Advanced stat shows Brady Manek as one of nation's most impactful players in NCAA Tournament
Through the first weekend, it’s hard to argue anyone has been better in the NCAA Tournament than North Carolina’s Brady Manek.
Manek’s raw numbers are awesome — he scored 54 points on 18-of-28 shooting in North Carolina’s two wins this past weekend. He’s 9-of-18 from 3-point range and also has 16 rebounds and 5 assists over that span.
Advanced metrics like real plus/minus also show Manek to have a massive impact. Here’s how he compares to the rest of the NCAA Tournament field:
Which #Sweet16 players had the biggest impact on the tournament so far | Real +/- and Net Rtg 📊 | Elite Offense➡️: @BoilerBall @ZagMBB @TexasTechMBB @NovaMBB @DukeMBB; Elite Defense⬆️: @CycloneMBB; Dual↗️: @UNC_Basketball @UHCougarMBK #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/RTRJgqyuCg
— JG Trends (@jgtrends) March 21, 2022
Manek was ejected for a flagrant 2 foul in UNC’s win over Baylor on Sunday. That ejection is not expected to impact his status for UNC’s Sweet 16 matchup vs. UCLA on Friday.
Manek is certainly is his best stretch of the season, if not his entire career. Since Feb. 2, he’s averaging 18.4 points per game on 51.6 percent shooting and 40.4 percent from 3-point range.
North Carolina is 10-3 all-time against UCLA. The Tar Heels are looking to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 2017, when they went on to win the National Championship.
Tipoff is tentatively scheduled for 9:40 p.m. ET on Thursday night.