B/R's 2021-22 College Basketball All-American Teams

While the looming drama of March Madness is intensifying, the 2021-22 men's college basketball season has a different landmark to address first: It's award season, folks.

Kentucky star Oscar Tshiebwe and Wisconsin standout Johnny Davis landed first-team honors on B/R's official All-America list. Joining them are Kansas veteran Oscar Agbaji, Gonzaga freshman Chet Holmgren and Auburn shot-blocker extraordinaire Walker Kessler.

Before them, though, our five second- and third-team All-American selections will take their moment in the spotlight.

B/R college basketball writers Kerry Miller and David Kenyon each submitted a ballot for the All-American teams. Each first-team vote was worth three points, each second-team vote was worth two and each third-team vote was worth one.

3rd-Team All-Americans

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Armando Bacot, North Carolina

UNC's postseason hopes were uncertain heading into the final contest before the ACC tournament. But an upset over archrival Duke both bolstered the Tar Heels' resume and capped a terrific regular season for Armando Bacot. He averaged 16.6 points, 12.5 rebounds—the third-most nationally—and 1.7 blocks.

Drew Timme, Gonzaga

Drew Timme ceded much of the spotlight to star freshman Chet Holmgren, but Gonzaga's third-year forward had another tremendous season. Timme collected 17.6 points per game on 58.3 percent shooting, adding 6.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists as well.

David Roddy, Colorado State

David Roddy emerged as the top player in a highly competitive Mountain West. He stuffed the box score, averaging 19.5 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists with a 46.2 three-point clip. Roddy enters the MWC tournament with 4.2 offensive win shares, the ninth-best mark in the country.

Paolo Banchero, Duke

The much-touted freshman backed up the hype in what'll probably his only college year. Paolo Banchero propelled Duke to its first outright ACC regular-season championship in 16 years, leading the Blue Devils with 17.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. He also dished 3.1 assists per night.

James Akinjo, Baylor

The reigning national champions had a new leading face in 2021-22. James Akinjo, who previously played at Georgetown and Arizona, stabilized Baylor on both ends of the court. Akinjo notched 13.3 points, 5.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game as the Bears shared the Big 12 title with Kansas.

2nd-Team All-Americans

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Kofi Cockburn, Illinois

After an All-American campaign in 2020-21, Kofi Cockburn put together an ever stronger year. Cockburn racked up 21.0 points and 10.6 rebounds per game, which proved especially vital because key guard Andre Curbelo missed half of the season.

E.J. Liddell, Ohio State

Ohio State needed to replace top scorer Duane Washington Jr., and No. 3 option Justice Sueing managed only two appearances before an abdominal injury sidelined him. Ohio State leaned heavily on E.J. Liddell, and he responded to the challenge with 19.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.6 blocks per game.

Keegan Murray, Iowa

Let's keep that Big Ten train rolling. Early in the season, Keegan Murray broke out as a National Player of the Year candidate. Although a quiet stretch in mid-January softened that conversation, he ended the regular season on a hot streak to solidify an All-American case. Murray produced 23.3 points—the fourth-most in the country—with 8.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per night.

Jaden Ivey, Purdue

The final second-teamer from the Midwest, Jaden Ivey ascended to the featured role for Purdue this season. He paced the Boilermakers with 17.2 points per game, adding 4.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists while shooting 37.0 percent from the perimeter.

Bennedict Mathurin, Arizona

Benn Mathurin edged into the starting lineup midway through his freshman year and fully capitalized on that opportunity this season. Mathurin averaged 17.3 points and guided Arizona to its fourth outright Pac-12 title in nine seasons. He also tallied 5.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.

1st Team: Ochai Agbaji, Kansas

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Depending on how conference tournaments play out, Kansas has a strong possibility of landing a No. 1 seed in March Madness.

And the Jayhawks can thank Ochai Agbaji for that.

The fourth-year guard ascended from a quality starter to a national star, netting 19.8 points per game. Most notably, Ogbaji connected on 41.1 percent of his 7.0 three-point attempts per night as he helped Kansas split the Big 12 regular-season title with Baylor.

Along with a career-best average of 5.2 rebounds, Agbaji also dished 1.7 assists for the Jayhawks.

1st Team: Johnny Davis, Wisconsin

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Easily the most surprising conference champion of the regular season, Wisconsin waltzed past low expectations because of Johnny Davis.

Last year, he offered 7.0 points per game as a reserve. This season, however, the in-state product had an incredible breakout year and tallied 20.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

Davis put together two of 2021-22's best individual performances, too. He amassed 30 points, four steals and two blocks in a neutral-site win over Houston and 37 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks in a road victory at Purdue.

Heading into the postseason, Davis is a top contender for National Player of the Year honors.

1st Team: Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga

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Chet Holmgren was every bit as good as advertised, and he arrived at Gonzaga with no shortage of praise.

The 7-foot, 195-pound freshman has become a two-way superstar for the West Coast Conference champions. Holmgren gathered 14.4 points, 9.7 rebounds, 3.6 blocks—which is the fourth-highest rate nationally—and 1.9 assists per game. He also drilled 43.8 percent of his shots from the perimeter.

Advanced metrics simply adore his impact.

Holmgren holds top-10 rankings in both offensive and defensive win shares, and his 77.6 defensive rating is the best in Division I.

1st Team: Walker Kessler, Auburn

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Walker Kessler showed some promise as a freshman at North Carolina, but this level of immediate impact was highly unexpected.

After transferring to Auburn this offseason, the 7'1" Kessler made himself one of the nation's most feared interior defenders. He swatted a ridiculous 4.5 shots per game, trailing only Western Kentucky's Jamarion Sharp (4.6) in the category.

Kessler, who recorded two triple-doubles, also averaged 11.5 points and 8.2 rebounds for the SEC champions. He finished the regular season with the sixth-best two-point percentage (71.9) in the country.

Together with top scorer Jabari Smith, Kessler gives Auburn a real chance at making a run for a national title.

1st Team: Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky

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Perhaps it's only fitting to close with Oscar Tshiebwe.

Entering the SEC tourney, the Kentucky center is the National Player of the Year front-runner. Tshiebwe collected 17.3 points, 15.3 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.5 blocks per game in the regular season.

Tshiebwe, a transfer from West Virginia, leads the country in defensive win shares (3.0), total win shares (7.5) and every rebounding stat except for total defensive rebounds—where he's second. For good measure, he's also sixth in defensive rating (83.5).

Auburn clipped UK for the SEC regular-season title, but the 'Cats are undoubtedly a national-title threat behind Tshiebwe.

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