March is the time of year when American college basketball reaches it's climax in the biggest and brashest way, with the NCAA tournament or as it is more commonly known "March Madness" or "The Big Dance". Each season, all 363 Division 1 colleges compete to be one of the 64 teams in the men's tournament or "The Big Dance". To earn a place in the final tournament, teams either need to win their respective conferences' qualifying tournament or have shown they are good enough throughout the regular season to already been seen as having earnt the right to already be in the tournament itself. The names of the 64 team final field is announced on Sunday 12th on "Selection Sunday" on TV to millions of people around the world.
As basketball is getting bigger in the UK we are lucky enough to now boast a number of players plying their trade in college basketball. Some have already seen their chances of getting to the NCAA tournament vanish, such as Elijah Walsh whose Campbell Camels team lost in the final of their conferences tournament this weekend, and Ndewedo Newbury whose San Francisco team lost in the semi finals of the West Coast Conference tournament. If you're looking to back one of the UK players in March Madness but don't have a clue who to cheer for or even when they are playing, then fear not as GB Hoops has compiled a short list of who to watch out for and when those all important games are taking place:
Yves Nkomba: Kennesaw State Owls
Tournament Games: Already into NCAA Final Tournament
Yves Nkomba helped the Owls to make history this past Sunday when they not only won their first Atlantic Sun Conference championship but also booked their first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament. The 6'11 Centre from Leeds has struggled to get minutes this season ahead of more established player but will be hoping to get some court time when the owls head to the big dance.
Josh Ogundele: Iowa Hawkeyes
Tournament Games: will play the winner of Ohio State vs Wisconsin on Thursday 9th
The Iowa Hawkeyes are one of the powerhouses of college sport, playing in the Big 10 Conference, one of the biggest in America and will regularly see crowds of tens of thousands of people attending games. The Hawkeyes finished 7th in the Big 10 and have probably already done enough throughout the season to seal their place in the NCAA Tournament. Like so many other younger players, Josh Ogundele has struggled for minutes this season, averaging 6 minutes of playing time a game, but if you're looking for a team that has a GB player in its ranks and will probably play more then one tournament game, Iowa is the team for you.
Tosan Evbuomwan: Princeton Tigers
Tournament Games: Ivy League Semi Final Vs Pennsylvania Saturday 11th
Unlike the previous two players, Tosan is a veteran of college hoops and has seen plenty of minutes this season, averaging 30 minutes a game and 14 points per contest. The Newcastle native has featured in 27 of the Tigers' games this season in the Conference that boasts some of the most prestigious
universities in the world. The Tigers finished joint top and have been crowned joint champions of the regular season. Princeton are one of the favourites from the Ivy League Conference to make it to the NCAA Tournament but will need to beat Pennsylvania and the winner of Cornell and Yale to win a place in the big dance and hear their name called this Sunday and find out who they would play.
Cam Hildreth and Mathew Marsh: Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Tournament Games: Syracuse Wednesday 8th (5.00 pm UK Time)
Most BBL and British basketball fans will have probably heard of Cam Hildreth and Mathew Marsh, both of which are British natives and have either played for GB ages groups or in the BBL. This season both have set the ACC alight, playing multiple minutes in the Demon Deacons rotation and racking up some impressive stat lines along with wider recognition from the college basketball community. Wake Forest play in the ACC, one of the biggest Conferences in the college game and like Iowa are nationally recognised and feature heavily in TV Games and the media. This season has been tough for Wake Forest, with them finishing 8th in the ACC Standings with a 10-10 conference record. If Wake Forest want to reach the Big Dance, they will need to win the ACC Tournament as they don't have a good enough season record to be selected, first up in the ACC Tournament is Syracuse who also finished with a 10-10 ACC record.
Away from the Men's game, the Women's NCAA Tournament is also announced on Sunday and will almost definitely feature at least one GB Player and former England international in Hannah Jump, whose Stanford team are ranked one of the best in the US and are currently tipped to be the number one seed in their region of the NCAA Tournament, unlike the Men's tournament the women's filed is made up of 68 teams but runs in exactly the same format as the men's.
There are also a host of other players featuring for other schools throughout the conference tournament schedule- keep an eye on GB Hoops Weekly as we'll be bringing you all of the latest updates and news on any team featuring a GB player throughout the month of March along with game's being shown on British TV.
Comments