10 CBB Stars Who Can Take over the 2022 Men's NCAA Tournament

Among the many appealing parts of March Madness, basketball fans often look forward to the rise of individual stars.

Last year, Baylor's Davion Mitchell and UCLA's Johnny Juzang put together a memorable stretch of performances while leading their respective teams to the Final Four. And the 2022 men's NCAA tournament is certain to feature more of the same.

Today, we're looking at 10 established stars who have a distinct opportunity to spearhead a deep tournament run.

The choices lean toward players at programs that are most likely to reach the second weekend. As a result, mid-major standouts such as Colorado State's David Roddy, Liberty's Darius McGhee, Oral Roberts' Max Abmas and Wyoming's Hunter Maldonado are excluded. They're not overlooked, though.

Note: Stats accurate as of Feb. 21.

In his fourth year at Kansas, Ochai Agbaji has taken the superstar leap as a high-volume, high-efficiency shooter.

Agbaji is averaging 20.0 points per game and shooting 43.7 percent from the perimeter on 6.7 attempts per game. Aided by a 74.2 free-throw clip—which is a 5.3 percent improvement from last season—he boasts a 60.6 effective field-goal percentage.

Most notably, Agbaji put up 37 points in a victory over Texas Tech in late January. He also netted 29 against Michigan State and scored 23 in a valuable road win at West Virginia on Saturday. 

Agbaji has repeatedly showed he's capable of leading the Jayhawks past quality competition.

Paolo Banchero has slowed recently, averaging 13.8 points with an unspectacular 37.8 field-goal clip in the last six games.

His peak performance, however, should not be discounted.

Banchero tallied 22 and 21 points in early victories over Kentucky and Gonzaga, respectively, and has a season-best mark of 28. The freshman forward has grabbed 12-plus rebounds in five contests and dished six-plus assists in four games.

One legitimate concern is Banchero will occasionally fade into the background, which should be more than mildly concerning. At his best, though, Banchero is unmistakably a versatile force.

Two games are enough evidence to defend Johnny Davis' spot.

Against a full-strength Houston team on a neutral court, he collected 30 points with four rebounds, four steals and two blocks. On the road at Purdue, Davis registered 37 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.

In total, he connected on six of 12 attempts from beyond the arc during those two Wisconsin wins.

Any questions? Shouldn't be many, at least. Davis has propelled the Badgers to a 21-5 record while averaging 20.9 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.9 combined steals and blocks.

Since the calendar turned to February, star freshman Chet Holmgren has reached an absurd level.

In a six-game stretch that includes wins against BYU and Saint Mary's, he's amassed 16.0 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.8 blocks and 2.0 assists per game. Holmgren has shot 42.3 percent from three and a sizzling 70.3 percent inside the perimeter, too.

Sure, the NCAA tournament will bring a more competitive slate compared to the West Coast Conference. However, it's not like Holmgren is untested; Gonzaga played Texas, UCLA, Duke, Alabama and Texas Tech earlier in the regular season. Two months later, he's clearly more comfortable in his role.

There's no question that Holmgren, the nation's top prospect in the 2021 class, has surpassed the hype.

Purdue has a trio of legitimate stars with Zach Edey, Trevion Williams and Jaden Ivey. That depth of elite talent is an obvious reason the Boilermakers are a title contender.

Only one of them averages more than 20 minutes.

Ivey has generated 17.3 points and 3.1 assists per night, also hitting a respectable 36.9 percent of his 4.8 triples. Along with 10 games of 20-plus points this season, he's buried clutch shots against Ohio State and Maryland in the last month.

Edey and Williams are vital contributors for Purdue's prolific offense, but Ivey is the engine of the Big Ten front-runner.

Walker Kessler is the catalyst of Auburn's frustrating defense—though he's rather effective on offense, too.

Kessler, a transfer from North Carolina, has swatted a nation-leading 4.6 shots per game. Most impressively, he's recorded two triple-doubles with points, rebounds and blocks this season.

While he's not a high-volume scorer, Kessler is an incredibly efficient one. He ranks fifth in the country with a 66.6 effective field-goal percentage, which includes a 74.7 two-point clip. The latter mark trails only Southern Utah's Jason Spurgin (76.8).

Jabari Smith is Auburn's top offensive weapon, but Kessler has takeover potential on both ends of the court.

Similar to Agbaji at Kansas, E.J. Liddell is a veteran who's increased his production without a substantial change in minutes.

Last season, he averaged 16.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 blocks with a 33.8 three-point clip. This year, though, Liddell has offered 19.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.6 blocks per game while knocking down 40.5 percent of his threes.

The junior has tallied 25-plus points and three-plus blocks in five contests, including a 28-point, three-swat performance in a recent victory at rival Michigan.

Liddell's two-way contributions are the backbone of Ohio State's position as a projected top-five seed, per BracketMatrix.

Right as it appeared Keegan Murray may be slowing down, he's begun shredding defenses again.

In his first 14 outings of the season, Murray scored 24.7 points per game. That average tumbled to 16.7 in a six-game stretch during which Iowa lost to Rutgers, Purdue and Penn State.

Since then, however, he's poured in 27.6 per night. The sophomore's February surge has also featured 8.0 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and just 1.2 turnovers per game, and Murray has drained 50.0 percent of his perimeter shots and 59.1 overall along the way.

Given that Iowa is likely to receive a seed in the 7-10 range, Murray is a potential second-round nightmare for top teams.

He's already taken over March Madness once, after all.

During the 2021 tournament, Drew Timme accumulated 20.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. While the roster had plenty of star power, he recorded a team-best scoring output in four of national runner-up Gonzaga's six contests.

Timme hasn't been quite as dominant this season, sure. Holmgren's continued ascent has absorbed plenty of attention, too.

But when the Big Dance arrives, it's easy to see Timme's experience in the spotlight becoming a vital piece of the Zags' success.

If he secures every rebound in sight, Oscar Tshiebwe will probably be pretty difficult to stop, you know?

Tshiebwe, who transferred from West Virginia, has snagged 10-plus rebounds in 25 of Kentucky's 27 games. So far, he's maxed out at 28 with four additional 20-board performances. Tshiebwe leads the country with 15.2 rebounds per game.

That alone is impressive enough, yet he's also netted 16.4 points per game on 59.3 percent shooting with 1.9 steals and 1.4 blocks. He tops the nation at 2.7 defensive win shares, as well.

At his best, Tshiebwe is nothing short of overpowering. And that upside may be on full display in March Madness.

Recruiting information via 247Sports. Statistics courtesy of KenPom.com or Sports Reference, unless otherwise noted. Follow Bleacher Report writer David Kenyon on Twitter @Kenyon19_BR.