NCAA Event Might Have Ramifications for Kansas Star in NBA Draft

[ad_1] The NCAA Event is attending to that thrilling level the place the Candy 16 is up forward and something may occur.

Going into the second weekend of video games, three No. 1 seeds are left within the NCAA Males's Event: Duke, Arizona and Michigan. Florida is the one prime seed crew that fell to an upset, after they misplaced to the No. 9 Iowa Hawkeyes, with a 73-72 ultimate tally.

So, the primary 68 groups is now simply 16. The video games begin up once more on Thursday, March 26 in San Jose, California, with Purdue vs. Texas, and the subsequent spherical of video games runs by Friday, March 27, with a night matchup between Iowa State and Tennessee.

Following the event, it is going to be time to look forward to the NBA draft. Heading into the occasion, ESPN analyst Jeremy Woo has put collectively a mock draft of the place he sees the highest school gamers touchdown.

"They're knowledgeable by ongoing conversations with NBA executives and scouts, in addition to my very own analysis course of from time spent on the street at video games and watching movie," he states within the piece. "With convention tournaments getting underway and a prospect-heavy NCAA event one week out, listed here are our newest projections waiting for the 2026 draft."

<img id="11724713" alt="Darryn Peterson #22 of the Kansas Jayhawks." caption="Darryn Peterson #22 of the Kansas Jayhawks drives to the basket defended by Ian Jackson #11 of the St. John's Red Storm during the first half in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena at San Diego State University on March 22, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)" src="(Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)" sourcealt="" sources="[]" fetchpriority="auto" loading="lazy" width="4776" height="3184" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" style="color:transparent;aspect-ratio:inherit;object-fit:cover" sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 1536px, (min-width: 768px) 768px, 100vw" srcset="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267884845.jpg?w=640&quality=80&webp=1 640w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267884845.jpg?w=750&quality=80&webp=1 750w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267884845.jpg?w=1000&quality=80&webp=1 1000w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267884845.jpg?w=1200&quality=80&webp=1 1200w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267884845.jpg?w=1360&quality=80&webp=1 1360w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267884845.jpg?w=1600&quality=80&webp=1 1600w" bad-src="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/GettyImages-2267884845.jpg?w=1600&quality=80&webp=1"/> In his draft, which was crafted earlier than the event began, he has the No. 1 choose as Darryn Peterson of Kansas going to the Sacramento Kings. However, Kansas misplaced already within the event to St. Johns.

Extra sports activities information: All-Convention Wing Enters Switch Portal After NCAA Event Run

"The battle for No. 1 is shut sufficient between Peterson and AJ Dybantsa to the purpose the place league sources broadly view this as a matter of which crew in the end makes the choose," Woo notes within the piece. "Cameron Boozer's dominant season has additionally stored him within the debate."

Extra sports activities information: Darryn Peterson Particulars ‘Actually Unhealthy’ Accidents After NCAA Event Loss

So, with the highest three gamers being so shut, it isn't far-fetched to suppose that Kansas falling early and exhausting within the event could push issues to have Peterson fall out of the highest spot. After all, he'll nonetheless be excessive up within the draft, however do not be shocked if he would not go first. Plus, BYU is out of March Insanity, which does not assist Dybantsa's case.