10 Best College Basketball Players From Preseason Tournaments

Just a few days removed from the preseason tournaments, here are Top 10 players for their teams in those various events around the country.

With dozens of preseason tournaments happening last week and countless unpredicted top-25 matchups, several unranked teams provided upsets that sparked their teams entering the rankings this week. As a result, several players notched themselves into the top class of players in the country. Here are the top 10 most valuable players of the preseason tournaments.

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Bruce Thornton, G, Ohio State

Bruce Thornton and company opened up the Emerald Coast Classic against a top-25 opponent in Alabama. Thornton finished that game with 29 points, three rebounds, and seven assists propelling his team to a 92-81 upset. They followed it up with a domination of Santa Clara in the championship in which Thornton had 13 points, five rebounds, and seven assists.

Eric Dixon, F, Villanova

Eric Dixon and Villanova took part in the Bad Boys Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis tournament taking on Texas Tech in the first round. Dixon finished with 19 points and six rebounds leading his team to a semifinal matchup with then-ranked No. 14 North Carolina. Dixon had a career game with 34 points and 10 rebounds in the win. He capped off that performance with a championship game against Memphis with 11 points and eight rebounds in just 20 minutes.

Alijah Martin, Florida Atlantic

After suffering a tough loss heading into the ESPN Events Invitational, Alijah Martin and Florida Atlantic bounced back knocking off a top-15 team on its way to a championship. In the biggest game of the tournament, Martin dominated Texas A&M with 25 points and seven rebounds. He then led his team in the championship game against Virginia Tech with 17 points and eight rebounds with four assists.

Keshad Johnson, F, Arizona

Arizona played in two games apart of the Acrisure Invitational last weekend. The first game was an easy blowout against Texas-Arlington where Keshad Johnson had 11 points and six rebounds. They followed it up with a game against then No. 21 Michigan State and Johnson finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds in the team’s only double double of the tournament.

Noah Waterman, F, BYU

Noah Waterman is a large part of BYU not only winning the Las Vegas Showdown tournament but also in bringing the team to a top-25 ranking. In the opening game against Arizona State, Waterman had 24 points with seven rebounds. He doubled down on that performance with a 15-point, six-rebound game against North Carolina State in the championship.

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Oso Ighodaro, F, Marquette

The Allstate Maui Invitational was one of the most anticipated tournaments of the early season with four top ten teams taking part. Marquette took down UCLA and followed it up knocking off the No. 1 team in the nation, Kansas, before losing in the championship to Purdue. Oso Ighodaro played a large part in Marquette’s upset win having 21 points, nine rebounds, and two assists.

Zach Edey, C, Purdue

Typically, you don’t have two most valuable players in the same tournament, but you can’t overshadow Zach Edey and his performances in Purdue’s championship run. He had 25 points and 14 rebounds against No. 11 Gonzaga, 23 points and 10 rebounds against No. 7 Tennessee, and finished it with a monster 28-point and 15-rebound performance in the championship game against No. 4 Marquette to cap off three top-11 wins in three days.

Isaiah Stevens, G, Colorado State

Isaiah Stevens, like Noah Waterman, helped Colorado State to a Hall of Fame Classic championship, knocking off a top-10 team and earning a spot in the top 25 for themselves. In the opening game, Stevens had 18 points and eight assists. In the championship game against No. 8 Creighton, Stevens had 20 points, six rebounds and seven assists.

Terrence Edwards, G, James Madison

James Madison took part in the Cancun Challenge – Riviera Division and came away with a championship after beating Southern Illinois and Fresno State easily. Terrence Edwards finished the tournament with 33 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists in the tournament.

RJ Davis, G, North Carolina

North Carolina lost in the semifinals of their respective tournament, the Battle 4 Atlantis. However, even in the loss to Villanova, Davis had 23 points with five rebounds and three assists. He helped the team bounce back against No. 20 Arkansas with a 30-point performance in the consolation game.

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