All throughout the buildup to March Madness we hear about seeding, resumes, quads, good wins, bad losses … the list goes on and on.
Teams earn their places in the Big Dance. Players separate those teams in the moments that matter most, whether with big shots, defensive stands or vocal leadership in crunch time.
Every matchup, every game and every upset brings the opportunity for a player to shine through.
Legends are going to be made at the Spokane and Birmingham regionals. Who are some of the most intriguing players to know about as the NCAA Tournament begins?
Lauren Betts, UCLA
Junior center, key stats: 19.6 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 63.4 FG%
UCLA earned the No. 1 seed overall in March, and Betts’ dominance in the paint is the foundation of the Bruins’ success. It’s one thing to be tall. It’s another to use that height and length, and Betts does that to perfection. She plays with the necessary aggression on either end of the floor to consistently make her presence felt. It’s why you see guards timidly driving into the lane when she’s there. It’s why you see three defenders with a foot in the paint and arms up to disrupt interior passes when she’s on the block.
Betts has an undeniable gravitational pull that alters the game. Collapse on her in the post, and she’s more than…
