March Madness Players to Watch Today: Best Odds & Prop Bets for Friday's NCAA Tournament Stars

Unlike yesterday's slate of games, there are far fewer players taking the court today for one-bid league teams with the potential to become legends in March Madness history.

Although upsets are still bound to happen, there aren't as many Cinderella-type programs hitting the hardwood on Day 2. That's why our best March Madness players today focus more on matchups between star guards than on players who will become brand names off mighty performances like Drake's Bennett Stirtz did yesterday.

🏀 Best March Madness players today: NCAA Tournament odds & prop bets

While several of the best NBA draft prospects in March Madness are suiting up in the NCAA Tournament today, those are already players most viewers are already familiar with. So instead of highlighting Duke's Cooper Flagg, Alabama's Mark Sears, or Florida's Walter Clayton Jr., I'm looking at mouth-watering matchups and a pair of smaller school players who will need to put their teams on their backs today.

Finding the best March Madness prop bets can mean backing All-American talents that everyone knows against lesser schools, but that just isn't what the first round of the NCAA Tournament is about. It's about tuning in to find out your new favorite player plays at Lipscomb or that Colorado State and Memphis are going to give us an all-time guard matchup.

⭐ March Madness stars to watch today

• VJ Edgecombe, G, Baylor vs. Josh Hubbard, G, Mississippi State - 12:15 p.m. ET
• Jacob Ognacevic, F, Lipscomb (vs. Iowa State) - 1:30 p.m. ET
• Nique Clifford, G, Colorado State vs. PJ Haggerty, G, Memphis - 2 p.m. ET
• Tayton Conerway, G, Troy (vs. Kentucky) - 7:10 p.m. ET
• Kam Jones, G, Marquette vs. Donovan Dent, G, New Mexico - 7:25 p.m. ET

👉 Looking for more March Madness action? Check out the rest of our March Madness first-round expert picks as part of our March Madness predictions.

⛹️ Tayton Conerway, G, Troy vs. Kentucky

📈 Stats: 14.3 PPG, 2.9 SPG
📅 Tipoff: 7:10 p.m. ET

If Troy plans on stunning Kentucky on Day 2 of the NCAA Tournament, the Trojans will need Tayton Conerway to carry the load on both ends of the court. The fifth-year senior began his career at Grayson College before moving to Ranger College and becoming an NJCAA All-American, which led to him transferring up to Tory.

After winning Sun Belt Sixth Man of the Year last season, Conerway became one of the best guards in the nation this year while taking home Sun Belt Player of the Year honors. He's 47th in the country by EvanMiya's BPR rating and third in all of college basketball in steals per game.

Between Conerway's relentlessness on both ends of the court, and Kentucky's injuries, it's not unfathomable to think Troy could potentially steal a win today.

📊 Best Tayton Conerway odds & player prop bets today

⛹️ Kam Jones, G, Marquette vs. Donovan Dent, G, New Mexico

📈 Jones Stats: 19.3 PPG, 5.9 APG
📈 Dent Stats: 20.6 PPG, 6.4 APG
📅 Tipoff: 7:25 p.m. ET

On a Day 2 defined by must-see guard matchups, getting arguably the best high-major guard in college basketball (Kam Jones) against probably the most underrated guard in the entire tournament (Donovan Dent) is perfect.

While Jones is a known commodity and was third in the Wooden Award odds for a good chunk of the season, Dent is about to announce himself to every viewer who hasn't been paying attention to Mountain West basketball.

Only three players in the NCAA Tournament average over 19 PPG and over five APG: Stirtz and these two. Not only are they both capable of taking over games as scorers, but they're both two of the best facilitators in the country and quality defenders - both Marquette and New Mexico are top 25 in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom.  

Another interesting thing about this game is Dent just took home Mountain West Player of the Year playing for Richard Pitino, who replaced Marquette head coach Shaka Smart as an assistant at Florida under Billy Donovan when Smart took the VCU job in 2009. Looking for another fun connection? Smart's Golden Eagles just lost in the Big East tournament to Pitino's father Rick's St. John's squad.

📊 Best Donovan Dent odds & player prop bets today

🏀 Best March Madness odds, predictions & expert picks today

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🔮 March Madness predictions for every game today

• Mississippi State vs. Baylor prediction
• Alabama vs. Robert Morris prediction
• Iowa State vs. Lipscomb prediction
• Memphis vs. Colorado State prediction
• Duke vs. Mount St. Mary's prediction
• Saint Mary's vs. Vanderbilt prediction
• Ole Miss vs. North Carolina prediction
• Maryland vs. Grand Canyon prediction
• Florida vs. Norfolk State prediction
• Kentucky vs. Troy prediction
• Marquette vs. New Mexico prediction
• Arizona vs. Akron prediction
• UConn vs. Oklahoma prediction
• Illinois vs. Xavier prediction
• Michigan State vs. Bryant prediction
• Oregon vs. Liberty prediction

💰 March Madness betting odds pages

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