These 3 former Penn State men’s basketball players are in the NCAA Tournament
By Matt Hymowitz
Penn State didn't make it into the NCAA Tournament, but a handful of former Nittany Lions will be there with their new teams.
Senior guard Rasir Bolton will make his first tournament appearance with top overall seed Gonzaga. Bolton, who was a member of the 2018-19 Penn State team, has started every game this season. He was named to the all-conference team as an honorable mention.
Gonzaga (26-3) opens its tournament run Thursday against No. 16 Georgia State (18-10).
Izaiah Brockington spent the previous three seasons with Penn State. This year, the senior guard is part of an Iowa State team making its first tournament appearance since 2019.
Brockington was the Big 12 newcomer of the year and was named to the All-Big 12 First Team and Big 12 All-Newcomer Team. He's fourth in the Big 12 in scoring (17.2) and third in rebounding (7.1).
Iowa State (20-12), the 11th seed, will face LSU (22-11), seeded 6th, in the first round Friday.
Jamari Wheeler spent four years with Penn State before he transferred to Ohio State.
The guard is 10th in Big Ten history in steals at 228 and has led the conference in steals during each of the past two years. He was named to the conference's All-Defensive Team.
The Buckeyes (19-11) are the No. 7 seed in the tournament and will begin play Friday against No. 10 Loyola-Chicago (25-7) in Pittsburgh.
