NCAA Men's Tournament 2022: Ranking the Top 7 Players in the Final Four

Four teams are left standing in the hunt for the 2022 NCAA men's tournament title.

In an upset-laden tournament featuring the first No. 15 seed in history reaching the Elite Eight, the Final Four wound up being a matchup of four perennial title contenders.

While Kansas is the only No. 1 seed left standing, No. 2 seeds Duke and Villanova are no strangers to the Final Four. No. 8 seed North Carolina is a blue blood in every sense of the word and has been playing well above its seed line for the past month.

Before the Final Four tips off Saturday, we've taken a run through those four rosters and highlighted the seven best players left standing in the 2022 tournament. Players are ranked based on overall stats, tournament productivity and their importance to their team's success.

T-7. Ochai Agbaji (Kansas) and Collin Gillespie (Villanova)

Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images

Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji is the only first-team All-American still standing in the 2022 NCAA tournament. He won Big 12 Player of the Year while averaging 19.7 points and shooting 40.5 percent from beyond the arc heading into the NCAA tournament.

Villanova guard Collin Gillespie was a third-team All-American and the Big East Player of the Year. The fifth-year senior averaged 15.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting 42.2 percent from beyond the arc.

Both star players deserve a mention here, although they've had quiet March Madness runs relative to their regular-season production.

Agbaji is averaging 12.3 points on 41.7 percent shooting from the field and 26.7 percent from distance. His five-point outing against Providence in the Sweet 16 was only his second single-digit scoring game of the year.

Gillespie is averaging 13.0 points on 33.3 percent from the floor and 31.3 percent from long range. He was more or less a non-factor offensively in the Elite Eight against Houston with six points and five rebounds in 36 minutes.

Despite their middling production thus far, both players are capable of taking over a game. That's reason enough to include them together in the No. 7 spot here.

6. Mark Williams, Duke

Steph Chambers/Getty Images

Duke center Mark Williams was a 5-star recruit in 2020 who averaged 7.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game last year as a freshman. He's picked up his production this year, while his playing time has spiked from 15.2 to 23.8 minutes per game.

The 7'0", 243-pound center tallied 10.9 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per contest heading into the NCAA tournament. He has taken another step forward during March Madness while emerging as a second go-to scorer alongside star freshman Paolo Banchero.

In four games, Williams has averaged 14.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.0 blocks while shooting an extremely efficient 80.6 percent (25-for-31) from the floor to help lead the Blue Devils to the Final Four. He had 12 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks against Arkansas in the Elite Eight.

5. Remy Martin, Kansas

Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images

After averaging 19.1 points per game as a junior and senior at Arizona State, Remy Martin transferred to the University of Kansas this year. He split his time between the Jayhawks' starting lineup and a sixth-man role during the regular season.

The 6'0" guard averaged 7.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 20.5 minutes per game during the regular season and through the Big 12 tournament. He scored 10 or more points only 10 times in his first 24 games, with a season-high of 17 points in a non-conference loss to Dayton heading into the NCAA tournament.

Despite scoring only nine points against Miami in the Elite Eight, Martin is averaging 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists during the NCAA tournament. That includes a 20-point game against Creighton in the Round of 32 and a 23-point game against Providence in the Sweet 16.

4. Jermaine Samuels, Villanova

Carmen Mandato/Getty Images

Villanova guard Justin Moore suffered a torn Achilles in the Wildcats' Elite Eight victory over Houston, which will sideline him for the rest of the NCAA tournament. The increased contributions of senior Jermaine Samuels have now become even more important to the Wildcats' national title hopes.

The 6'7" forward averaged a modest 10.3 points and 5.9 rebounds during the regular season, but he had a 21-point game against UConn in the Big East tournament. That proved to be a foreshadowing of bigger things to come during March Madness.

Samuels was a role player during the Wildcats' national title run in 2018, but he has emerged as the team's go-to scorer over the last four games, averaging 17.5 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting 63.4 percent from the floor. He had a season-high 22 points against Michigan in the Sweet 16 and a game-high 16 points in a defensive battle against Houston in the Elite Eight.

3. Armando Bacot, North Carolina

Ben Solomon/Getty Images

North Carolina big man Armando Bacot was a double-double machine during the regular season, and he hasn't missed a beat during March Madness.

The 6'10", 240-pound junior had a 20-point, 22-rebound game against Saint Peter's on Sunday for his 29th double-double of the year. Through four NCAA tournament games, he is averaging 16.5 points and 15.8 rebounds while shooting 50.0 percent from the floor.

Bacot was held in check when he faced off against Duke for the first time in early February, but he poured in a team-high 23 points on 10-of-11 shooting in a win at Cameron Indoor Stadium in both teams' regular-season finale. The Tar Heels will need more of the same to upend their rivals in the Final Four and advance to the national championship game.

2. Paolo Banchero, Duke

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

With Jabari Smith (Auburn), Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga), Jaden Ivey (Purdue) and Keegan Murray (Iowa) all eliminated from the NCAA tournament, Duke freshman Paolo Banchero is undoubtedly the top NBA prospect still standing.

The dynamic 6'10", 250-pound forward has averaged 18.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks through the first four NCAA tournament games of his career. He's done so while shooting an efficient 51.0 percent from the floor and 8-of-15 from beyond the arc.

Banchero scored 23 points against North Carolina in Duke's regular-season finale, but he did it on an inefficient 11-of-26 shooting. The Blue Devils suffered a 94-81 loss to UNC that day, so they'll need Banchero to be on his game to avoid a similar result in the Final Four.

1. Brady Manek, North Carolina

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Paolo Banchero may be the best NBA prospect to watch in the Final Four, but North Carolina senior Brady Manek has been the star of the 2022 NCAA tournament.

Despite a flagrant-foul ejection during the Tar Heels second-round game against Baylor that sparked a major comeback by the Bears, Manek is still having a huge tournament. He's averaging 21.5 points and 8.0 rebounds while burying 16-of-34 attempts from beyond the arc and shooting 57.7 percent from the floor.

The Oklahoma transfer has done as much for his NBA draft stock as any player in this year's tournament, and he had 21 and 20 points in the Tar Heels' two games against Duke earlier this year. Another strong showing could be enough to push a red-hot North Carolina team over the top in the ultimate rivalry game.

All stats courtesy of Sports Reference.