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NCAAM Men's March Madness Jaden Bradley has provided senior leadership and more than a few clutch shots for West Region champion Arizona. Ezra Shaw / Getty Images College basketball’s final weekend has arrived, and an enticing group of teams is heading to Indianapolis for the men’s Final Four. Michigan and Arizona have been dominant all season, and Illinois has been fantastic in the NCAA Tournament. UConn had, by far, the most dramatic run to this stage, and Dan Hurley’s squad is hunting a third national championship in the last four seasons. Advertisement Each team possesses a wealth of talent. We took a shot at ranking all 20 starters at the Final Four, sorting each player by overall ability and value to their team. It was a grueling exercise, and it certainly has plenty of room for debate (except, in my humble opinion, at the No. 1 and No. 2 spots). Considering all four of these teams rank in the top 10 in Ken Pom’s adjusted marginal efficiency, it is no surprise that every player on this list makes a positive impact in their own ways. Balancing all of the squads’ varying styles and points of emphasis made it an even bigger challenge, so please, feel free to attack with your torches and pitchforks! And of course, all of these teams got this far with help from critical contributions off the bench. Andrej Stojakovic will likely play more minutes than Jake Davis for Illinois, and Michigan’s one-two punch of reserve guards Roddy Gayle Jr. and Trey Mc Kenney is brutal for opponents to handle. Arizona’s Tobe Awaka might be the nation’s best rebounder, and UConn would not be here without the contributions of Malachi Smith and Jayden Ross. But for this exercise, we are sticking purely with the starters. The easiest part of these rankings was placing Lendeborg at the top. He has been a dominant force for arguably the best team in the country, and his play has only elevated in the NCAA Tournament. Over the last three blowout victories, he is averaging 25. 0 points, 8. 3 rebounds and 4. 3 assists with just two total turnovers on 61. 4 percent shooting (52. 6 percent from 3). He’s also an outstanding and versatile defender. If he maintains that level, Michigan is winning the national championship. Wagler’s emergence into an All-American in Champaign triggered Illinois’ ascent into a Final Four-caliber squad. He is a devastating scorer against mismatches, using a pure jumper and disconcerting changes of pace to put defenders in a blender. His unorthodox play on the ball allows him to excel at getting to the free-throw line, as well, despite his thin frame. He had his best performance in at least a month in the regional final, going for 25 points on 8-of-17 shooting against an excellent Iowa defense. He is a vastly different player than he was the first time Illinois squared off against UConn in late November. Advertisement Bradley may not leap out of the box score the way some of these other stars do. He is not Arizona’s best scorer (Brayden Burries) or best defender (Motiejus Krivas), but he is Arizona’s best and most important player. He is an outstanding on-ball menace, using physicality and quickness to thwart opposing lead guards, and he excels at getting downhill off the bounce. His pull-up game is also highly effective, a pivotal weapon against high-level defenses. He earned the Big 12’s player of the year award due to his clutch finishing and two-way contributions. UConn’s big man has been a colossus in the NCAA Tournament, starting with a completely absurd 31-point, 27-rebound performance in the first-round victory over Furman. He is averaging 21. 8 points, 13. 5 rebounds and 2. 3 blocks in UConn’s first four tourney games. The Huskies’ offense funnels through Reed in the paint, using his immense strength to create quick buckets. Reed is also a defensive anchor; he ranks in the top 40 nationally in defensive rebound rate (No. 39) and block rate (No. 26), per Ken Pom. Mara, an elite interior finisher and rim protector, is simply too big not to be effective. He is a huge reason Michigan ranks in the 95th percentile in field goal percentage at the rim on offense and the 88th percentile in field goal percentage allowed at the rim on defense, per CBB Analytics. He’s an even more valuable deterrent: Michigan ranks in the 99th percentile in rim attempt frequency allowed, mostly because foes are afraid to challenge him. Mara is also a sneaky effective post scorer and passer, adeptly finding open cutters and shooters when defenses send too much attention his way. Burries is ridiculously polished for a freshman. He is a clear positive on both ends of the floor, and he knows how to use his imposing frame to impact the game. He also has the highest offensive upside on the Wildcats’ roster, thanks to his combination of smooth shot making, authoritative finishing around the rim and knack for drawing contact. He had a slow start to the season, posting four single-digit scoring performances in his first five games, but in the 33 games since, he has only four more single-digit outputs. Demary is a tricky player to rank because we do not know how healthy he will be by the time Saturday rolls around. Due to a high ankle sprain he suffered in the Big East tournament, he has clearly not been 100 percent in the NCAA Tournament, but he looked closer to himself against Duke and now has another five full days between games. His physical defensive presence will be critical in helping contain Wagler, and he has become a vital offensive asset, as well: His assist rate of 35. 9 percent ranks No. 24 in the entire country per Ken Pom. Krivas is almost at Mara levels on defense. Though he does not block the same number of shots, the 7-2 Lithuanian is more mobile and brings the same level of rim deterrence. Per Hoop Explorer, when Krivas plays, top-50 opponents take just 24. 7 percent of their field goal attempts at the rim, making 49. 6 percent of them. When he sits, those numbers rise to 31. 3 percent and 58. 3 percent. He is also an excellent offensive rebounder and finisher, but he is not needed as a playmaking hub considering the wealth of talent in the Wildcats’ lineup. Advertisement Ranking UConn’s best players is always a mess. Karaban is such an important leader given his tenure within the program and familiarity with the Huskies’ approach, and his lethal perimeter stroke is a major weapon within UConn’s constant off-ball flow. He has deep, deep range on his jumper if he gets his legs underneath him, and he adds more peripheral stats (blocks, rebounds, assists) than you might expect. Another of Arizona’s positional giants, Peat looks like a man among boys in the paint despite being a freshman. He has fully rediscovered his form since returning from a late-February leg injury, and his efforts in the last two rounds — 20. 