March Madness is known for many things, but the most interesting part of every tournament is the “Breakout Stars”. Every tournament has different stars, and you’ll never know who will show up in the clutch moments. Let’s take a look at some of the recent March Madness breakout stars.
2024- Jack Gohlke- Oakland Grizzlies
Jack Gohlke is the most recent March Madness breakout star, thanks to his team’s upset win over Kentucky. Jack Gohlke was unknown before the tournament, and thanks to 32 points and 10 3-pointers everyone knows his name. Gohlke led the 14 seed Grizzlies’ win over 3 seed Kentucky, which has easily been the biggest upset of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. He followed up the 32-point performance with 22 points and 6 3-pointers against North Carolina. His 16 made threes are the most through anyone’s first two NCAA Tournament games. Gohlke’s legendary 5-day run will be remembered for years to come.
2019- Carsen Edwards- Purdue Boilermakers
As a Purdue fan, this is personally my all-time favorite March Madness run. Edwards was on fire to say the least. He could shoot from just about anywhere and it would go in. In the Round of 64 teams, Edwards scored 26 points and shot 4-12 (4 made out of 12) from the 3-point line. In the Round of 32, Edwards scored 42 points while shooting 9-16 from behind the arc. In the Sweet 16, Edwards scored 29 points and shot 5-14 from the 3. Purdue’s run would end in the Elite 8 but Edwards’s dominance wouldn’t go away scoring 42 points while shooting 10-19 from the 3, and shooting 14-25 from the field. Carsen Edwards’s 2019 March Madness run will be remembered in basketball history.
2008- Stephen Curry- Davidson Wildcats
Almost everyone knows who Steph Curry is, but not everyone knows how he came to fame. It all started when 10-seed Davidson faced off against 7-seed Gonzaga. Curry didn’t wait to show his dominance, scoring 40 points while shooting 8-10 from the 3-point line. In the Round of 32, Curry faced off against the 2 seed Georgetown Hoyas, and, once again, he didn’t hold back while scoring 30 points and shooting 5-15 from behind the arc. In the Sweet 16, the 10-seed Davidson Wildcats would face off against the 3-seed Wisconsin Badgers for a trip to the Elite 8. Everyone was ready to watch Stephen Curry and his fun style of play, and Curry dominated, scoring 33 points while shooting 6-11 from the 3. In Curry’s final collegiate game, he went for 25 points while shooting 4-16 from the 3, but this wasn’t enough to beat the eventual champs, the 1-seed Kansas Jayhawks. Steph’s magical run put his name on NBA draft boards and in CBB history.
2011- Kemba Walker- UConn Huskies
Kemba Walker was practically unknown before entering the 2011 Big East Tournament, but that changed after Walker led UConn to 5 straight wins and clinched the Huskies an automatic bid in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. In those 5 games, Walker averaged 26 points. After UConn’s miracle Conference Championship, everyone was counting them out in the tournament, but Kemba Walker was ready to prove everyone wrong.
In the Round of 64 Walker scored 18 points while making 2 3-pointers. In the Round of 32 Walker scored 33 points and went 14-14 from the FT line to lead UConn past the 6-seeded Cincinnati Bearcats. In the Sweet 16 Kemba would score 36 points and shoot 4-8 from the 3-point line to defeat the 2 seed San Diego State. Unlike all of the other runs on this list, UConn would make it past the Elite 8, thanks to Kemba Walker who scored 20 points and had 7 assists. In the Final 4 the Huskies would face their toughest opponent yet, Kentucky, but that didn’t stop Walker from having 18 points and 7 assists to advance to the National Championship. The National Championship would be against the 8-seed Butler Bulldogs, and this would be a low-scoring contest, Walker scored 16 points and led the UConn Huskies to a 53-41 victory to win the 2011 National Championship.
There have been so many “Breakout Stars” and every March we get a new one. The thing that people love about March Madness is the unpredictability of who’s going to play well and who’s not. It’s the reason that no one has ever filled out a Perfect March Madness Bracket, and why no one ever will.
