Top 5 Players - NCAA 1st and 2nd Rounds

I've already talked about my thoughts on the Best, Worst, and Most Exciting Teams from the first weekend of March Madness. But now I've decided to give a rundown of my Top 5 Players from the first weekend.

TOP PLAYERS (and thus current leaders for Tournament M.O.P):

5. Joe Alexander - West Virginia: Alexander was hotter than anyone in the country coming into the Tourney, averaging 25 ppg on 53% shooting and 7 rebounds over his last 8 regular season games (including the Big East Tourney). West Virginia drew a 7 seed in the West Regional, going up against 10 seed Arizona in the first round, arguably one of the 15 most talented teams *On Paper* in the entire field.

However, over the last 5 years, Arizona has been the most underachieving team in the land once the NCAA Tournament rolls around. So this was set up to be a good matchup between two talented teams. Alexander did not have his greatest game in the 1st Round matchup, but was solid with 14 pts, 8 reb and was a perfect 6-6 from the line in helping the Mountaineers beat the 'Cats 75-65.

West Virginia then advanced to the 2nd round where they took on #2 seed Duke. Alexander didn't have his best shooting night, going only 7-22 from the field, but once again was clutch from the line, hitting 7-8 free throws, on his way to a 22 pt, 11 reb night. West Virginia goes as Alexander goes...he is their best player and is a huge reason the Mountaineers beat the Blue Devils, 73-67, and are now a Sweet 16 squad.

4. Tyrone Brazelton - Western Kentucky: Brazelton was the best player in the tournament's best game so far. #12 seed Western Kentucky beat #5 seed Drake 101-99 in OT on a 30-foot three point buzzer beater.

Western Kentucky took a 9-point lead into halftime, and built that to 16 with 12:00 to play in the game before Drake got hot and hit a game-tying three to send it to OT with 30 seconds to play. Brazelton was a big reason the Hilltoppers built that lead, and even a bigger reason they held on to win in OT.

The WKU point guard scored 33 points, including 7 in OT, on 11-20 shooting, including 6-10 from three, grabbed 5 rebounds and dished out 5 assists, the last of which was after Brazelton took the ball from under his own basket, drove to the right wing of Drake's three-point line, and dished it back to A.J. Rogers for the game-winning three as time expired.

After Brazelton's heroics in the first game, he calmly followed that up with a solid 15 point, 5 asst showing to help the Hilltoppers beat #13 seed San Diego in the 2nd round, 72-63, and get into the record books.

This year marked just the 3rd time since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 that two #12 seeds made it to the Sweet 16 (Western Kentucky and Villanova).

3. Scottie Reynolds - Villanova: The sensational sophomore guard showed up big time on the scene last year as a freshman, scoring 23 points (but getting no help) in a 72-63 loss to Kentucky in the first round of the Tourney. This season, he's been even better.

Reynolds put up 21 points on 7-12 shooting, including 4-5 from three, in leading #12 seed 'Nova to a first round upset of #5 seed Clemson.

However, Reynolds did his best work in the 2nd round game against giant killer Siena. The #13 seed throttled #4 seed Vanderbilt in the first round, beating the Commodores by 21 points while holding them to 63 points (Vandy averaged 80 ppg during the regular season).

Reynolds and Villanova did significantly better against the Saints in the 2nd round. Reynolds was unstoppable, especially down the stretch, scoring 25 pts on 7-15 shooting, 4-7 from the arc, and 7-9 from the line. Reynolds also grabbed 8 rebounds, and dished out 5 assists while playing 37 minutes for the Wildcats in their 84-72 win.

At 6'2", 190 lbs., Reynolds is one of the Top 5 Point Guards in the country and will be a tough matchup for #1 seed Kansas in the Sweet 16.

2. Kevin Love - UCLA: Love is the best big man in the country. Period. I have watched him play about 10 times this season, and he is so fundamentally sound, and plays with as much passion as anybody (including Tyler Hansbrough). The difference between Hansbrough and Love is that while Hansbrough gets as much out of his talent as humanly possible, Love is simply more atheltic and more talented to begin with, so he has a higher ceiling in the NBA.

