March Madness: 68 impact players of the men's tournament - ESPN

While you work up your bracket and study every last statistic on team performance, don't lose sight of the individual players behind all those numbers.

When the season began in the fall, the talk was of returning players like Purdue's Zach Edey and Duke's Kyle Filipowski. Those two have lived up to the expectations. They've also been joined by several emerging stars in 2023-24.

With players staying longer and transferring more freely, there's a definite veteran feel to the sport's biggest names. Still, you'll run across a first-year star or two on our list of the bracket's most promising performers.

One striking aspect of this year's tournament field is that it includes virtually every player on the AP All-America's first, second and third teams. You have to look at the honorable mentions and a star like Devin Carter of Providence to run across a name that's not in the field of 68. There's plenty of star power in this tournament.

Meet the 68 impact players of the 2024 men's field. Players are organized by region and matchup. And, yes, some teams get more than one entry.

Tristen Newton, No. 1 UConn Huskies

Newton is a scoring point guard who gets to the rim on offense and hits the glass on D. His triple-double against Villanova in February was vintage Newton: 10 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists.

Donovan Clingan, UConn

Opponents struggle mightily to make 2s against UConn when the 7-foot-2 Clingan is on the floor, and the sophomore hasn't picked up a fourth foul in over a month. At the other end, he dominates the offensive glass and records 79% of his 2-point attempts at the rim.

Jalen Blackmon, No. 16 Stetson Hatters

A 6-3 shooting guard, Blackmon is coming off a 43-point performance in the ASUN title game. Along with