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NCAA Tournament NBA Draft Prospect Viewing Guide: Sunday

NCAA Tournament NBA Draft Prospect Viewing Guide: Sunday
Mar 21, 2015, 03:34 pm
When do the top college prospects for the 2015 NBA Draft take the floor on Sunday for the Round of 32 at the NCAA Tournament? And what will NBA scouts be looking for?
-NCAA Tournament NBA Draft Prospect TV Schedule: Thursday
-NCAA Tournament NBA Draft Prospect TV Schedule: Friday
-NCAA Tournament NBA Draft Prospect TV Schedule: Saturday
-NBA Draft Prospect First Weekend Overview
-DraftExpress NCAA Tournament Schedule Grid

Note: The numbers listed next to players' names is their standing in the latest iteration of our Top-100 prospect rankings.

All Times Listed are EST

12:10 PM (7) Michigan State vs (2) Virginia (CBS)
#7 Michigan State #97 Branden Dawson, Denzel Valentine
vs.
#2 Virginia #25 Justin Anderson, #75 Mike Tobey, Malcolm Brogdon

The 246th fastest-paced offense in college basketball against the 349th is unlikely to produce a very high scoring affair, but nevertheless this should be a fun game for college basketball enthusiasts to watch, pitting two of the most highly regarded coaches in the game against each other. Even though both teams prefer to play slow, they still feature top-25 offenses as far as efficiency is concerned. By contrast, this is the worst defense Tom Izzo has had statistically since the 2006 season.

Justin Anderson seemed to break out of his injury-induced slump on Friday with a 15 point in 26 minute outing against Belmont, his best game since early February, which is a very good sign for Virginia's offense. He'll likely see plenty of minutes matching up with 6-5 and somewhat slow-footed Denzel Valentine, who is much more talented offensively than he is defensively, which could be good for his confidence. Scouts are still trying to figure how much of Anderson's 47% 3P% this season is a fluke, after he shot just 30% from beyond the arc (with just 50 makes in 72 games) in his first two seasons at Virginia, which is a key factor in his standing as a potential first round pick.

2:40 PM (8) San Diego State vs (1) Duke (CBS)
#8 San Diego State Winston Shepard, Malik Pope, Dwayne Polee
vs.
#1 Duke #1 Jahlil Okafor, #9 Justise Winslow, #27 Tyus Jones, Quinn Cook, Matt Jones, Grayson Allen

Duke is a well-oiled offensive machine (#2 in NCAA in offensive efficiency), but San Diego State is a tremendous defensive unit (#4 defensive efficiency) in their own right, which makes this a fascinating matchup.

San Diego State will have their hands full with Jahlil Okafor inside, and it will be interesting to see how they decide to guard him, as they have a couple of decently sized bodies to throw at him in the paint. A traditionally poor-shooting team, the Aztecs uncharacteristically made a number of (fluky looking) 3-pointers on Friday against St. John's, which they'll have to keep doing against Duke's undersized backcourt if they are to have any chance of staying in this game.

Talented 6-10 freshman Malik Pope saw 24 minutes of action against St. John's (6 points, 8 rebounds), and scouts will be keeping a close eye on his matchup with projected lottery pick and fellow freshman Justise Winslow. Pope mostly likes to play on the perimeter, and will slide between both forward positions like Winslow. Is he tough enough to play in an environment like this?

5:15 PM (7) Wichita State vs (2) Kansas (CBS)
#7 Wichita State #51 Ron Baker, #84 Fred VanVleet,
vs.
#2 Kansas #12 Kelly Oubre, #31 Cliff Alexander (suspended), #78 Wayne Selden, Perry Ellis, Brannen Greene, Landen Lucas, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Jamari Traylor

Projected lottery pick Kelly Oubre has been somewhat of an enigma in his freshman season, failing to hit double-figures in 20 of his 34 games thus far. Which version will show up to this grudge match of in-state rivals? He'll likely see quite a few minutes going up against projected 2nd round pick Ron Baker, where he'll have a significant size advantage. Baker is a long, athletic and intelligent guard who can pass, create and shoot, and he'll have quite a bit to prove himself after an average performance (3/13 FG) in the Round of 64 against Indiana.

Quietly, point guard Frank Mason has emerged as Kansas' most consistent player this season, and his matchup with All-American Fred VanVleet will likely dictate how smoothly things go for the Jayhawks. Wayne Selden has had a somewhat disappointing sophomore season (40% 2P%, 12.7 PER), which has hurt his standing in the eyes of NBA scouts. He has a chance to redeem himself by helping his team make the Sweet 16.

6:10 PM (11) Dayton vs (3) Oklahoma (TNT)
#11 Dayton Dyshawn Pierre, Jordan Sibert
vs.
#3 Oklahoma #52 Buddy Hield, TaShawn Thomas

3'n'D NBA candidate Buddy Hield had a streaky shooting night against Albany, hitting 3-11 from outside, which is not an unusual occurrence for the volume shooter who is hitting 37% of his 3-point attempts on the season. He'll be facing a much tougher defense against Dayton, whose lack of size will likely encourage Oklahoma to pound the ball inside to skilled big men Tashawn Thomas and Ryan Spangler.

