clip. Behind him, the Jayhawks have Christian Braun (15.3 ppg, 2.9 apg) and Jalen Wilson (10.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg) as regular impact players.

Similar to Illinois with Curbelo, Kansas is capable of winning a few games in March no matter how David McCormack plays. Against the best competition, though, the Jayhawks need contributions from him.

In losses to Dayton, Texas Tech and Kentucky, he totaled just 12 points and 12 rebounds in 55 minutes. Not coincidentally, Kansas posted a combined minus-30 mark in the rebounding battle.

Yes, those are his worst performances of the season. McCormack's play has improved lately, and he put together decent showings in recent losses to Texas and Baylor. But the point is simple: Kansas is most competitive when McCormack is effective.

TyTy Washington Jr., Kentucky

Michael Clubb/Associated Press

TyTy Washington Jr. has become a vital complement to National Player of the Year front-runner Oscar Tshiebwe. While the big man has amassed 16.9 points and 15.3 points per game for Kentucky, Washington has provided 12.3 points and 4.0 assists per night.

But if the freshman guard is struggling, so are the 'Cats.

They're a perfect 14-0 when Washington scores 14-plus points, and he's averaged 4.9 assists in those contests too. Otherwise, he's mustered 7.0 points and 3.1 assists per game—and Kentucky is 6-6 in that collection, which excludes his three absences.

Sahvir Wheeler is UK's top passer, yet Washington's emergence as a secondary ball-handler has made him irreplaceable.

Malaki Branham, Ohio State

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E.J. Liddell has made an All-American leap in 2021-22, averaging 19.3 points and 2.5 blocks per game for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Malaki Branham, meanwhile, has ascended from an inexperienced freshman to a core contributor during the last two months.

You can split his season with the calendar, too.

In November and December, he offered 6.3 points with a 33.3 three-point percentage on 1.5 attempts per game. Since 2022 began, however, the freshman guard has poured in 16.6 points per night while hitting 47.2 percent of his 3.3 triples.

As a high-end 4-star in the 2021 class, Branham always held the expectation of being a leading player in Columbus. He's arrived at that level faster than anticipated.

Trevion Williams, Purdue

Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press

Jaden Ivey, a coveted NBA prospect, has netted a team-best 17.3 points in 30.5 minutes per game. But as 7'4" center Zach Edey starts next to Ivey, Trevion Williams has opened 25 of Purdue's 29 contests on the bench so the offense can preserve its spacing.

In reality, either Edey or Williams—perhaps even both—could be the choice. We'll give the nod to the latter by virtue of his role.

The numbers are impressive: He's tallied 11.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists in just 19.9 minutes per appearance.

Considering his semi-limited minutes, though, the margin for error is small. Williams is the cornerstone of a reserve unit that otherwise usually only produces a couple of buckets between the trio of Isaiah Thompson, Caleb Furst and Ethan Morton.

Recruiting information via 247Sports. Statistics courtesy of KenPom.com or Sports Reference, unless otherwise noted. Follow Bleacher Report writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.