The Arizona duo will join a bunch of other electric one-and-doners to make up the most exciting set of prospects in over 20 years. Headlined by BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Kansas’s Darryn Peterson, and Duke’s Cameron Boozer, many basketball observers are comparing the 2026 draft class—which could see as many as 20 freshmen selected—to the iconic classes of 1984 (Hakeem, MJ, Barkley, Stockton), 1996 (Iverson, Ray Allen, Kobe, Nash), and 2003 (LeBron, Melo, Bosh, D-Wade). Those drafts were loaded with transformational talents, but never has the NBA seen so many polished 18, 19, and 20-year-olds projected to enter the league in the same year.
Most mock drafts predict Burries to be a late lottery selection while Peat is likely to be chosen in the top 20. But before they peace-out of school and devote their attention to the pros, the fabulous freshmen are looking to ace college basketball’s final exam.
The duo were a big reason why (aside from their first half against Purdue) Arizona has cruised through the NCAA Tournament. The Cats have won their four March Madness games by an average of 20 points. The freshmen are pouring in 17.7 and 17.5 PPG in the dance, respectively, while the steady hand of senior point guard Jaden Bradley has continued to perfectly complement the precocious neophytes. But the next test figures to be the hardest.
A heavyweight showdown against Michigan, which plays elite defense and rips off kill-shot runs in the blink of an eye, awaits Arizona in Saturday’s national semifinal. It’s a massive matchup that the college basketball world was hoping to see when the brackets were unveiled. All praise to the basketball gods for actually making it happen.
The Wolverines are considered slight favorites by the oddsmakers, but really it’s a toss-up between what many college fans and pundits alike believe were the two best teams throughout the 2025-26 campaign. The Wildcats have the big bodies, like Peat, to combat Michigan’s formidable size. If Burries can land a few haymakers—he’s connecting at an absurd 68.4 percent clip, or 13-for-19, from beyond the arc in the tournament—then Arizona will be the one left standing.
Which is when Burries and Peat would have the chance to enter an ultra-exclusive club or two.
Should they continue to light it up, the pair could eclipse program legend Mike Bibby, who was scintillating on Arizona’s 1997 title team, as the most iconic first-year players in school history. And if Burries or Peat becomes the fifth freshman to earn Final Four Most Outstanding Player honors, they insert themselves into the debate (alongside March legends Carmelo Anthony and Anthony Davis) over who had the best run by a freshman in NCAA Tournament history.
Knock March Madness all you want, but the NBA will never be able to match the NCAA Tournament’s undeniable charm when a freshman does the unexpected. We saw it when UConn’s Braylon Mullins nailed a game-winner for the ages to bounce Duke in the most dramatic of fashions last weekend. We’ve been watching it over the past two weeks with Burries and Peat—who, by the way, are less famous than the most notable freshman on Arizona’s roster, Bryce James, son of LeBron.
So even if your bracket was busted early and the big dance turned out to be a little light on Cinderellas, take a second to salute a couple of kids on the verge of history. They just might be water in the desert for a rabid Arizona fan base that’s tantalizingly close to ending a 29-year championship drought.