March Madness has officially started. The Men's NCAA Tournament will crown a national champion among 68 teams. After the Sweet 16 ended, only eight teams were left. While the first weekend is filled with fun chaos, the second strips down to the best squads with actual hopes of a title.
As the entire sports world shifts its attention to the NCAA Tournament, the Oklahoma City Thunder will watch with vested interest to see how possible draft prospects handle the national spotlight. Depending on how the lottery shakes out, the title contender could have a high lottery pick to a bottom first-round pick in the 2025 NBA draft.
Thunder Wire looked at 10 prospects that the Thunder could look into in the first and second rounds. Here's how they did in the Sweet 16 among those who advanced:
Egor Demin, BYU
Demin's season ended with a 113-88 loss to Alabama. The lopsided loss showed the sea-sized gap between BYU and the rest of the field. Demin finished with 15 points on 6-of-14 shooting, seven assists and two rebounds. He shot 1-of-8 from 3 and went 2-of-2 on free throws. That's likely it for his college career as a one-and-done prospect.
Kon Knueppel, Duke
Duke sweated out their first win of the NCAA Tournament. After two blowouts, they beat Arizona in a 100-93 win. Knueppel stepped up as the Blue Devils' second-best scorer behind Cooper Flagg. He finished with 20 points on 5-of-7 shooting, four rebounds and three assists. He shot 2-of-2 from 3 and went 8-of-9 on free throws. After cruising the first two tournament games, Knueppel stepped up when needed.
Khaman Maluach, Duke
