Bennedict Mathurin is a clutch player and hands down best in the NCAA

Bennedict Mathurin, the Pac-12 Player of the Year, is finally getting noticed on the national stage bringing Arizona their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2017.

Bennedict Mathurin went from starting in 12 out of 26 games played in his freshman year, to starting all 36 games so far this season. His team has lost only three of 36 games, in part because of Ben’s play and production.

The star Wildcat decided to come back to Tucson to play for now Pac-12 Coach of the Year Tommy Lloyd and is averaging 17.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1 steal per game. He has improved in every stat column.

Provided by CBB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 3/23/2022.

Mathurin could have entered the 2021 NBA Draft as he was projected to go late in the first round; however, it seems he made the right decision as he is being touted by media as an NBA Lottery pick in 2022.

Coming back was a great idea, as the proud Canadian native has been named the Pac-12 Player of the year, is a member of the Associated Press All-American second-team, and is a second-team NABC All-American.

If Arizona as a team wasn’t nationally ranked No. 1 in assists (714 total assists and 19.8 average assists per game), Mathurin could have garnered many more awards by scoring more points. But that doesn’t matter to Mathurin because he and his teammates have bought into playing team ball, where winning is the goal and players need to leave their egos at the door. Except, that is if they perform well.

Zachary Cohen of Forbes.com wrote an article titled, “Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin Looks Like A Surefire Lottery Pick In The 2022 NBA Draft.”  In the article, Cohen describes Mathurin as having “Both the size and spot-up ability to be a good guard at the next level”. He also stated that “The guard has a nice, high release on his jumper, and he gets good lift on it as well. It’s a picture-perfect stroke and it’s nearly impossible for defenders to get their hands on it.”

Cohen pointed out that Ben scored 1.295 points per possession in spot-up opportunities last season according to Synergy Sports which resulted in being ranked in the 96th percentile of college basketball players, which is an “excellent rating.”

After beating TCU, Coach Lloyd thinks the world of Mathurin and spoke highly of his player, “Ben’s not afraid of the moment — and he has that clutch gene — right when he snapped that three, it was pretty impressive — I’ve been on him to get that dunk all year so I’m glad he finally got one.”

Mathurin has been clutch all season but on Sunday night, he and Christian Koloko (28 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists, and a steal) were the difference makers. Mathurin’s dunk brought everyone out of their seats, and although he was fouled by Eddie Lamkin, Jr. and it wasn’t called, fans felt that posterizing dunk was one of the best of all time for a Wildcat.

If that wasn’t exciting enough, he made a crucial three-pointer that tied up the game, ultimately forcing overtime. That was clutch! He scored 11 out of the teams’ last 13 points down the stretch with 1:11 left in overtime. He also grabbed several clutch offensive rebounds.

Dalen Terry told the announcers before Bennedict took to the microphone, “He’s the best player of the country, the best player of the country right now, and we are the best team in the country!”

Bennedict’s response, “It’s all about winning.” This winner scored 30 points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished fours assists, and stole the ball twice while playing 41 minutes.

Bennedict fed off the fans in San Diego, he knows the assignment; Win all remaining games, don’t panic, play hard, and with a lot of energy. Coach Lloyd knows the fans help his team, “I love the fan base, they’re amazing, you know we need you — I want them to bring extra — I’m not asking the fans anything we not asking the team to do — You know I want them to be participants not be observers.”

Arizona is poised to do something that no other No. 1 seed has done before. According to KenPom (KSL.com), Arizona can go from unranked pre-season to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament to advancing to the Final Four if they survive this weekend. Bennedict and his team are just one of 12 teams in college basketball history that have gone from unranked in the AP Poll to being a No. 1 seed.

This season has been grand for the Wildcats so far, and no matter what happens, Bennedict Mathurin will have his name called in the first 10 spots of the NBA Draft this Summer.