NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament: Ranking the Top 16 Players in the Sweet 16

Brackets set the stage for March Madness, but the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is defined by its superstars. This year’s Sweet 16 is overflowing with star power. Three of the five AP first-team All-Americans — Duke’s Cameron Boozer, Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. and Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg — are still alive, alongside a wave of future lottery picks and breakout performers ready to make their mark. The NCAA Tournament is as much about individual brilliance as it is about matchups, and the biggest names tend to shape how it all unfolds. We’ve seen it before. Carmelo Anthony carried Syracuse to a title in 2003. Anthony Davis powered Kentucky to a championship in 2012. When the stage gets big, superstars take over. That’s our formula for determining the top 16 players in the Sweet 16. Talent still leads the way, but this list is about who can most influence a team’s championship path from here. Arizona and UConn each placed multiple players on the list, while the other 14 are the only representatives from their respective programs. With that, here is our list, counting down from 16-1. 16. Alex Karaban, F, UConn As a fifth-year senior who spent his entire career at UConn, where he’s already won two national titles and is now chasing a third, Karaban embodies everything that is still great about college basketball in an era defined by constant player movement. Karaban has developed from a scrawny, moderately recruited role player into the “brain center,” as head coach Dan Hurley likes to call him, of UConn’s incredibly complex offense. He’s averaging 24.5 points per game with eight made 3-pointers during this year’s NCAA Tournament, willing the Huskies to victories over No. 15 Furman and No. 7 UCLA. — Michael Cohen Stat to know: Karaban is 15-1 in NCAA Tournament games and is coming off a career-high 27 points in a second-round win over UCLA. — FOX Sports Research 15. Ja’Kobi Gillespie, G, Tennessee Gillespie is probably the least-talked-about stud in the Sweet 16. The senior guard is 9-of-16 from deep through the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament and has unlimited range. He can also get in the paint whenever he wants and create for his teammates.  Tennessee’s offense would really struggle without him. — Casey Jacobsen Stat to know: Gillespie is one of two players in Division I to have 1900-plus points and 200-plus steals since 2022 (Braden Smith and Alex Karaban). — FOX Sports Research 14. Bennett Stirtz, G, Iowa Stirtz came to Iowa with head coach Ben McCollum from Drake. Some were skeptical that he could replicate that success in the Big Ten, but those questions have been answered after averaging nearly 20 points per game this season. The senior guard has struggled from downtown in the NCAA Tournament (3-of-19), but he controls the pace of the game as well as any player in the country. — Jacobsen Stat to know: Stirtz is one of two Division I players to make 149-plus 3-pointers while averaging 19-plus points per game over the past two seasons (Jaron Pierre). — FOX Sports Research [MEN’S TOURNEY: Ranking Sweet 16 Matchups] 13. Jaden Bradley, G, Arizona While I don’t think he was the best player in the Big 12 this season, he is the unquestioned leader and go-to player late in games for this Arizona team. He’s also one of the best perimeter defenders in the sport and will be tasked with trying to slow down Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. That will be the best individual matchup of the Sweet 16. — Jacobsen Stat to know: Bradley was named Big 12 Player of the Year, Big 12 Tournament MVP and to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team. — FOX Sports Research 12. Tarris Reed Jr., C, UConn There always have — and probably always will be — questions about Reed’s game-to-game consistency. But anyone capable of scoring 31 points and grabbing 27 rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game, which Reed did in UConn’s opening-round win over No. 15 Furman, possesses elite talent. At 6-foot-11 and 265 pounds, Reed is an ideal combination of strength and skill, anchor and agility, and his influence on everything the Huskies do stretches from one end of the floor to the other. — Cohen Stat to know: Reed became just the second player in NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament history to have 30 points, 20 rebounds on 80% shooting from the field in a NCAA Tournament game (Bill Walton). — FOX Sports Research 11. Brayden Burries, G, Arizona While Bradley won Big 12 Player of the Year honors, there is a belief by many that Burries is the most talented and explosive player on Arizona’s roster. It took him a few weeks early on in the season to find his rhythm, but he now leads the Wildcats in scoring at 16 points per game and has made 62 3-pointers heading into the Wildcats’ Sweet 16 matchup against Arkansas. He has been on fire throughout the first two games of the NCAA Tournament, shooting 65% from the field and 88% from 3-point range. — Jacobsen Stat to know: Burries is one of five freshmen to play in a power-conference and average 16-plus points per game and make 60-plus 3-pointers. (Darius Acuff, Keaton Wagler, Darryn Peterson, Ebuka Okorie). — FOX Sports Research 10. Labaron Philon Jr., G, Alabama Philon has been at the steering wheel of the fastest offense left in the NCAA Tournament Field. When he needs to score, he can drop 29 points in a game, like he did in Alabama’s Round 1 win over Hofstra. When he needs to pass, he dish out 12 dimes in a game, like he did in the team’s Round 2 win over Texas Tech. He will need to do both in the Sweet 16 against Michigan. — Jacobsen Stat to know: Philon is the only SEC player to average 20-plus points per game this season while shooting over 50% from the floor and over 39% from 3-point range. — FOX Sports Research [MEN’S BRACKET: NCAA Tournament