March Madness: Brits in the 2024 Men’s NCAA Tournament

Let the Madness begin, the world’s biggest basketball tournament, the NCAA Tournament, aka March Madness aka the Big Dance, tips off this week.

There are two Brits involved in the 2024 Men’s NCAA Tournament, with another connection through Northern Irish born (UK) – Charleston’s CJ Fulton, who was born and raised in Belfast, and represents Ireland on the international stage (him and Charleston face Alabama on Friday, 22:35 GMT). You can also find the Brits involved in the Women’s tournament here.

The number of Brits competing are down from last season’s tournament, in which Tosan Evbuomwan embarked on a run with 15-seeds Princeton and attracted national attention before later making the move into the NBA.

Here’s a closer look at the Brits in the Big Dance:

James Okonkwo – North Carolina [1]

Thursday 21st March – 18:45 GMT
vs Howard/Wagner [16]

James Okonkwo is set for a second successive appearance at March Madness after suiting up for West Virginia in the 2023 tournament. North Carolina are the 1-seeds in the West Regional as they received an at-large spot having been beaten in the WCC Tournament, despite winning the regular season title.

The third Brit to play at UNC – after Steve Bucknall and Neil Fingleton – Okonkwo made 13 appearances in his first season with the Tar Heels with a best of seven points coming back in December.

Great Osobor, Josh Uduje, Chris Haslam – Utah State [8]

Saturday 23rd March – 01:55 GMT
vs TCU [9]

Last year it was MSU, this year it’s USU. The school with the biggest British connection with Great Osobor and Josh Uduje teammates, while Chris Haslam – who was previously at Montana State – is on the coaching staff. The trio enjoyed success as the Mountain West regular season champions before falling short in the post-season tournament.

Osobor has produced another big year with the junior averaging 18.0 points and 9.2 rebounds per game with a career-high of 32 points against Air Force. Meanwhile, Uduje – who also transferred – finished with 8.5 points per game including a best of 20 points having predominantly come off the bench in his junior year.

Where to Watch March Madness in the UK

Selected games will be shown live on Sky Sports

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