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Rockets

TyTy Washington Jr. remembers being in awe gazing at the banners in Madison Square Garden as he watched the New York Knicks meet the Cleveland Cavaliers and the feeling he had two days later when Kentucky faced Duke at the famed arena.
Something else he won&rsquo;t forget? The reaming he got from coach John Calipari when the team watched video in the Hall of Famer&rsquo;s basement the next day.
&ldquo;He came up to me, he was like, &lsquo;Kid, you don&rsquo;t play hard enough&rsquo; and just started going in on me,&rdquo; Washington said Thursday at the NBA draft combine. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had coaches go in on me, but I&rsquo;ve never had a coach tell me I don&rsquo;t play hard.&rdquo;
Those experiences were invaluable to Washington, whether it was the feeling he had just being at The Garden or the feedback he got from Calipari after playing poorly in Kentucky&rsquo;s season-opening loss. And he&rsquo;s banking on them to help him make the jump to the NBA.
The college game can offer opportunities that aren&rsquo;t available through other avenues, with the exposure through TV deals and the NCAA Tournament and all that comes with it. The burgeoning name, image and likeness chances that were created last year when the NCAA&rsquo;s Board of Directors cleared the way for college athletes to start earning money without endangering their eligibility or putting their schools in jeopardy of rules of violations are another incentive for top prospects.
Options remain overseas and in the G League Ignite. A new basketball league called Overtime Elite offers top high school players a path to the pros along with six-figure salaries. Two from there &mdash; Dominick Barlow and Jean Montero &mdash; got invitations to the combine compared to three from NCAA champion Kansas.
Though the winners of the NBA&rsquo;s Most Valuable Player Award the past four years did not play college ball, with Denver&rsquo;s Nikola Jokic repeating after Milwaukee&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo won it two years in a row, the top prospects in the draft next month went the NCAA route. Gonzaga&rsquo;s Chet Holmgren, Duke&rsquo;s Paolo Banchero, Auburn&rsquo;s Jabari Smith and Purdue&rsquo;s Jaden Ivey are likely to go in the top four.
&ldquo;The NCAA is changing a lot,&rdquo; Wisconsin All-America guard Johnny Davis said.
The NIL is a major game-changer.
Banchero worked with Creative Artists Agency and got deals that included becoming the first player featured in the latest NBA 2K video game as well as a basketball trading card from Panini as part of a multi-year agreement. He&rsquo;s about to make more money in the NBA, and he&rsquo;s hardly the only one.
&ldquo;I think college basketball is in a good state right now,&rdquo; said Michigan State guard Max Christie, a Chicago-area product.
He mentioned the quality of the players as well as the impact the NIL is having, even if it wasn&rsquo;t a big factor for him.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s hard to turn down money at some point,&rdquo; he said.
Washington said this year&rsquo;s draft shows, &ldquo;You can still go to college, still do your academic stuff and still be in the same position as everybody else who didn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;
The NIL, he said, helps &ldquo;a lot.&rdquo;
&ldquo;With us being able to make money off our names now, it should encourage more people to go to college,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;If you are an outgoing person, you can also succeed in (NIL), in school and in basketball. I feel like that&rsquo;s three huge wins in life.&rdquo;
Washington had opportunities to play in Australia and the G League. But once Calipari and Kentucky entered the picture, he couldn&rsquo;t see himself going anywhere else.
Washington averaged 12.5 points, 3.9 assists and 3.5 rebounds while starting 29 of 31 contests in his lone college season. The play-making guard also broke John Wall&rsquo;s single-game school record for assists with 17 against Georgia.
Washington missed three Southeastern Conference games because of injuries and scored just five points in Kentucky&rsquo;s loss to Saint Peter&rsquo;s in the NCAA Tournament East Region first round. But he also smoothed things out after a bumpy beginning.
Washington flashed back to that video session following the Duke game and how the energy changed once Calipari entered the basement. He said he never had a coach tell him he wasn&rsquo;t playing hard. But Calipari backed it up by showing clips of him walking up the court.
The next practice wasn&rsquo;t much fun, either.
Calipari pushed the team hard and made sure everyone knew exactly who was responsible.
&ldquo;He was like, &lsquo;Y&rsquo;all know why I&rsquo;m doing this, y&rsquo;all know who I&rsquo;m doing this for.&rsquo; Everybody&rsquo;s just looking at me,&rdquo; Washington said. &ldquo;From that day on, I felt that definitely helped me because that just opened up my eyes.&rdquo;

College can offer opportunities unavailable through other avenues, with the exposure through TV and the NCAA Tourney and more.

NBA prospects see value of college despite other options

The NBA announced the 76 players who are expected to attend the 2022 NBA Draft Combine, which is scheduled for May 18-20 at Wintrust Arena and the Marriott Marquis in Chicago.
The 2022 NBA Draft Combine is an important step in the draft process for NBA prospects, leading up to 2022 NBA Draft on June 23.&nbsp;
Players will have interviews with NBA teams and participate in five-on-five games, shooting drills and strength-and-agility drills from May 18-20. Coverage of the 2022 NBA Draft Combine begins Thursday, May 19 on ESPNews from 3-5 p.m. ET and transitions to ESPN2 from 5-7 p.m. ET. The coverage continues on Friday, May 20 from 1-2 p.m. ET on ESPN2 and 2-5 p.m. ET on ESPNews.
Additionally, a select number of standout players from the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-announces-field-of-44-draft-prospects-for-g-league-elite-camp" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA G League Elite Camp</a>, which takes place May 16-17 at Wintrust Arena, will be invited to participate in the 2022 NBA Draft Combine.
Here is the complete list of expected attendees for this year's NBA Draft Combine (and check out <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BasketballNews.com's 2022 NBA Mock Draft</a> to see where each player is projected to go):&nbsp;
<table style="font-weight: 400;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="832">
Player (College/Club)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Ochai Agbaji (Kansas)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jake LaRavia (Wake Forest)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Patrick Baldwin Jr. (Milwaukee)
</td>
<td width="442">
Justin Lewis (Marquette)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Paolo Banchero (Duke)
</td>
<td width="442">
E.J. Liddell (Ohio State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Dominick Barlow (Overtime Elite)
</td>
<td width="442">
Bennedict Mathurin (Arizona)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Marjon Beauchamp (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td width="442">
Matthew Mayer (Baylor)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Hugo Besson (New Zealand Breakers)
</td>
<td width="442">
Bryce McGowens (Nebraska)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Malaki Branham (Ohio State)
</td>
<td width="442">
Leonard Miller (Fort Erie Intl. Academy [Canada] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Christian Braun (Kansas)
</td>
<td width="442">
Josh Minott (Memphis)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Kendall Brown (Baylor)
</td>
<td width="442">
Aminu Mohammed (Georgetown)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
John Butler Jr. (Florida State)
</td>
<td width="442">
Iverson Molinar (Mississippi State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Julian Champagnie (St. John&rsquo;s)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jean Montero (Overtime Elite)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Kennedy Chandler (Tennessee)
</td>
<td width="442">
Wendell Moore Jr. (Duke)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Max Christie (Michigan State)
</td>
<td width="442">
Keegan Murray (Iowa)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Kofi Cockburn (Illinois)
</td>
<td width="442">
Andrew Nembhard (Gonzaga)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Dyson Daniels (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td width="442">
Scotty Pippen Jr. (Vanderbilt)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Johnny Davis (Wisconsin)
</td>
<td width="442">
Gabriele Procida (Fortitudo Bologna [Italy] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
JD Davison (Alabama)
</td>
<td width="442">
Orlando Robinson (Fresno State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Moussa Diabate (Michigan)
</td>
<td width="442">
David Roddy (Colorado State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Ousmane Dieng (New Zealand Breakers)
</td>
<td width="442">
Ryan Rollins (Toledo)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Khalifa Diop (Gran Canaria [Spain] )
</td>
<td width="442">
Dereon Seabron (North Carolina State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Jalen Duren (Memphis)
</td>
<td width="442">
Shaedon Sharpe (Kentucky)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Tari Eason (LSU)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jabari Smith (Auburn)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Keon Ellis (Alabama)
</td>
<td width="442">
Terquavion Smith (North Carolina State)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Michael Foster Jr. (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jeremy Sochan (Baylor)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Collin Gillespie (Villanova)
</td>
<td width="442">
Matteo Spagnolo (Cremona [Italy] )
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
AJ Griffin (Duke)
</td>
<td width="442">
Julian Strawther (Gonzaga)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Jaden Hardy (G League Ignite)
</td>
<td width="442">
Dalen Terry (Arizona)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Ron Harper Jr. (Rutgers)
</td>
<td width="442">
Drew Timme (Gonzaga)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jabari Walker (Colorado)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Harrison Ingram (Stanford)
</td>
<td width="442">
TyTy Washington Jr. (Kentucky)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Jaden Ivey (Purdue)
</td>
<td width="442">
Peyton Watson (UCLA)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana)
</td>
<td width="442">
Blake Wesley (Notre Dame)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Nikola Jovic (Mega [Serbia] )
</td>
<td width="442">
Alondes Williams (Wake Forest)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Johnny Juzang (UCLA)
</td>
<td width="442">
Jalen Williams (Santa Clara)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Ismael Kamagate (Paris [France] )
</td>
<td width="442">
Jaylin Williams (Arkansas)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Trevor Keels (Duke)
</td>
<td width="442">
Mark Williams (Duke)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Walker Kessler (Auburn)
</td>
<td width="442">
Trevion Williams (Purdue)
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="390">
Christian Koloko (Arizona)
</td>
<td width="442">
Fanbo Zeng (G League Ignite)
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
&nbsp;

The NBA announced the 76 players who are expected to attend the 2022 NBA Draft Combine, which takes place May 18-20 in Chicago.

