Men's Basketball Starters Ranked Among Worst by ESPN Insider

In a post Tuesday night, ESPN Insider Jeff Goodman ranked Harvard junior Agunwa Okolie and sophomore Zena Edosomwan among the 10 worst starters in the NCAA tournament. No other team—including all of the 15 and 16 seeds—had two starters ranked among the worst 10. All in all, Okolie ranked 331rd of 340, with Edosomwan coming in just one spot behind.

Okolie and Edosomwan both had lackluster statistical seasons for the Crimson, averaging a combined 8.4 points and 7.1 rebounds—or roughly the output of Northeastern’s Zach Stahl (8.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg), the 299th ranked player on the list.

The Crimson snuck only one player inside the top-250, senior wing Wesley Saunders. Saunders, who had received some fringe Naismith Award buzz earlier in the year, came in at No. 178 despite averaging 16.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 41 percent from three. Ten spots ahead of Saunders was Georgetown freshman forward L.J. Peak, who averaged 7.8 points and 2.4 rebounds on 38 percent shooting from the field.

Harvard co-captains, junior point guard Siyani Chambers and forward Steve Moundou-Missi, came in at No. 252 and No. 264, respectively.

The list was overall very top heavy. Kentucky placed all five starters within the top-66, while Arizona had all five in the top-80. Harvard’s first-round opponent, the North Carolina Tar Heels, had all five starters ranked in the top-100, headlined by junior point guard Marcus Paige, who ranked No. 29.

—Staff writer David Freed can be reached at david.freed@thecrimson.com.