Canadians to watch in NCAA March Madness

The future of Canadian basketball will be on display in the 2022 NCAA Tournament as 28 men and 20 women will be participating in this year’s March Madness.   Five Canadians will be playing on a top-4 seed in the men’s tournament, while eight Canadian women play on a team ranked No. 1 - 4.    The list of Canadian men includes London, Ont. native Shaedon Sharpe, who is a projected 2022 NBA Draft lottery pick despite not playing a game with the Wildcats this season.   This year’s Final Four will take place at the Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans, beginning on April 1 for the women’s tournament and April 2 for the men’s tournament.   Toronto’s Alyssa Jerome won an NCAA Championship with Stanford in 2021, while a Canadian man has not won an NCAA title since Kyle Wiltjer with Kentucky in 2012. 

The NCAA Men’s Tournament begins tonight with the First Four. Viewers can watch Texas A&M-Corpus Christi take on Texas Southern LIVE on TSN.ca and the TSN App at 6:30 p.m. ET/9:30 p.m. PT  GONZAGA (1) – Andrew Nembhard (Aurora, Ont.) 31.4 MIN, 11.7 PPG, 5.7 APG   The senior point guard will attempt to lead the Gonzaga Bulldogs (26-3) back to the NCAA Championship game after a disappointing 86-70 loss to Baylor last year.    The 22-year-old is averaging career highs in points, assists, rebounds, and steals as he and projected No. 1 overall pick Chet Holmgren attempt to lead the top overall seed to its first NCAA title win in school history.  ARIZONA (1) – Bennedict Mathurin (Montreal, Que.) 32.1 MIN, 17.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG   Mathurin was projected as a second-round pick in last year’s NBA Draft but decided to remain at Arizona for his sophomore season to further boost his draft stock and help the Wildcats win an NCAA title. So far, so good