NBA announces 76 prospects who will attend 2022 NBA Draft Combine

We made it through the first day of March Madness! Sixteen teams saw their dreams shatter while the other 16 teams advanced to the Round of 32. Let&rsquo;s see who remains&hellip;
UPSET ALERT&nbsp;
East Region: 15-seed Saint Peter&rsquo;s defeats 2-seed Kentucky 85-79 in overtime
Starting with the true bracket buster of day 1, the Saint Peter&rsquo;s Peacocks upset the Kentucky Wildcats. Oscar Tshiebwe gave everything he had (as expected) with a 30-point, 16-rebound performance, but Kentucky&rsquo;s perimeter players (TyTy Washington, Kellen Grady and Sahvir Wheeler) had trouble generating offense. The Peacocks shined behind Daryl Banks III&rsquo;s 27 points and Doug Edert&rsquo;s 20 points off the bench. The game remained tight the whole way through, staying within six points, and the game was tied at the end of regulation. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champion pulled away with clutch plays and defensive stops that showed they weren&rsquo;t afraid of the highly decorated program. Saint Peter&rsquo;s will be taking on the 7-seed Murray State on Saturday. (For more on this upset, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/putting-saint-peters-shocker-over-kentucky-in-historical-context" target="_blank" rel="noopener">check out Bryan Fonseca's article</a>).
Midwest Region: 12-seed Richmond defeats 5-seed Iowa 67-63
The annual bracket experts are well aware that the 12-5 matchup is always on upset watch, but since Iowa had a strong run for a Big Ten Tournament championship and one of the top NBA Draft prospects in the tournament in Keegan Murray, they felt like the pick here. But Richmond reminded the country that they too won a conference tournament championship last week and the Atlantic 10 knows them very well. Senior guard Jacob Gilyard played all 40 minutes and gave the Spiders 24 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Junior forward Tyler Burton and senior forward Nathan Cayo added 18 points and 15 points, respectively. Iowa&rsquo;s projected lottery pick Murray finished the game with 21 points and 9 rebounds, but there was a lull in his offense in the second half that could&rsquo;ve been the difference-maker. Richmond will face 4-seed Providence in the second round.
South Region: 11-seed Michigan defeats 6-seed Colorado State 75-63
In a matchup that many thought had upset potential, the Wolverines came away as victors over the Rams after a slow start. Colorado State jumped on Michigan in the first half and led by as many as 15 points, but Michigan proved their Power 5 experience had tested them enough to overcome the deficit. Hunter Dickinson ended as the game&rsquo;s leading scorer with 21 points and added 5 rebounds and 4 blocks. Frankie Collins filled in at point guard for the injured Devante&rsquo; Jones and finished with a respectable 14 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Michigan finds 3-seed Tennessee waiting for them in the next round.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
West Region: 12-seed New Mexico State defeats 5-seed UConn 70-63
New Mexico State grabbed another win for the 12 seeds today as they knocked out UConn in the first round. This game was owned by Aggie guard Teddy Allen, who was locked in after starting the game 0-for-6 and finished with 37 points. New Mexico State as a team shot nearly 65% from three, which proved to be the difference-maker, with the Huskies only hitting 30% from deep. Allen looks to add another hot performance to his March Madness resum&eacute; on Saturday against Arkansas.
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GAMES OF THE DAY
West Region: 9-seed Memphis defeats 8-seed Boise State 64-53
The Memphis Tigers continued their strong play in the latter portion of the season and finished with a big win against Boise State. Memphis went into halftime with a 19-point lead, but a slow start by the Tigers led to the Broncos clawing themselves back into the game. DeAndre Williams ended the game with 14 points while projected NBA Draft lottery pick Jalen Duren had a 10-point, 11-rebound double-double. NBA executives and March Madness fans are getting the Duren-Chet Holmgren matchup they&rsquo;ve been clamoring for since Sunday night, as Memphis takes on Gonzaga this weekend. (This game also featured a surprise cameo from Emoni Bates, who finished with just 3 points in three minutes).
East Region: 7-seed Murray State defeats 10-seed San Francisco 92-87 in overtime
If you stayed up to watch one of the nightcap games of day 1, you probably watched Murray State and San Francisco battle it out. This game saw San Francisco guard Jamaree Bouyea score a career-high 36 points including some big shots to extend the game. However, it wasn&rsquo;t enough for the balanced attack of&nbsp; Murray State&rsquo;s KJ Williams, Trae Hannibal, Tevin Brown and Justice Hill with scoring totals of 18, 18, 17, and 15 (with Hannibal&rsquo;s 18 coming from the bench). The Racers' next test comes from the &ldquo;bracket busters&rdquo; themselves, the Saint Peter&rsquo;s Peacocks this weekend.
OTHER FIRST-ROUND RESULTS
Midwest Region
1-seed Kansas defeats 16-seed Texas Southern
4-seed Providence defeats 13-seed South Dakota State 66-57
9-seed Creighton defeats 8-seed San Diego State 72-69
East Region
1-seed Baylor defeats 16-seed Norfolk State 85-49
4-seed UCLA defeats 13-seed Akron 57- 53
South Region
3-seed Tennessee defeats 14-seed Longwood 88-56
West Region
1-seed Gonzaga defeats 16-seed Georgia State 93-72
4-seed Arkansas defeats 13-seed Vermont 75-71
East Region
8-seed North Carolina defeats 9-seed Marquette 95-63
5-seed Saint Mary&rsquo;s defeats 12-seed Indiana 82-53
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Sixteen teams saw their dreams shatter while 16 teams advanced to the Round of 32. Blake Hairston recaps day one of March Madness.

March Madness: Recapping Day 1 of the 2022 NCAA Tournament

Deep down, everyone knew.
All of you knew once you finalized your picks: The half-ass research, the questions to your even less knowledgeable friends, the &ldquo;expert&rdquo; analysis &ndash; none of it was going to matter. Your bracket was going to be busted by the end of the night. You didn&rsquo;t know how, you didn&rsquo;t know by whom, but you had an idea that even on day one of the men&rsquo;s NCAA Tournament, your bracket would get cooked.
You probably just didn&rsquo;t know it would be by Saint ******* Peter&rsquo;s University &ndash; against Kentucky, at that &ndash; who won 85-79 in overtime, destroying the evening of bracket-builders, parlay-players and spread-bettors alike.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
PEACOCKS. WIN. <a href="https://t.co/Jf10r5zyb4">pic.twitter.com/Jf10r5zyb4</a>
&mdash; Saint Peter&rsquo;s Athletics (@SPUAthletics) <a href="https://twitter.com/SPUAthletics/status/1504634900875550723?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2022</a></blockquote>
If you don&rsquo;t know, Saint Peter&rsquo;s is a private Jesuit school in the middle of Jersey City, New Jersey. And if you&rsquo;ve ever been to the campus, you'd be even more surprised by this upset. Depending on who you ask, Saint Peter&rsquo;s could have either <a href="https://twitter.com/RyanFieldABC/status/1504645256586973185" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2,300</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/GaryGrumbach/status/1504634530338160642" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2,600</a>, or <a href="https://twitter.com/BryanAGraham/status/1504634903484375043" target="_blank" rel="noopener">3,500</a> students; either way, we know the University of Kentucky likely has 10x that, if not more.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
How's that bracket looking??<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StrutUp?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StrutUp</a>🦚 <a href="https://t.co/c5JXAN2kzb">pic.twitter.com/c5JXAN2kzb</a>
&mdash; Saint Peter's Men's Basketball (@PeacocksMBB) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeacocksMBB/status/1504664039338782721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2022</a></blockquote>
The gap actually has nothing on the wage disparity between each team&rsquo;s head coaches. John Calipari reportedly banks in $8.5 million annually from Kentucky, which doesn&rsquo;t included bonuses of any kind. Shaheen Holloway was hired as Saint Peter's head coach in 2018, and he reportedly made less than $270,000 (including bonuses) in 2019. That means Coach Cal is paid 30x more than Coach Holloway before his first bonus check.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
St. Peter's men's basketball coach Shaheen Holloway made $266,344 in 2019, including bonuses paid and value of benefits, per school's most recent federal tax dox. John Calipari's basic pay from UK for this season -- not including bonuses, benefits and perks -- is $8.5 million.
&mdash; Steve Berkowitz (@ByBerkowitz) <a href="https://twitter.com/ByBerkowitz/status/1504647038163726362?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2022</a></blockquote>
More on the financial side, <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/saint-peter-kentucky-win-marks-111130742.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a Yahoo Sports report says</a>, &ldquo;In the 2019-20 school year, the most recent season unaffected by COVID-19, Kentucky outspent Saint Peter&rsquo;s $18.3 million to $1.6 million in men&rsquo;s basketball, per the U.S Department of Education. In terms of both expenditures ratio and raw difference between budgets, that is the biggest disparity since 2007, as far back as data is publicly available... Kentucky outspends Saint Peter&rsquo;s in basketball by a multiple of 11.7, just edging out the 11.5 ratio from CJ McCollum and Lehigh&rsquo;s win over Duke exactly 10 years ago.&rdquo;
Furthermore, Kentucky reportedly spent over $138 million for its sports teams in 2020. Saint Peter&rsquo;s? Only $7.2 million.
We&rsquo;ve watched the University of Kentucky become a factory for producing countless pros. And it's not just the high-level NBA stars we see thriving in the league today like Anthony Davis, Devin Booker, Bam Adebayo and Karl-Anthony Towns. On opening night of the 2021-22 NBA season, <a href="https://ukathletics.com/news/2021/10/19/mens-basketball-uk-mbb-leads-nation-with-27-players-on-nba-opening-day-rosters.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kentucky had 27 alums on rosters around the league</a>. In their history, they&rsquo;ve had <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/colleges.cgi?college=kentucky" target="_blank" rel="noopener">125 players appear in the NBA</a> &ndash; a number that's sure to increase following the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft</a>. The Wildcats have potential 2022 lottery picks in TyTy Washington and Shaedon Sharpe, and a possible late-first-rounder in Oscar Tshiebwe, among other expected NBA prospects.
Kentucky has the most wins, highest winning percentage, second-most national titles, most national-title-game appearances (tied with UCLA), most NCAA Tournament appearances, most <a href="https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2021-07-30/these-college-basketball-teams-and-conferences-have-most-nba-first-round-draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">first-round draft picks</a> and most NCAA tournament wins.&nbsp;
By the way, how many NBA players came from Saint Peter&rsquo;s program? <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/colleges.fcgi?college=stpeters" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Four. Just four</a>.
Bill Smith played nine NBA games in 1962. Harry Laurie played nine games in 1971. Elnardo Webster played 24 games in 1972. And Rich Rinaldi played 84 games between 1972 and 1974. That&rsquo;s it. Even Keydren Clark &ndash; who was the <a href="https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/keydren-clark-1.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NCAA's scoring leader in 2004 and 2005</a> while at Saint Peter&rsquo;s &ndash; didn&rsquo;t sniff the league after graduating in 2006.
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Four is also the number of NCAA Tournaments that MAAC Champion Saint Peter&rsquo;s has made in their history, with zero victories until last night. Their 85-79 win over Kentucky nuked all your hopes of a perfect bracket, and simultaneously reminded us why March is one of the best sports months on the calendar.
This only marked the ninth time in tournament history that a No. 15 seed knocked off a No. 2, and all of them have happened since 1991, including Oral Roberts taking down Ohio State &ndash; also in overtime &ndash; just last year. This one, because of the distinctions between the two institutions both in size, recruiting advantages, budgets and basketball history, could be the biggest upset we&rsquo;ve ever seen.
People love blue-blood programs, and in the case of Kentucky, love to hate them. But this is why people gather around TV screens this time of year, to see improbable stories like these unfold.
Others say they want the best facing the best with no upsets, and that&rsquo;s cool, but where&rsquo;s the enjoyment in that? If you only watch basketball for &ldquo;starzzzzz&rdquo; and &ldquo;hooperzzzzz,&rdquo; this probably doesn&rsquo;t excite you, but if this level of improbability can&rsquo;t resonate with you, why? That&rsquo;s strange. The fact is, in life, more people can and should be able to identify with the Saint Peter&rsquo;s element of this. Chances are, if you&rsquo;re reading this, you&rsquo;re closer to them than Kentucky, and that&rsquo;s OK. So don&rsquo;t be disappointed that Kentucky blew it. Embrace the uncanny underdog Peacocks from Jersey City, led by their badass head coach from New York City, who reminded you after the game, that it&rsquo;s just ball after all.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Q: &ldquo;Did you ever get nervous.&rdquo; Shaheen Holloway after No. 15 Saint Peter&rsquo;s upset No. 2 Kentucky in OT &ldquo;For what? It&rsquo;s basketball.&rdquo; <a href="https://t.co/t0odjVyGWb">pic.twitter.com/t0odjVyGWb</a>
&mdash; George Balekji (@GeorgeBalekji) <a href="https://twitter.com/GeorgeBalekji/status/1504637225685987342?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2022</a></blockquote>

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No. 15 Saint Peter's managed to beat No. 2 Kentucky in overtime. Bryan Fonseca explains why it may be the biggest upset ever.