5 points per game on 58. 6 percent shooting, 5. 0 rebounds per game, 2. 5 assists per game — helped fuel Arizona’s blowouts of Arkansas and Purdue. In the semifinal against Michigan, his battles with Morez Johnson and Lendeborg will be must-watch; expect an extremely high degree of physicality. Illinois fans will surely be frustrated to see Johnson here, but the big man has been an integral part of the Wolverines’ interior dominance. He is a terrifying rebounder, particularly on offense, and his aggression around the basket makes him an outstanding finisher (49 dunks this year). He has shown enough versatility on defense to hold up at the four spot for stretches at the start of each half, and he can be a stout rim protector when he plays without Mara as Michigan’s primary big man. In addition to being one of the most quotable players in the NCAA Tournament, Mirkovic has evolved into a viable secondary scorer behind Wagler. He is a true jack-of-all-trades: a capable passer, a shooting threat from distance, a force on the glass and a battering ram in the mid-post. He is not an impactful individual defender, but his offensive strengths offset any shortcomings at the other end of the floor. In the offseason, Cadeau’s fit with a gargantuan frontcourt and questionable spacing seemed like a potential disaster. And although the UNC transfer’s penchant for high-risk, high-reward decision making has continued, he has improved in many areas while becoming a fantastic lead guard in Dusty May’s transition-heavy attack. He deftly finds Michigan’s big men for lobs, he always has his eyes up to hit open shooters and cutters in the open floor, and he has even become a legitimate shooting threat, making 61 triples at a 38 percent clip on the season. He has come a long way from getting played off the floor in the NCAA Tournament at North Carolina. In the first four rounds, he has posted 33 assists to just seven turnovers. The Illini’s skilled southpaw center has improved steadily this year after some early struggles. Though he has not evolved into an offensive hub the way some expected following his collegiate debut last season, he is still a useful weapon as a pick-and-pop big man who can also make some plays as a passer. He is also a savvy (if not dynamic) defender who helps solidify Illinois’ excellent rebounding at both ends. He has separated himself in value from his twin brother Zvonomir, who is more of a pure rim protector off the bench. Both players have their work cut out for them against Reed Jr. on Saturday. The local Champaign hero is an emotional bellwether for the Illini. He is the lone senior starter, and he balances a wide variety of duties: best on-ball defender, secondary playmaker, slasher, occasional shooter. His defensive toughness and effort will be pivotal against UConn’s winding web of off-ball screens, and if he can knock down a couple of triples — he has made more than one 3 in a game only twice since returning from injury on Feb. 15 — it would be a huge boost to Illinois’ scoring efforts. Advertisement The hero of the Huskies’ Elite Eight victory, Mullins could be a lottery pick in this year’s NBA Draft, so ranking him this far down feels odd. But he has had an up-and-down freshman year, from smashing Georgetown in the Big East tournament semifinal (21 points, five rebounds) to vanishing against St. John’s a day later (five points on 2-of-9 shooting). His shooting has been streaky, but if he catches fire, he could be the difference between a win and a loss on a big stage. He is also a feisty defender despite his wiry frame. Like many of the lower-ranked players on this list, Kharchenkov is an excellent role player whose impact is largely limited by playing alongside elite teammates. The burly German wing is a perfect fit in Arizona’s style: He is huge (6-7, 230 pounds) but still has the offensive skill to play on the perimeter. He is most valuable for his defensive versatility — he is one of the few players in the country who can legitimately make a case for defending all five positions — and his tenacity, as he is constantly corralling loose balls or tough rebounds. Burnett narrowly earns the consolation crown as the best of the low-usage shooting guards in the Final Four. He is a deadly shooter, particularly in Michigan’s blistering transition attack, and he is also a solid wing defender thanks to his length, experience and instincts. He is not going to make many “wow” plays, but he never takes a bad shot, is a steady and smart ball mover and knows how to play alongside Michigan’s dominant frontcourt. Having Ball this low on the list is surprising, particularly given that he has actually improved defensively this season. Unfortunately, he has tanked as a shooter, hitting just 29. 2 percent of his 3-point attempts this season, far below his 41. 4 percent mark last season. Defenders still have to respect the threat of his shot, but his actual impact is muted when the shots are not falling. In fact, against top-50 opponents, UConn is a stunning 15. 8 points better per 100 possessions when Ball is on the bench, per Hoop Explorer. Even more surprising: Most of that difference comes on the offensive end. Two things can be true. Davis moving into the starting lineup was an excellent move for the Illini, giving them a low-usage shooter and high-effort defender to play next to a relatively heliocentric star in Wagler. And also: Davis is the clear worst starter at the Final Four. There’s still no shame in being a starter on a Final Four team! Davis is the perfect role player, as evidenced by his ludicrous 146. 8 Offensive Rating, the No. 1 mark in the entire country, per Ken Pom. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Jim Root is a contributing writer for The Athletic covering college basketball. Before joining The Athletic, he started the college basketball website and podcast Three Man Weave in 2015. He has also worked for Sports Illustrated, the Field of 68, The Action Network and other outlets. He’s a graduate of the University of Missouri and originates from the Milwaukee, Wisc. , area.