With the NCAA flooding sports with March Madness, Philadelphia 76ers fans need help tracking which games matter most. So here is the Philadelphia 76ers Guide To NCAA Tourney: centers edition
Bracketology! Big Dance! The NCAA Tournament has arrived!
For basketball fans around the world, its time to glance or even turn our full attention from the ranks of professional basketball. But we don’t want to send you into the ranks of the NCAA fans without some… guidance. And so, for the next few days, expect articles from the writers of the Sixer Sense to give you what you need, without even asking for it. You see, the NCAA tournament may hold the key to as many as four Philadelphia 76er rookies next season. But with so many games, where to start?
Well now we’re talking! We can help you with that. While we can join you at your local pub or perch ourselves comfortably in front of your home television screen, we can give you a guide of which brackets matter for which positions.
Since the NCAA brackets have just become finalized, we have a lot of ground to cover in the next couple of days, so let’s get to it shall we?
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The first position we’ll look at is the center position. While it’s not exactly on the top of the list for the Philadelphia 76ers in this 2016 NBA draft, if a gifted young man tumbles to a spot late in the first round, you can believe that the Sixers will not hesitate to select that player. And there is a slim chance that an NBA team offers the Philadelphia 76ers such a sweet package that they will persuade the Sixers to part ways with one of the team’s centers. If you are of the hope that the Sixers will be shopping for a center, or just want to have a guide for your own individual NBA team, we can point you in the direction of which brackets to watch:
Primary Bracket: SOUTH
Secondary Bracket: MIDWEST
| Rank | Player | School | Year | Posn | Height | Weight | DOB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Jakob Poeltl | Utah | Sophomore | C | 7'1" | 242 | 10/15/1995 |
| 15 | Damian Jones | Vanderbilt | Junior | C | 7'0" | 245 | 6/30/1995 |
| 16 | Stephen Zimmerman | UNLV | Freshman | C | 7'0" | 235 | 9/19/1996 |
| 25 | Diamond Stone | Maryland | Freshman | C | 7'0" | 250 | 2/10/1997 |
| 27 | Cheick Diallo | Kansas | Freshman | C | 6'9" | 220 | 9/13/1996 |
| 31 | Amida Brimah | Connecticut | Junior | C | 7'0" | 230 | 2/11/1994 |
| 37 | AJ Hammons | Purdue | Senior | C | 7'0" | 275 | 8/27/1992 |
| 59 | Chinanu Onuaku | Louisville | Sophomore | C | 6'10" | 246 | 11/1/1996 |
Primary Bracket: SOUTH
The South boasts play of four of the top eight center prospects. That’s where you want to go to shop for the five position, so that’s where we are taking you.
Top seed Kansas boasts a solid center in 6’9″ Cheick Diallo. Kansas faces Austin Peay on March 17. Should Kansas move on, Diallo could face the ninth seeded Conneticut giant, 7’0″ Amida Brimah. Conneticut must first clear eighth seeded Colorado. Meanwhile, five seed Maryland has a gem in 7’0″ center Diamond Stone.
If Maryland clears twelve see South Dakota State and defeats the winner of the Hawaii versus California contest, Maryland could face the winner of the Kansas versus Connecticut contest, which would be played on March 24.
Vanderbuilt is the outlier of the South. Their center, 7’0″ Damian Jones is ranked neck and neck with Utah’s Jakob Poeltl for the top center prospect. But due to their ranking, Vanderbuilt must win two games before Jones has a chance to face off with another top center in the NCAA.
Secondary Bracket: MIDWEST
In the Midwest bracket, you merely need to keep your eyes on two players: 7’1″ Jakob Poeltl from the University of Utah, and 7’0″ A.J. Hammons from the University of Purdue. Just as Vanderbilt is ranked in such a way that they need two victories before facing off against another top center, both Utah and Purdue would each need to win three games to set up the matchup of these two star centers on March 27.
The 2016 NBA draft is a draft of smalls admittedly, and with two of the nations top centers not participating in the NCAA tournament this year, you have only a few chances to catch top center playing in this tournament. Granted, if teams win, that could add to the opportunities.
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In any case, whether you are setting up your own bracket, or simply a casual fan who simply is interested in who your team may select, we hope you have a wonderful time in March Madness!
Now, we need to get back to it. There is a lot of basketball to cover right now.