Putting Saint Peter’s shocker over Kentucky in historical context

On Thursday, No. 15 Saint Peter's pulled off a shocking upset over No. 2 Kentucky, winning 85-79 in overtime. The Wildcats were a popular pick to go deep in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, so this loss busted plenty of brackets across the nation.
Daryl Banks III led the way for Saint Peter's with 27 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists (while shooting 9-of-19 shooting from the field, 5-of-8 from three and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line). Doug Edert chipped in 20 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists in 25 minutes off the bench (shooting 5-of-7 from the field, 2-of-2 from three and 8-of-8 from the free-throw line).
Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe finished with 30 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks (on 11-16 shooting from the field) in the losing effort. 2022 NBA Draft prospect TyTy Washington struggled in the loss, contributing just 5 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist (while shooting 2-of-10 from the field).
Saint Peter's will face the winner of San Francisco vs. Murray State.
&nbsp;

On Thursday, No. 15 Saint Peter's pulled off a shocking upset over No. 2 Kentucky, winning 85-79 in overtime.

No. 15 Saint Peter's upsets No. 2 Kentucky 85-79 in overtime

Who are the notable prospects to keep an eye on during the 2022 NCAA Tournament? Here's a complete guide with scouting reports.

NBA Draft guide to March Madness: Notable prospects to watch

Across the country, teams are competing in conference tournaments and trying to punch their ticket for the NCAA Tournament. Selection Sunday is tomorrow, and then the tourney starts next Tuesday. Here's a recap of Saturday's action.
The Upsets, the Madness
Virginia Tech def. Duke 82-67, ACC Final Hunter Cattoor put on a clinic, hitting 11 of 16 from the field for 31 points. The teams were neck and neck in the first half, as the Hokies took a three point lead into the break. They would slowly extend that lead during the remainder of the contest, when a Justyn Mutts dunk gave them an advantage of 12 points with 2:28 left, all but sealing the deal. Virginia Tech enters the NCAA Tournament red hot. Tough night for Duke.&nbsp;
Memphis def. SMU 70-63 - AAC Semifinal You do not want to play the Tigers right now. They have been red hot over the last few weeks and will take great momentum into the American Championship game. They had three players in double-figures in this one, along with strong outings from Earl Timberlake and Tyler Harris off the bench. Watch out.&nbsp;
Texas A&amp;M def. Arkansas 82-64 - SEC Semifinal Even after strong performances this week, the Aggies were given only a 31% chance of winning today, but they put on a clinic. They held a 12 point lead at the break and never let off the gas. Quenton Jackson poured in 20 points in a great showing, and now the Aggies look forward to playing for the SEC Championship.
Tennessee def. Kentucky 69-62 - SEC Semifinal The Volunteers took a 7-4 lead 3 minutes into the game and never gave it back. TyTy Washington was able to cut that lead to 3 points with 1:31 to play, but Zakai Zeigler hit clutch free throws to ice it. Kennedy Chandler, Santiago Vescovi and co. move on to the SEC Championship game.
Richmond def. Dayton 68-64 - Atlantic 10 Semifinal Dayton had an eight point lead at the break and a 14 point advantage with 13 minutes to play, but simply couldn&rsquo;t hold on. Grant Golden, Tyler Burton and co. stormed back to steal the four point win. The Spiders move into the A10 Championship game and will look to steal an auto-bid in the NCAA Tournament.&nbsp;
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Best Games of the Day
Iowa def. Indiana 80-77, Big Ten Semifinal The Hoosiers led by nine with 5:31 to play, but Keegan Murray did what he usually does &mdash; turned on the jets late. Jordan Bohannon banked in a last-second three which sent the fans into a frenzy, propelling the Hawkeyes into the Big Ten title game. This ends a great run from Indiana &mdash; now they await their fate on Selection Sunday.
Boise State def. San Diego State 53-52 - Mountain West Final The biggest lead in this one was three points. However, once the Broncos took a 48-47 lead with 6:41 to play, they never gave it back. Degenhart led them in scoring with 13 points, and now they look ahead to the Big Dance.
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Headed to the Big Dance, Tickets Punched
Kansas def. Texas Tech 74-55, wins Big 12 Championship
Arizona def. UCLA , wins Pac 12 Championship
Virginia Tech def. Duke 82-67, wins ACC Championship
Villanova def. Creighton 54-38, wins Big East Championship
Boise State def. San Diego State 53-52, wins Mountain West Championship
Akron def. Kent State 75-55, wins MAC Championship
UAB def. Louisiana Tech 82-73, wins C-USA Championship
Texas Southern def. Alcorn State 87-62, wins SWAC Championship
Vermont def. UMBC 82-43, wins America East Championship
Norfolk State def. Coppin State 72-57, wins MEAC Championship
Saint Peter&rsquo;s def. Monmouth 60-54, wins MAAC Championship
Montana State def. Northern Colorado 87-66, wins Big Sky Championship
Texas A&amp;M-CC def. SE Louisiana 73-65, wins Southland Championship
New Mexico State def. Abilene Christian 66-52, wins WAC Championship
CSU Fullerton def. Long Beach State 72-71, wins Big West Championship
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Derek Murray takes us through the latest developments from NCAA basketball's conference tourneys.

March Madness: Conference tournament Saturday recap

Across the country, teams are competing in conference tournaments and trying to punch their ticket for the NCAA Tournament. Selection Sunday is almost here, and then the tourney starts next Tuesday. Here's a recap of Friday's slate.
Games of the Day
Texas Tech def. Oklahoma 56-66 - Big 12 Semifinal The Sooners have been on the bubble for quite some time and, after a big win against Baylor, we&rsquo;ll have to wait and see what this loss does to them. They fought tooth and nail after being down 14 points in the second half, and even took a 54-52 lead with 3:05 to play. Clarence Nadolny hit a free throw to make it 56-54 and the Red Raiders held on from there. Great game.
Saint Louis def. St. Bonaventure 57-56 - A10 Quarterfinal Saint Louis held a nine point lead with 9:35 to go, but the Bonnies went on a run to take a one point lead with 1:24 remaining. Gibson Jimerson hit a jumper with 0:17 on the clock that would end up being the game-winner. Big win for the Billikens as they advance to the A10 Semifinals.
UAB def. MTSU 102-98 in 3OT - CUSA Semifinal In a thriller, the largest lead for either team was just seven points. With a 62-62 score after regulation, the two teams headed to overtime, in which Donovan Sims hit a clutch free throw to send it to double-overtime at 69-69. It would take another overtime, but Jordan Walker and co. finally sealed the deal at 102-98, keeping the team's dream alive.
Dayton def. UMass 75-72 - A10 Quarterfinal In the second half of this one, neither team led by more than five points as it went down to the wire. DaRon Holmes II made a jumper with 51 seconds remaining that gave Dayton a 69-68 lead, and they took it home from there. Holmes II would end with 28 points in a strong outing.&nbsp;
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Duke def. Miami (FL) 80-76 - ACC Semifinal The Canes led for a good part of the first half, but it was tied at 36-36 going into the break. Duke held a 69-65 lead with 2:09 to play and from there it was a free-throw game for the Blue Devils. Keels, Moore Jr., and Griffin knocked them down and were able to seal the deal. They advance to the ACC Championship.
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The Upsets, the Madness
Indiana def. Illinois 65-62 - Big Ten Quarterfinal The Hoosiers entered this game, once again, heavy underdogs with only a 29.2% chance of winning. They kept the first half competitive and trailed by only two points at the break, but turned on the jets and had a 5 point lead in just under 10 minutes to play. Indiana is still considered a Bubble Team, but along with yesterday&rsquo;s win, they should be more comfortable.&nbsp;
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Michigan State def. Wisconsin 69-63 &nbsp;- Big Ten Quarterfinal As a true bubble team, this was a huge win for Sparty. They advance to the Big Ten Semifinals thanks in large part to Marcus Bingham Jr. and his stellar performance. Marble II and Hoggard both provided sparks off the bench in the win.
Virginia Tech def. North Carolina 72-59 - ACC Semifinal After leading by six points at the break, the Hokies really opened it up halfway through the second half. Keve Alume posted 18 and Darius Maddox scored 20 huge points off the bench in the win. They move on to the ACC Championship and hope to put a bow on this amazing run.
Creighton def. Providence 85-58 - Big East Semifinal Creighton absolutely handed it to the No. 11 team in the nation. They led by 15 points at the break and only grew their lead as the game went on. With four players in double-digits scoring, it was a balanced attack from the get-go. Great win for the Bluejays.
Texas A&amp;M def. Auburn 67-62 - SEC Quarterfinal The Aggies have had a solid season, but I doubt many people saw this coming. Tyrece Radford and Quenton Jackson had big moments and now they are (likely) a lock for the NCAA Tournament. They will face Arkansas in the Semifinals.&nbsp;
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Standout Performances
Jordan Walker (UAB): 40 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
Keegan Murray (Iowa): 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists
Xavier Castaneda (Akron): 26 points, 4 rebounds
Michael Ertel (UAB): 26 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
DaRon Holmes (Dayton): 28 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks
Jordan Wright (Vanderbilt): 27 points, 6 rebounds
Noah Fernandes (UMass): 26 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
Jesse Zarzuela (Coppin State): 27 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals
TyTy Washington (Kentucky): 25 points, 3 rebounds
Kameron McGusty (Miami FL): 24 points, 7 rebounds
Holland Woods (Grand Canyon): 24 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
Deandre Dishman (MTSU): 23 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists
Kofi Cockburn (Illinois): 23 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks
Geo Baker (Rutgers): 23 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists
Brad Davison (Wisconsin): 23 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
Teddy Allen (New Mexico State): 25 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists
Au&rsquo;Diese Toney (Arkansas): 22 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists
Jermaine Samuels (Villanova): 21 points, 12 rebounds
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2022 NBA Draft: Prospect Watch
Keegan Murray (Iowa): 26 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists
TyTy Washington (Kentucky): 25 points, 3 rebounds
Ochai Agbaji (Kansas): 22 points, 3 rebounds
AJ Griffin (Duke): 21 points, 7 rebounds, 4-6 3PT
Jabari Smith (Auburn): 17 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks
Jaden Ivey (Purdue): 17 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks
Walker Kessler (Auburn): 16 points, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 steals, 2 assists
Tari Eason (LSU): 15 points, 3 assists, 3 steals
Johnny Davis (Wisconsin): 11 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists
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Derek Murray takes us through Friday's conference tournament results, as bubble teams battle for an NCAA tourney spot.

