2023 March Madness: Philly area players in NCAA Men's Tournament
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- For the first time since 1977, zero Philadelphia men's basketball teams will be in the NCAA Tournament.
But with Philadelphia being a recruiting hot-bed for high school basketball, there's plenty of local players competing in the NCAA Men's Tournament.
Below is a list of players from the Philly region competing in the tournament divided by region:
Midwest region
No. 5 seed University of Miami vs. No. 12 seed Drake University
Friday, 7:25 p.m. on TBS
The Hurricanes have two players that played in the most competitive leagues in the city.
Guard Isaiah Wong played at Monsignor Bonner in the Catholic League, while guard Wooga Poplar played at Math, Civics and Sciences in the Public League.
Wong was recently named ACC Player of the Year. He earned First-Team All ACC Honors and led the Hurricanes in scoring at 16.2 points per game.
Poplar averaged 8.3 points per game as a sophomore.
No. 6 seed Iowa State University vs. TBD
Friday, 3:10 p.m. on TBS
Osun Osunniyi, a Pleasantville, New Jersey native, plays center for Iowa State. He graduated from Mainland High School in Linwood, Atlantic County, before he went to prep school at Putnam Science Academy in Connecticut.
After prep school, Osunniyi played at St. Bonaventure University for four years and transferred to Iowa State. He averaged 8.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game this season.
The Cyclones will play the winner of Mississippi State University and the University of Pittsburgh in the first round.
No. 7 seed Texas A&M University vs. No. 10 seed Penn State University
Thursday, 9:55 p.m. on TBS
Penn State has several players from the Philly area on their squad.
Forward Seth Lundy played high school basketball on Broad and Vine Streets at Roman Catholic in the Catholic League.
Andrew Funk, a transfer from Bucknell, played at Archbishop Wood.
Guard Jameel Brown only appeared in 13 games as a freshman, but in high school he starred at the Haverford School and Westtown School.
Forward Caleb Dorsey is a Westminster, Maryland, native, but he played high school basketball at The Hill School in Pottstown.
Freshman Demetrius Lilley only played in five games this season after attending Lower Merion High School.
No. 2 seed University of Texas vs. No. 15 seed Colgate University
Thursday, 7:25 p.m. on TBS
Colgate junior center Jeff Woodward was a three-time Pioneer Conference Champion at Methacton High School. He racked up 1,450 points, 1,140 rebounds and 262 blocks in his career -- all school records.
South region
No. 8 seed University of Maryland vs. No. 9 seed West Virginia University
Thursday, 12:15 p.m. on TBS
Two Philly natives play for Maryland.
Guard Hakim Hart played at Roman Catholic with Lundy, while Donta Scott played at Imhotep Charter.
Hart and Scott are both averaging 11.5 points points per game for the Terrapins this season.
No. 5 seed San Diego State vs. No. 12 College of Charleston
Thursday, 3:10 p.m. on truTV
Guard Pat Robinson III is a Chesterfield, New Jersey, native and played high school ball at Conwell-Egan in Philadelphia's Catholic League.
Before Charleston, Robinson played at Holy Family University and West Liberty University.
Sophomore guard Jack Miller is also an Ocean Township, New Jersey, native.
No. 11 seed N.C. State vs. No. 11 seed Creighton University
Friday, 4 p.m. on TNT
Graduate student guard Jack Clark played at Cheltenham High School and La Salle University before he landed at N.C. State this season.
No. 2 seed University of Arizona vs. No. 15 seed Princeton University
Thursday, 4:10 p.m. on TNT
Fresh off an Ivy League title, the Tigers have several players from the Philly region.
Forward Keeshawn Kellman is from Allentown, while guard Konrad Kiszka is from Newtown and played high school at La Salle College.
Senior forward Jacob O'Connell is a Vorhees, New Jersey, native and played at St. Joseph's Prep.
No. 7 seed University of Missouri vs. No. 10 seed Utah State
Thursday, 1:40 p.m. on TNT
Senior forward Taylor Funk is from Lancaster, Pennsylvania and played five years at St. Joseph's University before joining Utah State this season.
East region
No. 5 seed Duke University vs. No. 12 seed Oral Roberts
Thursday, 7:10 p.m. on CBS
Dereck Lively II was a five-star center out of the Westtown School before landing at Duke. As a freshman, he appeared in 32 games, including starting 25, averaging 5.4 points per game.
No. 6 seed University of Kentucky vs. No. 11 Providence
Friday, 7:10 p.m. on CBS
The matchup between the Wildcats and Friars features local talent on both teams.
Friars foward Ed Croswell is a Philly native and played at La Salle before heading to Rhode Island. He played at St. Joe's Prep in high school.
Kentucky's Lance Ware played at Camden High School, appearing in 26 games this season.
Kareem Watkins is also from Camden, but he played high school ball at Kingsway Regional. He walked on to Kentucky in 2020.
No. 7 seed Michigan State vs. No. 10 seed University of Southern California
Friday, 12:15 p.m. CBS
Junior Michigan State guard A.J. Hoggard is a Coatesville, Pennsylvania, native and played high school basketball at Archbishop Carroll in the Philadelphia Catholic League before he transferred to Huntington Prep for his junior and senior years.
No. 2 seed Marquette University vs. No. 15 seed Vermont
Friday, 2:45 p.m. on CBS
Marquette sophomore guard Steve Mitchell was a consensus nationally ranked recruit at Wilson High School and named Pennsylvania's Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year in 2020-21 season.
First four
No. 16 seed Southeast Missouri State vs. No. 16 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
Tuesday, 6:40 p.m. on truTV
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's redshirt-senior guard Simeon Fryer is a Philly native and played at Upper Dublin High School.
No. 11 seed Mississippi State vs. No. 11 seed Pittsburgh
Tuesday, 9:10 p.m. on truTV
Mississippi State's Will McNair Jr. is from Philadelphia and played at Martin Luther King High School.
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