2025 March Madness: Star guards rise to the occasion as the heroes from Day 2

Baylor’s freshman duo

The Bears have had an up-and-down season as a result of, nicely, that is life once you’re led by sporadic freshman. However then there are performances like Friday that remind you simply how dynamic prime NBA prospects might be. Baylor’s pair of projected first-round picks, V.J. Edgecombe and Robert Wright Jr., mixed for 35 factors to guide the Bears to a 75-72 win over Mississippi State on Friday. Edgecombe hit two well timed 3-pointers within the second half, his taking pictures contact opening the lane for Wright to assault the Bulldogs with slashing drives. 

Sean Pedulla, Guard, Ole Miss

Pedulla is the solar that Ole Miss’s offense revolves round. When he has an enormous sport, the Rebels have a tendency to come back out on prime. On Friday, he scored 20 factors and dished out 5 assists within the Rebels 71-64 win over North Carolina. The efficiency was spectacular because it got here towards a Tar Heels group that has a pair of robust perimeter defenders in Seth Trimble and Elliot Cadeau. OIe Miss led by double-digits for the primary half-hour of Friday’s sport, however then North Carolina stormed again and minimize it to 66-64. With 52 seconds remaining, Pedulla hit a 3-pointer from the right-wing, which was the dagger. 

Jackson Shelstad, Guard, Oregon

Shelstad was in such a zone that he began shaking his head after hitting a mid-range jumper, in disbelief of his personal unconsciousness. He had eight of Oregon’s first 16 factors, pulling down a deep pull-up 3-pointer to provide the Geese a 16-2 lead and ended the sport with 17 factors. Oregon imposed its will from the leap, and by no means regarded again, dominating Liberty 81-52, on Friday. Shelstad, a West Linn, Oregon native, wears No. 3 due to his idol and mentor Payton Pritchard, who had numerous memorable runs within the inexperienced and yellow. Shelstad channeling Pritchard would imply good issues will proceed to come back for these Geese.