Bracket, Leaders & Stats] 9. Zuby Ejiofor, F, St. John’s A tireless work ethic coupled with the sculpting power of head coach Rick Pitino helped transform Ejiofor, a one-time Kansas castoff, into both the Big East Player of the Year and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year. Ejiofor anchors everything St. John’s does at both ends of the court and leads the Red Storm in points (16.3 per game), rebounds (7.3 per game), assists (3.5 per game) and blocks (2.2 per game). His profound influence on games explains why Pitino has joked that he’ll have to retire from coaching once Ejiofor’s collegiate career ends. Pitino doesn’t want to move forward without him. — Cohen Stat to know: Ejiofor is the first player in Big East history to win Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Big East Tournament Most Outstanding Player, and Scholar-Athlete of the Year. He is also the first unanimous Big East Player of the Year since former Creighton standout Doug McDermott in the 2013-14 season. — FOX Sports Research 8. Joshua Jefferson, F, Iowa State An ankle injury has put the 6-foot-9 forward’s availability in doubt, but when at full strength, Jefferson is one of the top players in the country when it comes to versatility. He has improved his scoring (16.4 PPG), rebounding, (7.4 RPG) and passing (4.8 APG) numbers in all four years of his college career, which started in the WCC at Saint Mary’s. The Cyclones can run their offense through Jefferson on the perimeter and in the post, and even though he’s not super explosive, he gets wherever he wants to on the floor. — Jacobsen Stat to know: Jefferson is the only player in the Big 12 to average 16-plus PPG, 7-plus RPG and shoot over 34% from the 3-point line. — FOX Sports Research 7. Kingston Flemings, G, Houston This year’s Houston squad was supposed to be led by senior guards Emmanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan. While those guys have still been excellent this season, Flemings is the engine of this team and the go-to shot creator. He’s also one of the best mid-range jump shooters in the sport and has only attempted one 3-point shot in the NCAA Tournament so far. — Jacobsen Stat to know: Flemings is the only freshman to play in a power conference and average 16-plus points, 5-plus assists and 4-plus rebounds per game this season. — FOX Sports Research 6. Braden Smith, G, Purdue From a three-star recruit in 2022 to the all-time leader in assists for Division I. That alone should be enough to explain why Smith is such an incredible player. His vision, timing and creativity are only enhanced by the genuine joy he feels for setting up teammates. And once legendary big man Zach Edey left Purdue following the 2023-24 season, Smith stepped forward as a scorer, too. — Cohen Stat to know: Smith passed former Duke standout Bobby Hurley as the NCAA’s all-time leader in assists with 1,091. — FOX Sports Research 5. Keaton Wagler, G, Illinois There aren’t many 6-foot-6 point guards in college basketball. And when there are, they generally don’t glide and score as effortlessly as Wagler. An overlooked three-star recruit, Wagler has blossomed into a surefire lottery pick amid a dynamic season at Illinois. He scores at all three levels, isn’t afraid of the big moment and only recently turned 19. An incredible prospect. — Cohen Stat to know: Wagler’s 17.8 points per game average is on pace to break the program’s all-time freshman scoring average record set during the 1993-94 season. His 46-point performance against Purdue is the Big Ten record for points in a game by a freshman. — FOX Sports Research 4. Jeremy Fears Jr., G, Michigan State Though it’s difficult for some fans to put aside all the extracurricular activity Fears has embroiled himself in this season, the fact remains that he’s unquestionably one of the best point guards in the country. Leading the nation in assists (9.4 per game) is one thing, but it’s the manner in which Fears controls every aspect of the game for Michigan State that is most impressive. He’s the Spartans’ maestro. — Cohen Stat to know: Fears leads the country in assists at 9.4 per game, which is the highest average of any Big Ten player since at least the 2002-03 season. — FOX Sports Research [NCAA ODDS: Latest Men’s March Madness Odds, Favorites] 3. Yaxel Lendeborg, F, Michigan At 6-foot-9, 240 pounds and with the movement skills of a much smaller player, there isn’t much that Lendeborg can’t do on the basketball court. Make scoring look easy both inside and outside the 3-point line? Check. Defend any of the five positions? Check. Serve as an auxiliary point guard whenever head coach Dusty May wants to mix up the offensive approach? Check. The No. 1 player in last year’s transfer portal has certainly delivered. — Cohen Stat to know: Lendeborg is the first Michigan men’s basketball player to win Big Ten Player of the Year honors since Nik Stauskas did it during the 2013-14 season. He is also shooting a career-high 36.1% from the 3-point line. — FOX Sports Research 2. Darius Acuff Jr., G, Arkansas Is Acuff the best freshman point guard John Calipari has ever coached? I’d say yes, as his freshman season is more dominant than Derrick Rose or John Wall. It’s pretty impressive company, but his averages of 22.3 points (on 49% shooting), 3.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists speak for themselves. Think about where Arkansas would be without Acuff. — Jacobsen Stat to know: Acuff is the only player in the country to average 21-plus points and 6.0-plus assists per game. — FOX Sports Research 1. Cameron Boozer, F, Duke Boozer was asked to fill Cooper Flagg’s shoes and he’s had a better statistical season than Flagg. Boozer’s stats say he’s the best player in the nation, but I believe that no other team asks more of their best player than Duke does of Boozer. — Jacobsen Stat to know: Boozer is one of two Division I players to average 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds this season (JT Toppin). — FOX Sports Research