March Madness: Conference tournament Friday recap

With the 2022 NCAA Tournament right around the corner, it's time for conference tournaments to begin so teams can begin punching their ticket to The Big Dance in March.
Mid-major tournaments have already gotten underway, on Wednesday, five Power Five tournaments will have begun theirs to join the club.
(Editor's note: Check out our breakdowns of the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/top-2022-nba-draft-prospects-acc-tournament" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ACC</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/top-2022-nba-draft-prospects-big-ten-tournament" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Big Ten</a>, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/top-2022-nba-draft-prospects-big-12-tournament" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Big 12</a> and <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/top-2022-nba-draft-prospects-pac12-tournament" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pac-12</a>.)
Since everyone will have their eyes on the best players in these conferences over the next few weeks, BasketballNews.com has highlighted each Power Five and its top 2022 NBA Draft prospects.
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Here are the names to look out for in the Southeastern Conference.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/jabari-smith" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jabari Smith</a>
Forward | Auburn
Height: 6-10 Weight: 220 Wingspan: 7-1
Class: Freshman Draft Day Age: 19.1 Nationality: USA
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At 6-foot-10, Jabari Smith has the size and shooting stroke to be an impactful stretch-4 at the NBA level. Added physical strength will certainly propel his development, but his athleticism, shooting and defensive abilities make him a high-level prospect. In addition, considering the value of floor spacing in today's game, Smith will likely generate significant interest from NBA teams. As a result, Smith is in the mix to be the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/tyty-washington" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TyTy Washington</a>
Guard | Kentucky
Height: 6-3 Weight: 197 Wingspan: 6-9
Class: Freshman Draft Day Age: 20.6 Nationality: USA
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Although he has played primarily off the ball this season, TyTy Washington still sets the tone for his team and provides value as both a facilitator and scorer. Even when pushing the pace, Washington plays under control and seldom makes poor decisions leading to turnovers. He is only 6-foot-3 and lacks elite athleticism, but he routinely gets his shot off from deep with smooth mechanics and a quick release. As a result, Washington will likely be the first point guard selected in the 2022 NBA Draft.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/tari-eason" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tari Eason</a>
Forward | LSU
Height: 6-8 Weight: 216 Wingspan: 6-9
Class: Sophomore Draft Day Age: 21.1 Nationality: USA
After transferring from Cincinnati, Tari Eason has had a breakout season in Baton Rouge for LSU. He has positional size and length, and plays with a great motor on both ends of the floor. While Eason is still improving as a shooter, he excels at putting the ball on the deck and attacking the rim. In addition, Eason is a switchable defender and an all-around playmaker. If he keeps performing at a high level, he will have an excellent chance to be a first-round pick this summer.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/kennedy-chandler" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kennedy Chandler</a>
Guard | Tennessee
Height: 6-0 Weight: 171 Wingspan: 6-5
Class: Freshman Draft Day Age: 19.8 Nationality: USA
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Although undersized, Tennessee&rsquo;s Kennedy Chandler has incredible speed. He might be the fastest player in the country with the ball in his hands this season. In addition, Chandler is an excellent game manager, a skilled passer and a developing outside shooter. Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes has had success with smaller, speedier guards in the past, as T.J. Ford won the Naismith Player of the Year in 2003 while the two were both at Texas. Chandler will likely be one of the first point guards selected in the 2022 NBA Draft.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/jd-davison" target="_blank" rel="noopener">JD Davison</a>
Guard | Alabama
Height: 6-3 Weight: 195 Wingspan: 6-9
Class: Freshman Draft Day Age: 19.7 Nationality: USA
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An uber-athletic and explosive leaper, Alabama&rsquo;s JD Davison elevates seamlessly off one or two feet. He is also a tremendous playmaker and facilitator off the dribble, and he continues to improve as an outside shooter. Davison possesses a ton of upside and, although coming off the bench for the Tide, is making a solid case for the 2022 NBA Draft.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/walker-kessler" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Walker Kessler</a>
Center | Auburn
Height: 7-1 Weight: 245 Wingspan: 7-5
Class: Sophomore Draft Day Age: 20.9 Nationality: USA
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After transferring from North Carolina, Walker Kessler is arguably the best shot-blocker in the country, continues to develop as a short-roll passer, and has shown shooting flashes during this season. He's still not a reliable floor-stretcher, but is incredibly efficient around the rim on offense with a soft touch on the block. Kessler's length, mobility and rim-protection give him a unique skill set that makes him a viable option in the 2022 NBA Draft.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/keon-ellis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Keon Ellis</a>
Guard-Forward | Alabama
Height: 6-6 Weight: 175 Wingspan: N/A
Class: Senior Draft Day Age: 22.5 Nationality: USA
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After two seasons at Florida Southwestern State College, Keon Ellis transferred to Alabama as one of the most coveted JUCO prospects in the nation. He has displayed legitimate athleticism, playmaking and shot-making that will likely translate well to the next level. Ellis also can guard multiple positions thanks to his length, mobility and motor. He has been terrific for the Crimson Tide, and has played himself to be worthy of being drafted in the 2022 NBA Draft.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/iverson-molinar" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Iverson Molinar</a>
Guard | Mississippi State
Height: 6-3 Weight: 190 Wingspan: N/A
Class: Junior Draft Day Age: 22.6 Nationality: Panama, USA
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Iverson Molinar is a quick-twitch guard who can fill up a box score at will. As a sophomore, he burst onto the scene and has continued to be a reliable scorer this season. Molinar can be a bit turnover-prone in spurts, but he excels out of the pick-and-roll and as a spot-up shooter. He also has decent vision as a passer and is a functional on-ball defender. Considering his athleticism and scoring prowess, Molinar could be a strong option in the 2022 NBA Draft as a score-first guard.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/oscar-tshiebwe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oscar Tshiebwe</a>
Center | Kentucky
Height: 6-9 Weight: 255 Wingspan: 7-4
Class: Junior Draft Day Age: 22.6 Nationality: DR Congo
After transferring from West Virginia, Oscar Tshiebwe has brought a significant physical presence and energy to Kentucky's roster. Standing 6-foot-9 and 255 pounds, Tshiebwe's strength and motor are the two elements of his game that stand out the most. In addition, he is probably the best rebounder in the country. Although there are questions about how well his game translates to the modern-day NBA that values floor-spacing, he must be taken seriously as an NBA prospect.
Others worth noting:
Colin Castleton | Florida
Kellan Grady | Kentucky
Scotty Pippen Jr. | Vanderbilt
Santiago Vescovi | Tennessee
Jaylin Williams | Arkansas
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Matt Babcock highlights the top 2022 NBA Draft prospects in the SEC Tournament.

2022 NBA Draft: Top prospects in the SEC Tournament

In a game that went down to the final seconds, the No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats were able to hold on and defeat the LSU Tigers by a score of 71-66. Oscar Tshiebwe had another phenomenal showing for Kentucky with 17 points and 16 rebounds, while Xavier Pinson had a great game for the Tigers, posting 26 points and 8 assists.
The Wildcats (23-5, 12-3 SEC) took a tough loss in Knoxville, but bounced back with a strong win against Alabama. They rank No. 2 in the nation in Adjusted Efficiency with a powerful offense and a rotation of players all clicking at the same time. Tshiebwe is in contention for Player of the Year, averaging 16.4 points and 15.2 rebounds (leads team in both), while TyTy Washington Jr. is making a case as a lottery pick in this year&rsquo;s NBA Draft.
Louisiana State (20-8, 7-8 SEC) was handed a 77-75 loss at South Carolina last weekend, and needs to get back on track badly. The Tigers have the third-ranked defense in the country and are immensely talented, but have underperformed in conference play. Sophomore forward Tari Eason is averaging 16.9 points per game and is currently projected as a first-round pick in the NBA Draft. Darius Days remains reliable with 13.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per contest.&nbsp;
The game started with both teams trading buckets for the first 10 minutes, and then Xavier Pinson caught fire for LSU. The Tigers extended the lead to 27-16 behind a barrage of points from Pinson and Days, and they would hold a 31-23 lead at the break.
Kentucky&rsquo;s 23 points in the first half were its fewest points in the first half this season. This was only the second time this season the Wildcats didn&rsquo;t connect on a three in the first period as well, with Washington and Wheeler&rsquo;s absences due to injury being a glaring problem. At halftime, Pinson led all players with 16 points, while Tshiebwe posted 12 points and 7 rebounds.&nbsp;
Kentucky started the second half with a three that got the crowd back into the action and on their feet, cutting the lead quickly to 33-28. Davion Mintz was hustling all over the floor for the Wildcats, and cut the lead again to 36-34. Kentucky freshman Bryce Hopkins had a huge putback and-one to take a 39-36 lead, and the momentum officially shifted. Hopkins connected again at 13:52, which forced LSU to take a timeout.&nbsp;
LSU's Tari Eason fouled out at the 9:27 mark to end the night with only 5 points and a single rebound. At the under-4-minute TV timeout, it felt like Kentucky was close to putting it out of reach. Jacob Toppin hit a triple to make it 65-50, but the Tigers made it interesting and clawed back to make it 68-62.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Things got incredibly dicey after a Wildcat turnover, followed by free throws, made it 68-64. Then, a five-second violation gave LSU the ball back under its own basket. Pinson wasn&rsquo;t able to connect on a tough layup, and Kentucky would hold on to win 71-66.&nbsp;
Hopkins left with a standing ovation after posting 13 points and 4 rebounds. Mintz and Kellan Grady each had 13 points for the Wildcats. Eric Gaines scored 11 points, while Days ended with 10 points and 8 rebounds for LSU.
UPCOMING
Kentucky visits No. 18 Arkansas on Saturday afternoon.&nbsp;
LSU hosts Missouri on Saturday night.&nbsp;
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In a game that went down to the final seconds, No. 6 Kentucky was able to hold on and defeat LSU by a score of 71-66.

