4 Best MOP Candidates For 2022 NCAA Tournament

The journey of excitement through the March Madness bracket rolls on. With the tournament midway through its second weekend, the discussion surrounding the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament is intensifying, with candidates beginning to separate from the rest of the pack. Let’s look at the four leaders before the start of the Elite Eight.

Jaime Jaquez, UCLA

The best player on UCLA is clearly Jaquez, who was excellent against Saint Mary’s in the second round. He got injured, but he was still a difference-maker before he had to leave the game. If UCLA gets past North Carolina and moves to Sunday’s regional final, a strong performance from Jaquez would put him in the forefront of the MOP conversation. UCLA is gunning for back-to-back Final Fours. If the Bruins achieve that feat, Jaquez instantly becomes the number one point of focus for the rise of a college basketball blue-blood.

Ochai Agbaji, Kansas

The Jayhawks played Providence Friday night in the Midwest Regional semifinals. If they get by that game and reach the Final Four under head coach Bill Self, Agbaji would be recognized as the foremost crunch-time scorer for the Jayhawks, the pillar of a less-than-dominant team which has found ways to win all season long and has outlasted its Big 12 rivals from Baylor and Texas Tech. The Bears and Red Raiders have been eliminated from the tournament. Agbaji and Kansas were still alive early Friday evening. If the Jayhawks are still standing after this second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, Agbaji takes center stage as the Kansas star who could secure MOP honors at the end of March Madness.

Collin Gillespie, Villanova

The Wildcats are in the Elite Eight after beating Michigan in the South Regional semifinals on Thursday night in San Antonio. Gillespie was injured in last year’s NCAA Tournament. He was unable to play when Villanova was eliminated in the Sweet 16 by eventual national champion Baylor. This year, Gillespie chose to come back to school instead of pursuing a pro career. He wanted to get back to the NCAA Tournament. He wanted to get back to the Sweet 16. He wanted to pursue the Final Four and the national championship. Here he is, in the Elite Eight, with a chance to accomplish everything he imagined before the season began. Gillespie has been Villanova’s best player in March, including the Big East Tournament before the NCAA Tournament. He steps up and makes big plays. His fearlessness is guiding the Wildcats through the bracket in the South Region. If Villanova gets to the Final Four, Gillespie will be the talk of New Orleans, the site of the big show in early April.

Jeremy Roach, Duke

The best player on the Duke roster is Paolo Banchero, but the star of this NCAA Tournament has been Roach, who has hit huge baskets late in Duke’s victories over Michigan State in the second round and then Texas Tech in the Sweet 16. Roach has been the X-factor for a team which is getting better at just the right time. Roach is the catalyst of Duke’s run to the Elite Eight. Maybe Banchero will play a huge game in the Elite Eight, but if both men play equally well in the regional final and win, Roach should be ahead of Banchero on most ballots.