March Madness is the make or break event for the heralded and unheralded stars of Division I college basketball. Star players like Lonzo Ball (UCLA), Jonathan Issac (FSU), Jayson Tatum (Duke), Josh Jackson (KU), and Lauri Markkanen (ZONA) all look to solidify their positions as top picks in the upcoming NBA 2017 Draft with strong performances in the tournament.

It can be argued that for these players and a handful of others that their fate will not be changed drastically if they have poor play, but excellent play could vault them to a higher pick. Current Laker small-forward, Brandon Ingram, worked his way up draft charts all 2016 as he was not an initial top prospect entering the year but strong play all year had put him in the discussion. Although Duke lost in the Sweet 16 to Oregon, Ingrams performance in the tournament warranted his #2 selection to the Los Angeles Lakers.

This is also the time for less known prospects to make their mark on the biggest stage in college basketball. The back to back reigning NBA MVP Steph Curry was unheralded in college attending a smaller school, Davidson. According to sports-reference.com, Curry averaged 28.6 points and 5.6 assists in 2008 as a junior for Davidson and a career average of 25.3 points. While his stats were impressive, many at the time were unsure how he would do stack up against some of the other top players from higher seeded schools.

Davidson was considered a top-tier mid major but still entered the tournament as a 10 seed and long shot to advance far in the tournament. Curry would score 128 points in four games beating Gonzaga, Georgetown, and Wisconsin losing in the final seconds to the top seeded Kansas and eventual champs in 2008. March Madness was Curry’s time to put the country on notice of his skills, his electrifying tournament play helped him to be selected 7th overall in 2008 to the Golden State Warriors.

Routinely March Madness is unpredictable and every year there is a surprise team that makes it far into the tournament. In 2006, 13 seed Bradley made it to the Sweet 16, and 11 seed George Mason made a final four run. In 2013, 15 seeded Florida Gulf Coast also made a Sweet 16 run.Last year 13 seed Hawaii and 14 seed Stephen F. Austin upset 4 seed Cal and 3 seed West Virginia.

The NCAA committee selected the 68 teams that will be in the tournament on Sunday with Villanova, Gonzaga, North Carolina and Kansas being selected as the top seeds. UCLA, Kentucky, Arizona, Arizona, Oregon, Butler and Florida State are also top seeds looking to make a deep playoff run.

While schools like Wichita State, Rhode Island, Middle-Tennessee State and New Mexico State look like poised lower seeds capable of an upset.The rest of the month of March is now the make or break time these teams and players have to parlay themselves in the championship game on April 3rd.