No. 6 Kentucky defeats LSU 71-66, Tshiebwe dominates again

In a critical conference matchup, the Tennessee Volunteers got their first win against an AP Top-5 team since 2019 by defeating the Kentucky Wildcats, 76-63. Santiago Vescovi led all players with 18 points as the Thompson-Bowling Arena was rocking in Knoxville.
Kentucky (21-5, 10-3 SEC) is currently projected a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and has looked the part recently, including a huge win against Kansas in Lawrence. West Virginia transfer Oscar Tshiebwe is a favorite to win NCAA Player of the Year, while freshman TyTy Washington is shaping up to be a potential lottery pick in this year&rsquo;s NBA Draft, averaging 12.8 points per game.
The Volunteers (19-6, 10-3 SEC) entered this one with the No. 6 ranked defense in the country, per KenPom. They are led by a young backcourt of potential first-round pick Kennedy Chandler, Santiago Vescovi and Zakai Zeigler, all of whom play with tremendous vision and unselfishness. Chandler is averaging 13.1 points and 4.8 assists per game.&nbsp;
The teams traded leads for roughly the first eight minutes before things got chippy at the 13:45 mark, when a scuffle ensued by the visiting bench. Chandler and Vescovi took over around the halfway mark and started shooting lights out from deep. The Volunteers took a 46-32 lead into the break behind 15 points from Chandler and 14 from Vescovi. Tshiebwe led the Wildcats in scoring with 8 points in the first.
Davion Mintz got things going early in the second half for Kentucky, as the Wildcats would cut the lead to 53-45, but Zeigler answered the call and would help the home team pull away again; he ended up with 14 points, 4 assists and 4 steals off the bench. As talented as the 'Cats are, they simply could not keep up with the Vols, as they hit a 3-minute scoring drought in the last 4 minutes of the game.&nbsp;
Tshiebwe was the lone bright spot among Kentucky starters, posting 13 points and 15 rebounds. Mintz and Jacob Toppin posted 11 points each off the bench for the 'Cats. Chandler produced 17 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Tennessee senior and fan favorite John Fulkerson posted 14 points and 8 rebounds off the bench.&nbsp;
Kentucky will look to bounce back and gear up for its first Final Four appearance in seven years. Tennessee is currently projected as a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but could see that change to a No. 3 after this big win.
UPCOMING&nbsp;
Kentucky will visit Alabama on Saturday.
Tennessee visits Arkansas on Saturday afternoon.
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In a critical conference matchup, the Volunteers got their first win against an AP Top-5 team since 2019 by defeating the Wildcats.

Kennedy Chandler scores 17 as No. 16 Tennessee beats No. 4 Kentucky

Nearing the end of the NCAA regular season, Derek Murray takes a dive into the state of the SEC.

State of the Conference: Evaluating the SEC

Lawrence, KS&nbsp; -&nbsp; Kentucky marched into Allen Fieldhouse and did what no one ever does - had their way with the Jayhawks, winning 80-62. Keion Brooks Jr. picked apart Kansas&rsquo; triangle-and-two defense all night and led all players with 27 points. Oscar Tshiebwe also had a phenomenal game in posting 17 points, 14 rebounds, 4 steals and 1 assist.
The Wildcats (17-4, 6-2 SEC) have been finding their groove as of late. They are led by Player of the Year candidate Tshiebwe in points (16.3) and rebounds (15.1). Freshman guard TyTy Washington is a potential lottery pick in this summer&rsquo;s NBA draft, averaging 13.6 points and 4.4 assists per game.&nbsp;
Kansas (17-3, 6-1 Big 12) is rolling through conference play, having won five straight. Ochai Agbaji leads the Jayhawks in points with 21.3 per game and is a projected first-round pick, as well as one of the favorites for Player of the Year. Christian Braun is also playing well this season, scoring 15.3 per game.
Both teams came out running early - the game looked like a track meet, with both looking to beat the other down the floor. Kentucky had a balanced scoring attack early on, and jumped out to a 25-13 lead.&nbsp;
At the seven-minute mark in the first, Kentucky stretched the lead to 35-20, after a Kellan Grady transition triple. They were dominating the glass, shooting 15-24 from the field and had sucked the life right out of Allen Fieldhouse.
The Cats had a great plan, working to slow down Agbaji in the first half by running him off the line and crowding with doubles as much as possible. He had only 3 points at the break - Kentucky held a 51-31 lead. Brooks Jr. led all players with 12 points. Tshiebwe had 11 points and 5 rebounds.&nbsp;
Brooks Jr. opened the second half with 9 points but then KJ Adams, Braun and Agbaji responded and cut the lead to 62-48 by the 13-minute mark. The teams traded baskets for a while, but Kentucky continued to impose their will and extended the lead to 78-54 by the 4-minute mark. After dominating the glass, the visitors left with a 80-62 victory.&nbsp;
Agbaji was held in check all night, shooting only 4 of 14 from the floor for 13 points. Braun provided 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Kellan Grady added 12 points for the Wildcats.
ESPN&rsquo;s Jay Bilas said on the broadcast, &ldquo;This was total domination, in every facet, by Kentucky.&rdquo; It was certainly a statement win.&nbsp;
This was Kentucky&rsquo;s first road win over a top-five team since 2014, when they defeated the then-No. 4 Louisville Cardinals.
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UPCOMING
Kentucky hosts Vanderbilt on Wendesday.
Kansas will visit No. 23 Iowa State on Tuesday.
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Kentucky marched into Allen Fieldhouse and did what no one ever does - had their way with the Jayhawks, winning 80-62.

Brooks Jr. scores 27, No. 12 Kentucky dominates No. 5 Kansas 80-62

In a primetime, Saturday afternoon matchup, the No. 2 Tigers hosted No. 12 Kentucky. The energy in the sold-out arena was palpable. Auburn students camped out overnight in order to get the best seats in the house, and the building was absolutely rocking at the start.
The Kentucky Wildcats (15-4, 5-2 SEC) put together four consecutive victories coming in and are doing well in conference play. Freshman TyTy Washington and junior Oscar Tshiebwe continue to play at a high level and solidify their places in the 2022 NBA draft. Davidson transfer Kellan Grady is one of the best shooters in the conference, connecting on 43% of his attempts from deep.&nbsp;
The Tigers (18-1, 7-0 SEC) have solidified themselves as one of the premier teams in the nation. Freshman Jabari Smith is making a strong case to be the first overall pick in this year&rsquo;s NBA Draft, while transfers Wendell Green Jr. and K.D. Johnson have total command of the backcourt, combining to average over 25.0 points per game.
Walker Kessler led all scorers with 19 points while shooting 8-of-10 from the field. Smith posted 14 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Sahvir Wheeler led Kentucky with 17 points and 4 assists.
Washington picked Smith&rsquo;s pocket which led to a Tshiebwe transition alley-oop right off the bat, but Allen Flanigan answered immediately. Kentucky proceeded to go on an 13-0 run to stretch the lead to 10 behind multiple buckets from Georgia transfer Wheeler. The teams traded points for a while until Washington went out with an ankle injury just before the eight minute mark.&nbsp;
Kentucky took a 33-29 lead into the break with a balanced scoring attack on offense. The teams had combined to shoot a 3-of-13 from behind the arc.
Johnson went on a personal 5-0 run for Auburn to tie the game at 38 just before the under 16-minute timeout, and the roof just about came off the building. It was already a rowdy environment, but after cutting the lead the fans felt the tide shifting. Smith made some big plays soon after and the No. 2 Tigers had a 45-40 lead.&nbsp;
Pandemonium.&nbsp;
Wheeler and Green Jr. started trading three-pointers as Auburn held onto a slight lead, 51-47, at the 11:30 mark. Wheeler then exited after taking a huge hit &mdash; without him and Washington, life became difficult for the Wildcats. Auburn extended the lead to eight before Wheeler was able to return.&nbsp;
Kentucky&rsquo;s Kellan Grady hit a big corner three to cut the lead to four, but Johnson, Green Jr., Kessler and company were able to outlast and hold the lead down the stretch, securing the 80-71 victory.&nbsp;
Tshiebwe had a strong outing for Kentucky, posting 16 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 steals. Grady scored 17 while shooting 4-of-7 from deep. K.D. Johnson finished with 17 points including some big-time shots in huge moments.
Amid the madness in the arena, coach Bruce Pearl said, "Look at our kids, our students, our players &mdash; this is what it's all about. We're a football school, but we're also an everything school." With this win, the No. 2 Tigers have a tremendous opportunity to earn the school&rsquo;s very first No. 1 AP ranking in basketball.
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UPCOMING
Auburn visits Mizzou on Tuesday.
Kentucky hosts Mississippi State on Tuesday night.
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The Tigers (18-1, 7-0 SEC) have solidified themselves as one of the premier teams in the nation.

Auburn defeats Kentucky 80-71, eyes top ranking

College Station, Texas &ndash; In a heavyweight fight between the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the Southeastern Conference, the No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats (15-3, 5-1 SEC) held off the Aggies of Texas A&amp;M on the road, 64-58.&nbsp;
Junior guard Sahvir Wheeler led the Wildcats in scoring with 12 points, while Oscar Tshiebwe provided 7 points, 14 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks.
Off to their best start since the days of Alex Caruso, the Aggies (15-3, 4-1 SEC) came into the contest riding eight consecutive wins and started hot, as they gained control early in this game. Extending the lead to 29-16 halfway through the first, their on-ball defense started to create numerous issues for the Wildcats' backcourt, forcing Wheeler into four quick turnovers. Tshiebwe vs. Henry Coleman III was the key matchup in the first half, as they battled for rebounds &ndash; there were plenty to fight for due to poor combined shooting.&nbsp;
At the half, the two squads combined to shoot for 2-for-19 from behind the arc, unusual numbers with usually-strong shooters on the floor for both teams. Texas A&amp;M led 35-30 going into the break with Coleman, Marcus Williams and Quenton Jackson leading the way offensively.
After Wheeler got things moving for Kentucky to start the second half, Tshiebwe and Jacob Toppin started to dominate the inside, especially on the glass. Toppin ended with 9 points and 6 rebounds, including some key plays in clutch moments. Free throws also hurt the Aggies from start to finish, as the team connected on only 5 of their 12 attempts. Freshman TyTy Washington struggled early but was able to hit some tough shots down the stretch when it mattered the most.&nbsp;
Entering the night, zero of the top-20 SEC players in Box Plus-Minus was from Texas A&amp;M, but Coleman is trending that way after this game. Coleman had a tremendous effort, posting 17 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block and relentless energy throughout the contest. Aaron Cash also played well for the Aggies, logging 8 points, 11 rebounds and 1 assist.
After the win, coach John Calipari kept his comments brief stating, &ldquo;This will be a three-minute postgame. Let&rsquo;s see how quickly we can get out of this place.&rdquo;
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UPCOMING
Texas A&amp;M will visit Fayetteville, Arkansas on Saturday to take on the Razorbacks.
Kentucky will host the No. 2 Auburn Tigers this Saturday in Lexington.&nbsp;

In a battle between the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the SEC, the No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats (15-3, 5-1 SEC) held off Texas A&M, 64-58. 