Only a freshamn, Love plays with the maturity of a 4th year senior, and is built like a 5-year NBA veteran. There is no doubt he is NBA ready right now.

As a #1 seed, UCLA had a very easy first round matchup with #16 seed Mississippi Valley State. But UCLA still showed why they can be considered a favorite to win the National Title. And Love was a huge reason. Here's his 1st Round line:

20 pts, 8-15 FG, 3-6 from the arc, 9 reb, 4 blks

Not to mention the 6'10", 270 lb. Center completely dominated the middle, as UCLA held Miss. Val. St. to 29 points.

However, in the Bruins second round matchup with Texas A&M, UCLA played maybe their worst game of the season. Outside of Love and PG Darren Collison, the rest of the Bruins scored 11 points...in the entire game...on 5-19 shooting. A&M actually led this game by 8 points with under 10:00 to play, but Love would not let the Bruins title hopes end.

When all was said and done, Love finished the game with 19 points on 7-12 FG, including 4-5 from the line, grabbed 11 rebounds, and completely dominated the paint with 7 blocks. Love made two jumpers in the last 3:00 to first tie the game up, and then put UCLA up 2 in the final minutes of a game they would never trail again.

Thus, UCLA is still in the running for their 12th National Title. And this may be their best chance for a while, as Love is likely outta here after this season as a Top 10 pick in the NBA Draft.

1. Stephen Curry - Davidson: An absolute no-brainer of a choice, no one has had more of an effect on their team's Tourney success this year than the Sensational sophomore guard from Davidson.

We first found out about Curry during last year's NCAA Tourney when the then baby-faced freshman guard, and son of former NBA Sharp-shooter Dell Curry, poured in 30 points in an 82-70 first round loss to Maryland. Curry got even better this season, as he led the Wildcats to a perfect 20-0 Southern Conference record while averaging 26 ppg on 49% shooting, including 45% from behind the arc and 89% from the free-throw stripe.

Curry had his Wildcats on a 22-game winning streak entering the Tourney this year, and thus drew a #10 seed, relatively high for a low-profile conference winner. But their 1st round opponent, #7 seed Gonzaga, knew Davidson was no push over. And unfortunately for them, Curry carried his stellar regular season play over to the NCAA's.

In a back-and-forth contest, Curry would not be denied, and carried the Wildcats on his back to an 82-76 win and a berth in the 2nd round. Curry's line:

40 pts, on 14-22 FG, 8-10 3FG, and 5 stls...30 points came in the 2nd half

Curry has turned into the ultimate scorer in the country this season, scoring 30 points in the 2nd half of a game that Gonzaga led by 5 at halftime, and probably would have won if Curry had simply had a great 2nd half, instead of the individual half of the tournament. But he didn't stop there...

Davidson's reward for getting out of the 1st round: a date with Big East champion, and #2 seed Georgetown, who came into the tournament at 27-5 with a Top-10 ranking. By all accounts, Georgetown should have beaten Davidson rather easily. The Wildcats do not have an answer for Roy Hibbert down low, and the Hoyas returned almost all of last year's Final Four team (except for NBA departee Jeff Green). But I guess nobody told Curry.

The Hoyas wasted no time dominating the game, slowing it down to their pace, and taking Curry out of the equation. Georgetown built a 14-point lead with under 1:00 to play in the contest, and then Curry, who had been held to 2 points until that point, knocked down his first three of the game to cut the lead to 11 at halftime. And just as he had against Gonzaga, Curry then took the 2nd half over.

Georgetown actually took a 16-point lead with just under 15:00 to play, during which Curry had not added to his 5 points. But Curry then knocked down a three, got fouled, and completed the 4-point play, and he was off and running.

After all was said and done, Curry scored 25 points in the 2nd half, for a total of 30, including 15 of Davidson's last 19 to propel the Wildcats to a stunning 74-70 win over the Hoyas and a berth in the Sweet 16.

Curry's two-game line:

35 ppg, 51% FG, 15-25 3FG, 3.5 asst, 4 stls

Davidson's opponent in the Sweet 16 is #3 seed Wisconsin, THE TOP DEFENSIVE SCORING TEAM IN THE COUNTRY. Here's guessing that's not gonna matter much when Curry steps on the floor.