NBA Draft Odds: Which March Madness Stars Helped, Hurt Stock After First 2 Rounds?

While March Madness isn't necessarily a make-or-break for prospects' NBA draft odds, it certainly can't hurt to have a strong showing in the NCAA Tournament ahead of the draft on June 25.

Unsurprisingly, Wooden Award odds favorite Cooper Flagg has been living up to his billing as the projected No. 1 pick in the draft while leading Duke to the Sweet 16. But Flagg isn't the only future NBAer out there, so which March Madness NBA draft prospects helped and hurt their stock after the first two rounds?

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📈 Which March Madness stars helped their stock after the first two rounds?

🐢 Derik Queen, Maryland

• Season stats: 16.2 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.1 BPG
• March Madness stats: 14.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 2 APG, 2 BPG
• NBA draft projection: Lottery pick
• Maryland March Madness odds: +4000 via BetRivers

The highlight of the NCAA Tournament so far was Queen's buzzer-beater in the second round to beat Colorado State and advance Maryland to the Sweet 16 for just the second time in over two decades. But the Baltimore native who chose to stay home isn't just a March Madness hero in College Park, Md., he's also a future lottery pick.

Queen has lived up to his billing as a five-star recruit this season and helped shorten the Terrapins March Madness odds all year. He's kept up his physical play in the NCAA Tournament, too, by owning the glass, flashing his playmaking ability, and even mixing in a few 3-pointers to prove he can space the floor.

If Queen manages to lead the Terps to an upset over Final Four odds favorite Florida, buzz around his pro prospects will only get louder.

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🔵 Egor Demin, BYU

• Season stats: 10.5 PPG, 5.4 APG, 3.9 RPG, 28.1% 3P%
• March Madness stats: 13 PPG, 6 RPG, 5 APG, 38.5% 3P%
• NBA draft projection: Mid to late first round
• BYU March Madness odds: +7000 via bet365

Due in part to the flashy play of teammate Richie Saunders, freshman Egor Demin hasn't quite gotten his flowers for helping to carry BYU into the Sweet 16 as a No. 6 seed. While he's not scoring at the same clip as Saunders, the Russian has quieted some of his doubters by all of a sudden becoming a consistent 3-point threat - he's 5-for-13 from deep in two March Madness games.

That's all while still flashing the court vision and defensive upside that have some believing he could go as high as the top 14 and sneak into the NBA draft lottery. If Demin keeps hitting shots from behind the arc, the Cougars could beat Alabama.

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🐏 Nique Clifford, Colorado State

• Season stats: 18.9 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 4.4 APG, 1.2 SPG
• March Madness stats: 17.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 6 APG, 1 SPG
• NBA draft projection: Mid-to-late first round
• Colorado State March Madness odds: Eliminated

Although Colorado State's Cinderella run didn't quite come to fruition after Maryland beat the Rams on a buzzer-beater, most of the country got to see why Nique Clifford is one of the fastest-rising prospects in the NBA draft. The versatile wing is a top-notch defender with the ability to run an offense thanks to his IQ and playmaking instincts.

He showed throughout this season that his shooting has improved, even if that didn't quite show up in the NCAA Tournament. Still, he took on two teams seeded better than Colorado State and managed a strong output. There's a real chance he sneaks into the lottery.

📉 Which March Madness stars hurt their stock after the first two rounds?

🐯 Johni Broome, Auburn

• Season stats: 18.4 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 3 APG, 2.5 BPG
• March Madness stats: 11 PPG, 11.5 RPG, 1 APG, 1 BPG
• NBA draft projection: Late first round to early second round
• Auburn March Madness odds: +525 via BetMGM

With Wooden Award voting coming to a close after the Sweet 16, it's fair to assume most voters have already made up their minds with how uninspired Johni Broome's play has been in the NCAA Tournament. Despite Auburn being the No. 1 overall seed in March Madness, Broome and Co. have looked shaky in wins over Alabama State and Creighton.

That win over Creighton was an especially bad look for Broome's NBA stock with fellow big man Ryan Kalkbrenner outplaying him. Broome couldn't create any offense and finished with just eight points while shooting 4-for-13 from the floor. The fifth-year senior is going to need to show up in a big way against fellow NBA draft prospect Danny Wolf when Auburn plays Michigan in the Sweet 16.

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🐺 Liam McNeeley, UConn

• Season stats: 14.5 PPG, 6 RPG, 2.3 APG, 31.7% 3P%
• March Madness stats: 15 PPG, 4 RPG, 2 APG, 18.8% 3P%
• NBA draft projection: Lottery pick to mid-first round
• UConn March Madness odds: Eliminated

Thanks to Dan Hurley putting so much attention on himself as the heel of college basketball, there hasn't been a ton of discourse around how disappointing McNeeley was in the NCAA Tournament for the back-to-back defending champs.

The freshman was supposed to help make up for everything UConn lost to the NBA after last year's championship, instead his shooting woes got significantly worse in the NCAA Tournament.

McNeeley came into the year as a potential top-10 pick, but he's now among the most polarizing players in the class with his struggles as a pull-up shooter and questions about his overall athleticism. There's a shot he returns to the Huskies for another year after their early March Madness exit.

🐘 Labaron Philon, Alabama

• Season stats: 10.5 PPG, 3.7 APG, 3.3 RPG, 45% FG%
• March Madness stats: 3.5 PPG, 6.5 APG, 3.5 RPG, 22.2% FG%
• NBA draft projection: Mid-to-late first round
• Alabama March Madness odds: +1800 via BetMGM

Has there been an NBA draft prospect in March Madness that's had a quieter start to the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament? Philon has been all over the place this season, which isn't a surprise for a freshman, but man, he has struggled to shoot in the tournament thus far. He's also been reluctant to shoot going just 2-for-9 from the floor and 0-for-2 from deep through two games.

On the bright side, his ability as a setup man has popped at times, especially in the too-close-for-comfort win over No. 15 seed Robert Morris in the first round.

It doesn't help his stock that this is Mark Sears' offense so he doesn't really get to run it, which is why some draftniks think he could return to Tuscaloosa with Sears graduating after this season. Philon will need to do much more from a scoring perspective against BYU in the Sweet 16 to reignite some of his buzz.

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