On the first day of the 2014 NCAA Tournament, the game of the day was up for debate.
The Texas Longhorns defeated the Arizona State Sun Devils on a buzzer-beater and four of the 16 games went into overtime.
However, there was no doubt that Michigan State Spartans’ power forward Adreian Payne had the best individual performance of the day.
Payne scored 41 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field, four-of-five shooting from beyond the arc and a perfect 17-of-17 shooting from the free throw line. He also grabbed eight rebounds and blocked a shot in the Spartans 93-78 victory over the Delaware Blue Hens Thursday. Best of all? It took him only 24 minutes to put those numbers up.
ESPN’s Chad Ford believes that if Payne continues to play well in the tournament, he will be a lottery pick in the 2014 Draft.
Adreian Payne with a huge 41 pt game today. One of the few stretch fours in Draft. More big games could make him a lock for the lottery.
— NBA Big Board (@chadfordinsider) March 20, 2014
Payne averaged 16.7 points and 7.4 rebounds per game this season. Draft Express currently ranks Payne as the 24th best draft eligible prospect.
Payne’s Spartans will be in action Saturday night when they take on the Harvard Crimson.