NCAA Tournament features dynamic guards, backcourt wizards

Updated Mar. 16, 2022 4:53 a.m. ET

Associated Press

teams rise and fall with guard play. Look no further than last year for evidence.

in overtime after guard Duane Washington Jr. missed a career-high 14 shots, including a step-back jumper in the closing seconds of regulation with the score tied.

, leaning heavily on

In this year's tournament, here are some backcourt wizards to watch:

OCHAI AGBAJI, KANSAS

In the one-and-done and one-time transfer era, the 6-foot-5, 215-pound shooting guard stayed at the same school for four years and went from a three-star prospect to a first-team

JADEN IVEY, PURDUE

In the NBA draft in June, he might be the first guard selected.

JOHNNY DAVIS, WISCONSIN

An ankle injury stunted his game recently, leading to a

BENNEDICT MATHURIN, ARIZONA

First-year coach Tommy Lloyd inherited quite a team from fired coach Sean Miller, and no player was more valuable than Mathurin. The 6-6 second-team All-America shooting guard averages 17.4 points and 5.6 rebounds for the top-seeded Wildcats.

COLLIN GILLESPIE, VILLANOVA

College basketball seems to have better shooting guards than point guards, but

PETER KISS, BRYANT

Don't miss your chance to see

JAMES AKINJO & ADAM FLAGLER, BAYLOR

The Bears lost their terrific trio of guards to the pros last year and reloaded with

ANDREW NEMBHARD & RASIR BOLTON, GONZAGA

is led by a pair of second-team All-America players in Chet Holmgren, the likely No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, and Drew Timme. A senior backcourt sets up the big men for success. Nembhard ranks among the nation's leaders with 3.24 assists for every turnover. Bolton is one of five players averaging 11-plus points for the top-seeded Bulldogs.

ALFONSO PLUMMER & TRENT FRAZIER, ILLINOIS

gets a lot of credit, rightfully so, but teams have a better chance of collapsing on the All-America center than they do trying to corral Plummer and Frazier. The dynamic duo combines to average 27 points, with more than half of that production coming from behind the 3-point line.

R.J. COLE & TYRESE MARTIN, CONNECTICUT

It's no surprise that coach Dan Hurley has a strong backcourt, a pair of seniors who attended another college for two years.

JD NOTAE, STANLEY UMUDE & AU'DIESE TONEY, ARKANSAS

Coach Eric Musselman loves free-flowing basketball and he has a backcourt to make it happen, led by

TEVIN BROWN & JUSTICE HILL, MURRAY STATE

If you're not a Kentucky fan and looking for a lower-seeded team with good guards to make a surprise appearance in the Sweet 16, consider the seventh-seeded Racers.

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Follow Larry Lage at https://twitter.com/larrylage

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