Canadian wing Dyshawn Pierre was outstanding for Dayton against Providence in the Round of 64, scoring 20 points and pulling down 10 rebounds while shooting 3-6 from outside. Because of Dayton's lack of size he'll see heavy minutes guarding Oklahoma's post players.

7:10 PM (7) Iowa vs (2) Gonzaga (TBS)
#7 Iowa #85 Aaron White, Jarrod Uthoff, Gabe Olaseni, Adam Woodbury
vs.
#2 Gonzaga #18 Domantas Sabonis, Przemek Karnowski, Kyle Wiltjer, Kevin Pangos

This will likely be one of the highest scoring and most entertaining games of the day, as both teams combined to score 169 points in the Round of 64.

Iowa senior Aaron White had one of the most impressive performances of the NCAA Tournament against Davidson, scoring 26 points (10-12 2P, 1-2 3P) in a 31 point blowout victory. The 6-9 athletic power forward is not only a capable scorer, he's also highly efficient, boasting an impressive 62% true shooting percentage for his career. While Gonzaga is a much better defensive team, his individual matchup with slow-footed and frail-framed Kyle Wiltjer will give him another opportunity to put up big numbers. Gonzaga might need to turn to freshman Domantas Sabonis (who pulled down 16 rebounds in 23 minutes against North Dakota State) to slow White down, even if the Lithuanian is more of a center at the college level.

Wiltjer was no slouch himself in the Round of 64, scoring 23 points and pulling down 9 rebounds, so NBA scouts will want to see how White copes defensively against him, one of his biggest weaknesses from a NBA standpoint. White is making a very strong case for himself to be drafted lately, and another good performance against one of the best teams in college basketball will go a long way.

7:45 PM (8) Oregon vs (1) Wisconsin (truTV)
#8 Oregon Joseph Young, Dillon Brooks, Jordan Bell
vs.
#1 Wisconsin #10 Frank Kaminsky, #22 Sam Dekker, #44 Nigel Hayes

This game was one of the most entertaining contests of the 2014 NCAA Tournament, resulting in an 85-77 win by Wisconsin. Many of the same characters will participate in the rematch. Both Oregon and Wisconsin are terrific offensive teams, with the difference between them being a major size differential and their subsequent defensive prowess (Wisconsin 39th in defensive efficiency, Oregon 130)

Joseph Young was sensational against Okahoma State in the Round of 64, putting his entire offensive repertoire on display en route to a 27 point outing. He's one of the most skilled shooter-scorers in college basketball, with range extending well beyond the NBA 3-point line and impressive athleticism, but his lack of size and length has hindered his draft stock. He sees a lot of minutes on the ball for Oregon, but is not a natural distributor and usually looks first for his own offense. This is a great opportunity to show that he can play better defense than he's being given credit for, while also reminding scouts of how dangerous a scorer he is.

Frank Kaminsky will have a huge size advantage over 6-7 (but extremely athletic) Jordan Bell and should be able to put his offensive repertoire on full display. He had 27 points, 15 rebounds and 4 assists against an overmatched Coastal Carolina squad in the Round of 64.

Freshman combo forward Dillon Brooks has had a strong season in the Pac-12 and continued that against Oklahoma State. His matchup with Sam Dekker, who has really hit his stride as of late, will be very interesting.

8:40 PM (5) West Virginia vs (4) Maryland (TNT)
#5 West Virginia #92 Juwan Staten, Devin Williams
vs.
#4 Maryland #34 Jake Layman, #62 Melo Trimble, Dez Wells

Maryland's freshman point guard Melo Trimble will have his hands full with West Virginia senior Juwan Staten, who didn't show many ill effects of a knee injury that had sidelined him for more than a month. The Mountaineers forced 17 turnovers against Buffalo with their intense pressing defense, and they will look to push the pace and rattle the young Trimble as much as possible in this contest. Trimble looked very reliable in the Round of 64 against Valparaiso, particularly down the stretch, scoring 14 points in 39 minutes while pulling down 10 rebounds and dishing out 3 assists.

Jake Layman was a bit of a no-show against Valpo, only attempting one field goal all game and fouling out in 25 minutes of action. Maryland will sorely need his versatility as a skilled and athletic 6-9 combo forward who can handle the ball, shoot from outside and guard multiple positions.

9:40 PM (5) Northern Iowa vs (4) Louisville (CBS)
#5 Northern Iowa Seth Tuttle
vs.
#4 Louisville #18 Montrezl Harrell, #40 Terry Rozier, Wayne Blackshear, Chinanu Onuaku

Among NCAA Tournament teams, only Virginia operates at a slower pace than Northern Iowa, and not by much. Louisville really locks down on defense, so look for this to be a grind it out affair.

Louisville was tested in a major way in the Round of 64, being down in the final minute of their game against U.C. Irvine, but managed to escape with a win. Terry Rozier and Montrezl Harrell were relatively quiet by their standards, and will be expected to have much stronger outings in their matchups against less physically gifted players than they typically encounter in the ACC.

Harrell's matchup against Missouri Valley Conference player of the year Seth Tuttle will be especially interesting, as it's a real contrast of styles. Harrell is a tremendous athlete who excels as a rebounder and finisher around the basket, while Tuttle plays below the rim and boasts a versatile skill-set and an extremely high basketball IQ. Tuttle can really help himself by showing he can slow down Harrell defensively—the area that is holding back his draft stock the most at the moment.

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