Kentucky holds off Texas A&M, wins in College Station

The college basketball calendar has turned over to a new year and a new stage of the season as conference play gets underway.&nbsp;
With stakes ramping up towards March Madness, top prospects are expected to accordingly step up their games. But already, we've seen star-level talents and breakout players make waves. Matt Babcock and the Basketball News Draft Team recently updated their <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft Big Board</a>, with Jabari Smith notably swiping the top spot. Babcock fielded some questions about the ranking, as well as players to watch over the next few months.
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1. What inspired the move to place Jabari Smith atop your Big Board?
To be completely honest with you: Last year, I was tempted to put Evan Mobley at No. 1 pretty much all year, but I didn&rsquo;t, and now I regret it. I am probably as high on Jabari Smith as I was on Evan Mobley at the same stage, and I didn&rsquo;t want to make the same mistake twice.
Jabari Smith checks so many boxes and his upside is through the roof. I&rsquo;ve gone on record saying that if everything clicks for him, he could become a prototypical stretch four. I mean, if I think a player can be prototypical at any position, how do I not put him at No. 1? So I&rsquo;m high on Jabari Smith. However, I do think there are reasonable arguments that can be made for both Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren as the top prospects. For the time being, though, I&rsquo;m rolling with Jabari Smith.
2. What is fueling the momentum carrying Bennedict Mathurin to No. 5?
I was intrigued by Mathurin last year, and I think he would have had a chance to be a first-round pick had he declared for the draft. I became somewhat concerned with his lack of ball skills early in this season and dropped him some, but he&rsquo;s recently elevated his game. He has good size, is a big-time athlete, and is tough &mdash; he&rsquo;s an alpha, for sure. He&rsquo;s shooting the ball with range and seems to be expanding his offensive arsenal to where he can be considered a three-level scorer.
On top of all of that, I think he has a chance of being an effective defender. He&rsquo;s a great example of a young prospect that is likely going to benefit significantly by betting on himself and returning to school for an extra year to continue developing. It&rsquo;s sure looking like he&rsquo;s about to cash out big.
3. Has Jaden Ivey separated himself as the top lead guard in the class? Who could challenge him?
Jaden Ivey has been terrific this season, and so has the Purdue team. I love watching them play! Regarding Ivey separating himself from other lead guards, I&rsquo;d say that he has on some level or another. It also depends on how you interpret the classification &ldquo;lead guard.&rdquo; There&rsquo;s no denying that he&rsquo;s an incredibly dynamic player with the ball in his hands. However, I see his role ultimately being more along the lines of Dwyane Wade or Donovan Mitchell. They both generated a lot of offense on the ball, but were usually paired with another ball handler.
As for other prospects that could challenge Ivey, I&rsquo;m still intrigued by Jaden Hardy&rsquo;s raw talent. Many of us expected him to step into the G League Ignite and dominate, myself included. Well, he hasn&rsquo;t done that. It seems as if he&rsquo;s been going through some growing pains. I still think he has a chance to be selected high, though.
I&rsquo;m also very high on Alabama&rsquo;s J.D. Davison, Tennessee&rsquo;s Kennedy Chandler, and Kentucky&rsquo;s TyTy Washington. What I find interesting is that all five of those prospects that I listed are very different. That order could very well be determined by the style of play each team selecting prefers.
4. Which college freshmen have you seen start to find their footing recently?
The first name that comes to mind is A.J. Griffin from Duke. We projected him as a lottery pick going into the season. He had a slow start, but he was coming off of an injury, and he hadn&rsquo;t played much the last couple of seasons. I think he just needed a little time to get his footing. However, he&rsquo;s looked tremendous in the last couple of games. He has such an impressive physical profile for a wing, and his shot-making and creating abilities are off the charts. We currently have him at No. 12, but I could easily see us moving him up even higher if he keeps progressing.
5. Who has been the biggest surprise star in college so far?
Johnny Davis from Wisconsin has been the biggest surprise so far. He wasn&rsquo;t even on our priority watch list going into the season. He&rsquo;s a tough, strong scoring wing. He reminds me of former NBA player Arron Afflalo. He&rsquo;s a good athlete and talented, but he doesn&rsquo;t necessarily blow you away with his tools. He&rsquo;s just a tough-nosed player who&rsquo;s going to get it done. I&rsquo;m scheduled to see him live in a few weeks when they play at Nebraska. I&rsquo;m looking forward to that game.
6. What changes for you when college basketball transitions to conference play?
The way I typically put together my schedule, conference play gets a little easier for me. Strategically, I travel aggressively in November and December to get my bases covered. Then I can pick and choose my spots to travel to in between regional conference games. I&rsquo;ve seen most of our high-priority prospects in person this year already, and I feel like I have a pretty good grip on the bulk of the draft at this point. The way I look at it, we&rsquo;ve already done a lot of the necessary work.
Now, I can switch gears to get into more of a track mode, where I focus more on monitoring players rather than becoming familiar with them. I make more of an emphasis to gather intel in January and February too.
7. What is behind the rise of MarJon Beauchamp with G League Ignite?
I first met and saw MarJon work out a couple of years ago when he was training with my good friend Frank Matrisciano. At the time, MarJon was physically weak, and he had a reputation for having a selective motor and bad body language. He&rsquo;s gotten so much stronger in two years, and his motor and attitude have gone from being questionable to now being two of his strengths. I&rsquo;m not sure that I appreciate anything more than a player addressing his issues to accomplish their goals. Hats off to MarJon; he has done just that.&nbsp;
8. On the international front, has any particular prospect seriously raised their stock abroad?
No, not necessarily. Actually, regarding international prospects, it&rsquo;s not looking like there will be nearly as many selected this year as we initially thought. For one, a lot of the top prospects in Europe aren&rsquo;t playing that much, which makes it challenging to evaluate them. Also, one of our favorites, Roko Prkacin, is out for the season due to injury, unfortunately.
On the other hand, we are still very excited about the upside of Nikola Jovic, who&rsquo;s playing in Serbia with Mega, and Ousmane Dieng, a French player currently playing for the New Zealand Breakers. Keep in mind that many of the top international prospects that we are high on are young and will have the option of withdrawing their names from the draft, or not even entering at all. Both seem to be more of a common practice by international players and agents in recent years.
Check out BasketballNews.com's latest <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft Big Board</a>.

Matt Babcock gives an update on the top 2022 NBA Draft prospects as the new year gets started.

