Arizona has 3 players named among top 50 in NCAA Tournament

Arizona stars Jaden Bradley, Brayden Burries and Koa Peat were named in the "Ranking the top 50 men's college basketball players in March Madness" posted by ESPN on Wednesday. Peat is 43rd, Burries18th and Bradley 17th in the ESPN rankings.

Myron Medcalf summarized Peat for ESPN. Medcalf mentioned the breakout. 30 point, seven rebound, five assists performance in the season-opening 93-87 win over Florida. Peat had an up-and-down season, as stated by Medcalf while noting he played with a lower leg injury.

Medcalf then noted that Peat has five 20-point games since January 1, including 21 points and six rebounds as Arizona beat Houston 79-74 in the Big XII Championship Game. Peat is still projected to be a first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft in June.

Burries leads Arizona, averaging 15.9 points per game. Burries had 13 20-point games with a high of 31 points in an 89-79 win at Colorado in the regular season finale. Medcalfe noted Burries is the leading scorer for Arizona on a team with seven players averaging at least 9.0 PPG.

Medcalfe also noted Burries scoring 28 points against Alabama, 20 against Kansas and 10 in the first half of the Big XII Championship big matchups this season. Burries finished with 21 points to help Arizona beat Houston for the Big XII Championship.

In summarizing Bradley, Jeff Borzello noted that the shot at the buzzer to beat Iowa State in the Big XII Tournament semifinals is all that needs to be said about the Big XII Player of the Year. Borzello called Bradey one of the best two-way and late-game players nationally.

Bradley is averaging 13.3 PPG, 3.6 RPG and 4.5 APG, which does not jump off the page per Borzello, but he consistently makes winning plays when it matters. Throughout the 2025-26 season, Bradley has been one of the best closers in college basketball.