March Madness 2022: Standout Canadian Performers
It’s over and out from March Madness 2022, with the Jayhawks flying high in the final after coming back from a deficit with a revitalised second-half offensive, and the Tar Heels left to balance natural disappointment with the fact that they went all the way from a no. 19 seed pre-season, to a pre-tournament ranking of no. 8, to an actual rank of no. 2 spot. And they very nearly did one better.
From day one, top-seeded teams were getting dunked out of the tournament. The Kentucky Wildcats were ousted after losing 85-79 to the Saint Peter’s Peacocks in the First Round. Similar shocks would follow closely behind, as Baylor, Gonzaga, and Duke were all unceremoniously eliminated by their rival underdogs, with each making for a slightly spicier ride.
At Bodog, we’re still reeling, reviewing and readjusting our projections – long ones, of course – accordingly.
Before the tournament, we previewed the best players to watch out for at March Madness. Now it’s time to look back at the top performers from our proud nation.
For Canadians, March Madness has felt just a little closer to home in 2022, with a record 30 of our native sons (and twenty of their under-celebrated female counterparts) competing in the NCAA tournament. Now we’ve all had time to take a breath, let’s scoop that cream right off the top and flaunt the standouts.
Bennedict Mathurin
Bennedict Mathurin is not just one of Canada’s best March Madness players – he’s also one of the best college basketball players, period. In the upcoming NBA Draft, he holds odds of +20000 from Bodog for being the first overall pick, making him eighth favourite.
Originally from Montreal, Mathurin gravitated to basketball from ice hockey and football, making the switch to basketball in 2018. For the past 3 years he’s competed for Arizona where, for his most recent sophomore season, the 19-year old was the duly awarded Pac-12 Player of the Year.
Throughout this season, Mathurin was a major player in the Wildcats’ progression t He scored 18 points against Wright State in their opening game and a whopping 30 against TCU in the Second Round. Despite Mathurin’s stellar performance, things didn’t come together for Arizona in the Sweet Sixteen, so they were sent packing by Houston.
We can expect much more from the Canadian in the coming years, especially as he makes the transition to the NBA.
Zach Edey
Zach Edey is another Canadian who flourished during this year’s tournament. He hails from Toronto where, like Mathurin, he cut his teeth in the rink with ice hockey before unveiling his talent for basketball.
Edey joined the Purdue Boilermakers in 2020, playing 28 games before clinching a starting position in the 2021-22 season. Leaps and bounds and two years later, Edey’s prowess as a player culminated in a strong March Madness performance.
In all three of the Boilermarkers’ March Madness games, Edey was the second-highest scoring player and best performing centre, getting into double digits on every outing.
As of yet, we’ve not had an official declaration for the 2022 NBA Draft, though teammate Trevion Williams has already announced his intentions. Possibly Edey will hold out for another year to gain the extra experience, but either way, remember his name as a Canadian basketballer you’ll want to keep your eye on.
Andrew Nembhard
Our next cause célèbre, with roots in Ontario’s Aurora and Vaughan, is star Andrew Nembhard, point guard for the Gonzaga Bulldogs, where he’s spent the last two years since his stint with formerly of the Florida Gators.
In this year’s March Madness, Nembhard had two solid games – being Arkansas and Georgia State, where he managed nine points in each – and one truly standout performance. It was the March 20 match against the Memphis Tigers that set Nembhard ablaze, scoring 23 of Gonzaga’s winning 82 points.
Gonzaga had been favourites for the NCAA National Championship this year, but March Madness lived up to its reputation of twists and turns, and Nembhard along with his team were outplayed in the Sweet Sixteen by the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Nembhard declared for the NBA Draft twice, first in 2019 and again in 2020, but returned to the NCAA both times and sat out 2021’s draft. But, with his final year of college now in session, the echoes of that 23-point haul still ringing out, this court-crushing Canadian will surely go pro this time around, and is pegged to be a second-round pick.
All three of the above players featured in our top three Canadian players to watch at March Madness, proving their ability throughout.
Caleb Houstan
Born in Mississauga, Ontario, Caleb Houstan was educated in Florida before moving to Michigan for college.
Although his achievements weren’t quite up to the same level as Nembhard, Edey, and Mathurin, Houstan was another Canadian who made a mark in March Madness. He began the tournament with a dynamite performance against the Colorado State Rams, scoring an explosive 13 points in 36 minutes.
Houston cooled down for the Second Round game, spending more than half an hour on the court with no points and just three rebounds to show for it. For the Sweet Sixteen, Houston found a little spark again, contributing five points to the board. This was still 40% below his 2021-22 season game average, suggesting that perhaps the pressure of being a freshman in the tournament might have created a minor implosion after the early peak.
Houstan is still a minty-fresh sign for the Michigan Wolverines, and at the beginning of his first academic year, so there’s plenty of time to gain finesse.
Charles Bediako
Charles Bediako was one of two Canadians competing for the Alabama Crimson Tide in the NCAA this year, but unfortunately, the only one to make it onto the court, as Keon Ambrose-Hylton entered the transfer portal.
Bediako put in a strong performance in the First Round game, but the Crimson Tide were knocked out by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish with a decisive 78-64 win.
Bediako is already a basketball nomad, having moved from Ontario to Ohio and then to the IMG Academy in Florida, before being recruited by Alabama. He’s had a decent freshman season, taking part in 33 games for an average of 17.8 minutes and netting 6.7 points per game. This performance saw him named on the SEC All-Freshman Team for 2022.
At 7ft (2.13 metres), he is a giant among giants with plenty of natural ability. Provided he can build on his solid debut season, Bediako should have the staying power to match, all the way to the NBA.
The Madness of March might be over, but there’s still an action-packed sportsbook to come in 2022. In addition to the playoffs, the NBA Draft is right around the corner. Which of our Canadian compatriots will go pro? Draft Betting at Bodog is always an exciting process as we all ponder who will be picked first – and second. As always – need we say it? – t’s going to be close this year, so pounce on those odds when the going is good.