2022 NBA Draft: Q&A with Matt Babcock as conference play tips off

The college basketball season is underway, which means BasketballNews.com's scouting coverage has been kicked into full gear. The bulk of my travel and scouting schedule is set through the entire season, and let me tell you &mdash; I have some terrific basketball to see! As I scour the map evaluating prospects at various levels, I'll be sharing my takeaways every step of the way. I hope you enjoy it!
Here&rsquo;s where I was last week:
State Farm Champions Classic &mdash; New York, New York
Last Tuesday, Nov. 9, the college basketball season officially began, and I didn&rsquo;t waste any time getting out into the scouting trenches. I traveled to New York City for the State Farm Champions Classic to see a star-studded doubleheader that pitted Michigan State against Kansas and Kentucky against Duke. Here are a few of my thoughts and takeaways on some of the top prospects:
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/paolo-banchero" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paolo Banchero, Duke</a> MIN: 31 | PTS: 22 | REB: 7 | AST: 0 | STL: 2 | FG: 7-11 | 3PT: 0-3 | FT: 8-9 | TO: 1
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I was already very familiar with Banchero prior to this trip. We had already discussed with our staff internally that Chet Holmgren and Banchero are likely in a category of their own in regards to the 2022 NBA Draft. We started the season with Holmgren at No. 1 and Banchero right behind him at No. 2.
After seeing Banchero in a Duke uniform &mdash; under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden, dominating a talented Kentucky team &mdash; it&rsquo;s hard not to get even more excited about him as a prospect. At 6-foot-10 and 250 pounds, Banchero possesses a unique combination of traits, as he is so strong and powerful, but also skilled. He does a little bit of everything, but what intrigues me the most about Banchero is his ability to create on his own versus essentially anyone that&rsquo;s matched up against him, big or small. There are not many players on the NBA level that you can run your offense through, and I think Banchero is going to be one of those guys. I&rsquo;m starting to think it could be the separating piece between Banchero and Holmgren. However, there&rsquo;s a lot more to watch in order to figure things out. But the good thing is we won&rsquo;t have to wait long to see them square off, and the next time I&rsquo;ll see Banchero in-person will be Nov. 26 in Las Vegas &mdash; facing off against none other than Holmgren&rsquo;s Gonzaga Bulldogs.
In the meantime, we&rsquo;ve moved Banchero into the No. 1 spot on our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft Big Board</a>.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/ochai-agbaji" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ochai Agbaji, Kansas</a> MIN: 36 | PTS: 29 | REB: 2 | AST: 1 | STL: 2 | FG: 9-17 | 3PT: 3-7 | FT: 8-8 | TO: 0
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It seems like it was just yesterday that my friend and former colleague, Luca Desta, called me after he scouted Kansas at Baylor for us while we worked for Babcock Hoops during the 2018-19 college season. A lot has changed since then: I&rsquo;ve transitioned our scouting coverage from Babcock Hoops to BasketballNews.com, Luca is now Vice President of Global Scouting for the Utah Jazz and Ochai Agbaji is now in his senior season for the Jayhawks. I&rsquo;m happy to say that we&rsquo;ve all been moving up, including Agbaji.&nbsp;
In New York, Agbaji showed me everything that I wanted to see from him. His athleticism and physical tools were never in question; however, he has always seemed a little bit mechanical and inconsistent on the offensive end. That was not the case at the State Farm Champions Classic. In 29 minutes, Agbaji played with such fluidity and confidence, knocking down shots from all over the place, and he seemed to be everywhere with lob finishes and slashing plays. He played with such great energy, and had a major presence. Naturally, some will be turned off since Agbaji is a bit older for an NBA prospect &mdash; he will be 22 on draft night &mdash; but I&rsquo;d like to remind those folks that Chris Duarte, who was 24 years old on draft night, is already contributing to the Pacers at a high level as a rookie. Although I&rsquo;ve scouted Agbaji for years now, I&rsquo;ve never been so excited about him as a prospect. Subsequently, we have moved him up our 2022 NBA Draft Big Board to No. 38.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/trevor-keels" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trevor Keels, Duke</a> MIN: 34 | PTS: 25 | REB: 1 | AST: 3 | STL: 3 | FG: 10-18 | 3PT: 1-4 | FT: 4-6 | TO: 2
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I had watched some film and was familiar with Trevor Keels&rsquo; status as a top recruit, but last Tuesday was the first opportunity I had to see him play in-person. In these scenarios, I go in with an approach to be a sponge and absorb as much information as possible. I do it in an effort to be able to create my own unique and unbiased evaluation of the player, rather than be influenced by rankings, hype or other people&rsquo;s opinions.
At first glance, I didn&rsquo;t know what to make of Keels&rsquo; body type. He&rsquo;s listed at 6-foot-4 and 221 pounds. He looks more like a football player rather than a basketball player &mdash; he&rsquo;s big and thick, especially for a guard. On the court, he was able to utilize his physicality and ball handling ability to regularly get to the rim and play &ldquo;bully-ball,&rdquo; effectively overpowering a Kentucky team that tends to play multi-guard lineups including Sahvir Wheeler, TyTy Washington and Davion Mintz. They all struggled to stop Keels. He also showed an ability to shoot the ball from outside. All in all, I&rsquo;m not sure he could have had a better start to his college career, as he scored 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting in 34 minutes.&nbsp;
I walked away a little torn in my opinion of Keels as a prospect. On one hand, he&rsquo;s a true freshman who lit up a talented Kentucky team in his first college game on a huge stage. You really can&rsquo;t ignore that. On the other hand, I question his body and his lack of athleticism. Also, what role will he fill in the NBA? Despite my questions (it&rsquo;s part of my evaluation process), I am certainly intrigued with Keels and plan to monitor him closely. In the meantime, I have decided to include him on our 2022 NBA Draft Big Board, at No. 29. &nbsp;
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/tyty-washington" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TyTy Washington, Kentucky</a> MIN: 28 | PTS: 9 | REB: 1 | AST: 3 | STL: 1 | FG: 3-14 | 3PT: 0-2 | FT: 3-4 | TO: 0
I&rsquo;ve gotten to know TyTy Washington as a player very well over the last year, and I think it would be safe to say that I&rsquo;m one of his biggest supporters. Unfortunately, opening night was not Washington&rsquo;s best game. Although his decision making was solid, he struggled to make shots, making only 3-of-14 shot attempts. I think he had a hard time finding his rhythm, as Kentucky played him mostly off the ball alongside small point guard, Savhir Wheeler.&nbsp;
Long-term, I see Washington being an on-ball point guard in the NBA who will play with a solid balance of scoring and facilitating. Unless head coach John Calipari makes some dramatic changes, Washington is going to need to adapt to his new role to make the most of this season. However, I believe that he will be able to do so effectively.&nbsp;
He didn&rsquo;t light the world on fire in his first game, but there won&rsquo;t be any knee-jerk reactions from me anytime soon. We currently have TyTy Washington at No. 11 on our 2022 NBA Draft Big Board.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/max-christie" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Max Christie, Michigan State</a> MIN: 31 | PTS: 9 | REB: 3 | AST: 0 | STL: 1 | FG: 3-10 | 3PT: 2-4 | FT: 1-2 | TO: 2
My first thoughts when watching Max Christie for the first time last week was, &ldquo;He&rsquo;s very thin, he has a baby face and he looks like a young freshman.&rdquo; Furthermore, his stat line and production wouldn&rsquo;t blow away anyone either, as he only scored 9 points on 3-of-10 shooting. I could easily see someone thinking he blended into the game and was underwhelming, and subequently drawing a quick conclusion of &ldquo;he&rsquo;s not ready.&rdquo;
Christie certainly didn&rsquo;t dominate in that game by any means. However, one of my favorite things about evaluating young NBA prospects is reading between the lines. With Christie, I saw a 6-foot-6 guard with a sweet stroke that has a great feel for the game. I also find it to be interesting that Tom Izzo &mdash; a great, but demanding and tough coach &mdash; trusted Christie, a true freshman, to start and play 31 minutes in his first career college game. A huge one at that.
There&rsquo;s a reasonable argument that a player like Christie would benefit from staying in school to get stronger, mature as a player and get his game polished to a point where he could produce at a high level in college before entering the pros. However, the same exact thing could have been said about Josh Primo at Alabama, who only averaged 8.1 points in 22 minutes per game last season. Primo was selected No. 11 by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2021 NBA Draft. That leaves me thinking: Could Max Christie be this year&rsquo;s Josh Primo?
Christie is currently No. 18 on our 2022 NBA Draft Big Board.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/oscar-tshiebwe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky</a> MIN: 29 | PTS: 17 | REB: 20 | AST: 1 | STL: 1 | BLK: 2 | FG: 8-14 | 3PT: 0-0 | FT: 1-1 | TO: 2
My uncle, Rob Babcock, a former longtime front office executive in the NBA, used to say &ldquo;playing hard is a skill and it&rsquo;s not discussed enough.&rdquo; Oscar Tshiebwe has his limitations, but he plays so hard. At 6-foot-9 and a rock solid 255 pounds, Tshiebwe is so physical and has &ldquo;the pedal to the metal&rdquo; at all times. He was undoubtedly the bright spot for the Kentucky team versus Duke, scoring 17 points and grabbing an incredible 20 rebounds. Actually, he secured 20 rebounds in their second game versus Robert Morris too.
Tshiebwe likely won&rsquo;t be for everyone in the NBA, as bruisers without an ability to stretch the floor are not nearly as valuable as they once were, however, I think Tshiebwe finds a way to stick.
We currently have Tshiebwe at No. 50 in our 2022 NBA Draft Big Board.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/mark-williams" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mark Williams, Duke</a> MIN: 18 | PTS: 5 | REB: 6 | AST: 0 | STL: 2 | BLK: 3 | FG: 2-3 | 3PT: 0-0 | FT: 1-2 | TO: 0
At 7-foot tall with a 7-foot-7 wingspan, Mark Williams is big and long. There will be a place for him in the league as a rim-protector, rebounder and finisher around the rim. I&rsquo;m still not overly confident as to what his draft range will ultimately look like, but he&rsquo;s a prospect certainly worth tracking.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/aj-griffin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AJ Griffin, Duke</a> MIN: 11 | PTS: 2 | REB: 2 | AST: 0 | FG: 1-3 | 3PT: 0-1 | FT: 0-0 | TO: 0
Former 5-star recruit AJ Griffin didn&rsquo;t get a chance to do much in his college debut. He just recently returned from a minor injury and I think he's just getting in the swing of things. He wasn't able to show much, but what I did see, I liked. At 6-foot-6 and a sturdy 222 pounds, Griffin looks to have the tools to be a a very good NBA player. I am certainly excited to keep watching him as his upside is very high.
<a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft/2022-big-board/players/daimion-collins" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daimion Collins, Kentucky</a> MIN: 2 | PTS: 0 | REB: 0 | AST: 0 | FG: 0-0 | 3PT: 0-0 | FT: 0-0 | TO: 0
I&rsquo;m sure this was not how Daimion Collins envisioned his college career starting. But although he didn't get much of a chance to play in the season opener, he did have a breakout game this past Friday vs. Robert Morris. He scored 14 points and blocked 4 shots in that contest. He has a lot of room for growth, but considering his length and athleticism, Collins&rsquo; upside is very high.
Latitude Longitude Classic &mdash; Phoenix, Arizona
Following the double-header, I made a cross-country flight out to Phoenix, Arizona to watch some top high-school talent. In doing so, I was able to get another look at top prospects in the Class of 2022: Dior Johnson (committed to Oregon), Adem Bona (committed to UCLA), MJ Rice (committed to Kansas), Chance Westry (committed to Auburn) and Dylan Andrews (committed to UCLA). I was also able to see top prospects in the class of 2023: Baye Fall, Mookie Cook, Kylan Boswell and Assane Diop.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
I&rsquo;m in Phoenix, Arizona, tonight to see top-rated big man Baye Fall of <a href="https://twitter.com/DenverPrep?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DenverPrep</a> as they face <a href="https://twitter.com/PhhPrep?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PhhPrep</a> in the Latitude Longitude Classic. Fall, a 6&rsquo;11&rdquo; center, is currently a consensus top-6 player in the class of 2023. <a href="https://t.co/ebum3SEOxh">pic.twitter.com/ebum3SEOxh</a>
&mdash; Matt Babcock (@MattBabcock11) <a href="https://twitter.com/MattBabcock11/status/1458973833449259010?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 12, 2021</a></blockquote>

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As an NBA Draft Analyst, for me to be able to get opportunities to see likely future NBA prospects while they&rsquo;re in high school, is invaluable to my evaluation process. Of course, players at that stage are far from finished products, but it is great to be able to start the evaluation process early. I&rsquo;m not going to provide detailed breakdowns on these players today, but don&rsquo;t be surprised if you start hearing these names more and more. There is a lot of talent coming up!
All in all, my first big trip of the season was a fruitful one. Needless to say, I&rsquo;ve started the season off with a bang, but I have no intentions of slowing down anytime soon. I have another big trip set to begin Thursday, when I head to Florida for a number of college games, and they'll be loaded with NBA talent.
Next week's preview: Jabari Smith, Patrick Baldwin, Matthew Cleveland and more.

Matt Babcock details his observations from NCAA opening night at the State Farm Champions Classic in New York.

Babcock's Takeaways: Paolo Banchero, Ochai Agbaji, Trevor Keels, more

The 2021-22 college basketball season is officially underway!
Subsequently, our scouting staff will have its eyes glued on NBA prospects across the country. However, considering that the bulk of top draft selections are one-and-done freshmen each year, we will take an emphasized look at college newcomers.
I recently shared a list of the <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-draft-top-incoming-college-freshmen-with-pro-potential" target="_blank" rel="noopener">top freshmen we will be keeping close tabs on</a>. Below are last night&rsquo;s stat lines from a number of those NBA prospects that we currently have included on our <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft Big Board</a>:
Chet Holmgren - Gonzaga vs. Dixie State MIN: 28&nbsp; PTS: 14&nbsp; REB: 13&nbsp; AST: 6&nbsp; FG: 4-6&nbsp; 3FG: 0-2&nbsp; FT: 6-9&nbsp; TO: 2 BLK: 7
Paolo Banchero - Duke vs. Kentucky MIN: 31&nbsp; PTS: 22&nbsp; REB: 7&nbsp; AST: 0 FG: 7-11&nbsp; 3FG: 0-3&nbsp; FT: 8-9&nbsp; TO: 1&nbsp; STL: 2 &nbsp;
Jalen Duren - Memphis vs. Tennessee Tech MIN: 31 PTS: 15&nbsp; REB: 6&nbsp; AST: 2&nbsp; FG: 7-10&nbsp; 3FG: 0-0&nbsp; FT: 1-2 TO: 3 BLK: 5
Jabari Smith - Auburn vs. Morehead State MIN: 21&nbsp; PTS: 8&nbsp; REB: 6&nbsp; AST: 3&nbsp; FG: 3-6&nbsp; 3FG: 2-3&nbsp; FT: 0-0&nbsp; TO: 0&nbsp; STL: 3&nbsp; BLK: 1
Patrick Baldwin Jr. - UW Milwaukee vs. North Dakota MIN: 37&nbsp; PTS: 21&nbsp; REB: 10&nbsp; AST: 1&nbsp; FG: 6-14&nbsp; 3FG: 2-7&nbsp; FT: 7-8&nbsp; TO: 3&nbsp; BLK: 1&nbsp;
AJ Griffin - Duke vs. Kentucky MIN: 11&nbsp; PTS: 2&nbsp; REB: 2&nbsp; AST: 0&nbsp; FG: 1-3&nbsp; 3FG: 0-1&nbsp; FT: 0-0&nbsp; TO: 0 
Peyton Watson - UCLA vs. CSU Bakersfield MIN: 20&nbsp; PTS: 7&nbsp; REB: 5&nbsp; AST: 0&nbsp; FG: 2-11&nbsp; 3FG: 0-5&nbsp; FT: 3-4&nbsp; TO: 3&nbsp; BLK: 2&nbsp; STL: 1
TyTy Washington - Kentucky vs. Duke MIN: 28&nbsp; PTS: 9&nbsp; REB: 3&nbsp; AST: 3&nbsp; FG: 3-14&nbsp; 3FG: 0-2&nbsp; FT: 3-4&nbsp; TO: 0&nbsp; STL: 1&nbsp; 
Kennedy Chandler - Tennessee vs. UT Martin MIN: 22&nbsp; PTS: 20&nbsp; REB: 1&nbsp; AST: 4&nbsp; FG: 7-10&nbsp; 3FG: 4-4&nbsp; FT: 2-2&nbsp; TO: 3&nbsp; &nbsp;
JD Davison - Alabama vs. Louisiana Tech MIN: 26&nbsp; PTS: 12&nbsp; REB: 6&nbsp; AST: 6&nbsp; FG: 3-4&nbsp; 3FG: 1-2 &nbsp; FT: 5-7&nbsp; TO: 2&nbsp; STL: 1
Daimion Collins - Kentucky vs. Duke MIN: 2&nbsp; PTS: 0&nbsp; REB: 0&nbsp; AST: 0 FG: 0-0&nbsp; 3FG: 0-0&nbsp; FT: 0-0&nbsp; TO: 1&nbsp;&nbsp;
Max Christie - Michigan State vs. Kansas MIN: 31&nbsp; PTS: 9&nbsp; REB: 3&nbsp; AST: 0&nbsp; FG: 3-10&nbsp; 3FG: 2-4&nbsp; FT: 1-2&nbsp; TO: 2&nbsp; &nbsp;
Brandon Huntley-Hatfield vs. UT Martin MIN: 19&nbsp; PTS: 7&nbsp; REB: 6&nbsp; AST: 0&nbsp; FG: 3-5&nbsp; 3FG: 1-1&nbsp; FT: 0-0&nbsp; TO: 1&nbsp; STL: 2&nbsp; BLK: 2
 Others:
Nate Bittle - Orgeon vs. Texas Southern MIN: 7&nbsp; PTS: 0 REB: 0&nbsp; AST: 0&nbsp; FG: 0-1&nbsp; 3FG: 0-0&nbsp; FT: 0-0 TO: 0&nbsp; BLK: 1&nbsp; 
Nolan Hickman - Gonzaga vs. Dixie State MIN: 17&nbsp; PTS: 11&nbsp; REB: 2&nbsp; AST: 2&nbsp; FG: 5-9&nbsp; 3FG: 1-4&nbsp; FT: 0-0&nbsp; TO: 1&nbsp; STL: 1
Harrison Ingram - Stanford vs. Tarleton MIN: 31&nbsp; PTS: 16&nbsp; REB: 7&nbsp; AST: 1&nbsp; FG: 7-11&nbsp; 3FG: 1-2&nbsp; FT: 1-1&nbsp; TO: 1
Trevor Keels - Duke vs. Kentucky MIN: 34&nbsp; PTS: 25&nbsp; REB: 1&nbsp; AST: 2 &nbsp; FG: 10-18&nbsp; 3FG: 1-4 &nbsp; FT:&nbsp; 4-6 TO: 2&nbsp; STL: 3
Bryce McGowens - Nebraska vs. Western Illinois MIN: 39&nbsp; PTS: 25&nbsp; REB: 6&nbsp; AST: 0&nbsp; FG: 7-18&nbsp; 3FG: 1-6&nbsp; FT: 10-12&nbsp; TO: 2&nbsp; 
Efton Reid - LSU vs. UL Monroe MIN: 24&nbsp; PTS: 16&nbsp; REB: 6&nbsp; AST: 1&nbsp; FG: 7-10&nbsp; 3FG: 0-1&nbsp; FT: 2-3&nbsp; TO: 2&nbsp; BLK: 1
Hunter Sallis - Gonzaga vs. Dixie State MIN: 13&nbsp; PTS: 9&nbsp; REB: 2&nbsp; AST: 0&nbsp; FG: 4-7&nbsp; 3FG: 0-0&nbsp; FT: 1-1&nbsp; TO: 0&nbsp;

Derek Murray highlights the box scores of college basketball's top freshmen with one-and-done potential for the 2022 NBA Draft.

2022 NBA Draft: Opening night stat lines from potential one-and-dones

Matt Babcock breaks down the top 2022 NBA Draft prospects from the SEC.

2022 NBA Draft: Top prospects in the SEC

College basketball is just around the corner, and when the season tips off on Nov. 9, the scouting season will truly kick into high gear.
BasketballNews.com Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock and his team of scouts have already been watching prospects in U.S. professional programs (G League Ignite and Overtime Elite) as well as abroad, and have made stops at college pro days and exhibition games. So even though the collegiate season has yet to start, they have already been hard at work scouting some must-watch players.
I asked Babcock some questions about what he has observed in the collegiate preseason, what he expects from the early stretches of play, and more. Be sure to also check out the BasketballNews.com <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/draft" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2022 NBA Draft Big Board</a>.
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1. From a scouting perspective, how much do you take away from college basketball preseason?
Well, I evaluate hundreds of prospects every year. I&rsquo;m in the information-gathering business, and there is an extensive process to be able to gather enough information and come to a conclusive evaluation of a player prior to their draft. During the preseason &mdash; depending on who I&rsquo;ve seen before &mdash; I know some players better than others, how many times I&rsquo;ve seen them and in what setting. If I&rsquo;m seeing a player for the first time, it&rsquo;s the first step in my evaluation process.&nbsp;
In those cases, I&rsquo;m really just trying to get a feel for the player&rsquo;s skill set, body type, movements and personality &mdash; essentially creating a platform to work off in order to be able to do a deeper dive on the player. If I already know the player decently, I try to get a pulse of where they&rsquo;re at in their development. Both scenarios are important to me. I carefully put together my travel and my day-to-day efforts to make sure I gather enough information on all of the relevant prospects by draft night. To make a long story short, I value seeing prospects in all different types of settings, including practices and scrimmages during the preseason.
2. What were the most significant changes you made to your recently updated Big Board?
I&rsquo;d say the biggest change was including some additional freshmen who I&rsquo;m somewhat on the fence about. I recently included Max Christie from Michigan State, Moussa Diabate from Michigan, and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield from Tennessee. Projecting how a true freshman will do right off the bat can be extremely challenging. I spend a lot of time evaluating high-school prospects in an effort to get a head start on the evaluation process.&nbsp;
I&rsquo;m confident that all of the freshmen we currently have on our Big Board have the tools to be NBA prospects this year, but there are so many variables that can affect their imminent draft status: How will they adapt to their new setting? What role will they play for their team? Different things along those lines. I make it a point to track freshmen closely because oftentimes it can go either way.
3. What opening week games would you consider to be must-watch for scouts?
I&rsquo;m kicking the season off with a bang. I&rsquo;m heading to New York City for the State Farm Champions Classic to see Kansas versus Michigan State, and then Kentucky versus Duke at Madison Square Garden. Obviously it&rsquo;s great from a scouting standpoint because I&rsquo;ll see a bunch of top prospects. But even just as a basketball fan, I&rsquo;ll get to see some of the best coaches in the country go head-to-head: Bill Self versus Tom Izzo, and then John Calipari versus Coach K. It doesn&rsquo;t get any better than that.
4. After seeing Kentucky and TyTy Washington recently, what type of impact do you expect from him?
I&rsquo;ve spent a lot of time watching TyTy over the course of the last year. I feel like he&rsquo;s one of those players who I&rsquo;m constantly higher on than the consensus. My latest trip to Kentucky kept that idea intact. In fact, I walked away even higher on him than I was before. Kentucky had a brutal season last year, but I&rsquo;m expecting for them to bounce back this season &mdash; and I think TyTy is going to lead the charge for them. They&rsquo;ll go as TyTy goes. That said, I think he&rsquo;s going to be a star player for them and subsequently become a lottery pick come June.
5. Which prospects moved the needle the most this preseason?
There are a few guys in my book who have impressed me and helped themselves recently &mdash; Max Christie from Michigan State, Oscar Tshiebwe from Kentucky and MarJon Beauchamp from the G League Ignite.
6. What college freshman not currently on your Big Board could possibly be included sometime soon?
I&rsquo;ve got my eye on a few. Nolan Hickman and Hunter Sallis from Gonzaga, Harrison Ingram from Stanford, Trevor Keels from Duke and Bryce McGowens from Nebraska. There are some others too, but those are names that come to mind first.
7. How does this year&rsquo;s G League Ignite team compare to last year&rsquo;s?
Last year, the Ignite produced two lottery picks in Jalen Green and Jonathan Kuminga. This year, <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/babcock-takeaways-from-the-g-league-ignites-season-opener" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I&rsquo;m expecting</a> Jaden Hardy to be a high lottery pick, but I don&rsquo;t expect any of the other guys to be taken quite that high. However, I think they have more depth and overall talent top-to-bottom. We are currently projecting that Dyson Daniels will be a first round pick, Michael Foster is not far off and MarJon Beauchamp is doing some really good things early for them too.
8. Which international prospects have risen for you in recent weeks?
One player to keep an eye on is Ismael Kamagate, who is playing for Paris. He&rsquo;s a big, athletic rim-protector and rim-runner. Our international scout, and a former NBA scout, Jason Filippi, recently watched Kamagate and had the chance to interview him. <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/2022-nba-draft-qa-french-big-man-ismael-kamagate" target="_blank" rel="noopener">His Q&amp;A is up on BasketballNews.com</a>. Jason walked away impressed with Kamagate. He&rsquo;s not currently on our Big Board but I wouldn&rsquo;t be surprised if we ultimately included him.

Ethan Fuller checks in with Senior NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock ahead of the 2021-22 college basketball season.