Georgetown’s Roy Hibbert sits dejected after fouling out against Davidson and realizing he’s not a ‘2nd Round Workhorse’ candidate. (Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

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The NCAA men’s basketball tournament is traditionally about great and, often improbable, team runs spurred by uncanny individual performances, and this year’s tournament has been no different. There have been upsets and a lot of near upsets as any of the four #2 seeds could tell you after their second round contests as they each had to battle down to the wire against three #7 seeds and a Goliath-slaying #10 seed in Davidson. Those contests each had their own outstanding performances.

But who had the most outstanding performance to make them worthy of the distinction of being named the ‘2nd Round Workhorse?’ Here are our candidates (in alphabetical order):

A.J. Abrams (Texas) - For the second straight game, Abrams was 6-10 from three-point range and finished with 26 points. In the second round, he added 4 rebounds and an assist to go along with his 6 for 6 shooting from the free throw line, including four in the final minute to help Texas escape with a 75-72 win over Miami.

Wink Adams (UNLV) - Adams had a career high 25 points in a loss to #1 seeded Kansas. The 6-foot guard was practically UNLV’s only offense as he drove to the lane and was repeatedly fouled. He spent a lot of time at the free throw line as 60% of his points came from the charity stripe (15-17 FT).

Stephen Curry (Davidson) - With less than 15 minutes left, things looked bleak for the Wildcats against powerhouse Georgetown: the team trailed by 48-33 and star shooting guard Curry only had 5 points on 2-11 shooting. But then he converted a four-point play to get him started, and in the last 9 1/2 minutes, he went off for 21 points hitting a shot nearly every time the ball touched his hands. He finished with 30 points, outscoring Georgetown, by himself, 25-22 in the final 14 1/2 minutes. He also threw in 3 rebs, 5 asts, and 3 stls for good measure.

Trevon Hughes (Wisconsin) - Michael Beasley may have gotten anther double-double, but Wisconsin got a resounding win thanks to Hughes’s career high 25 points (8-14 FG, 4-9 3PT). He also added 2 rebs, 3 asts, and a steal for the Badgers.

Mitch Johnson (Stanford) - Johnson only had 9 points, but he had a career high 16 assists. It was also Johnson’s leadership that held Stanford together after head coach Trent Johnson was ejected from the game.

Courtney Lee (Western Kentucky) - The Sun Belt’s Player of the Year played like it Sunday as the Hilltoppers held off San Diego thanks to Lee’s 29 points (9-15 FG, 4-5 3PT) and ability to knock down clutch free throws (7-8 FT) down the stretch. He also contributed 7 boards, 3 steals and had 1 assist.

Brook Lopez (Stanford) - After starting 1 for 7 and only scoring 2 points in the first half, Lopez scored 28 more the rest of the game, including the game-winner and 8 of Stanford’s 11 points in the overtime period. Lopez finished with 30 points on 10-20 shooting from the field and 10-11 shooting from the free throw line. He also had 4 rebs, 1 ast, and 1 blk.

Kevin Love (UCLA) - Love’s offensive numbers were not overly impressive (19 points, 11 rebounds) for a player as highly touted as he is considered, but he absolutely changed the game with his defensive prescence in the lane in the second half of UCLA’s narrow victory over Texas A&M. Trailing for most of the second half, it was Love’s defense (7 blocks for the game) that sparked a late rally. It was also his two turnaround jumpers that tied the game and gave the Bruins their first lead late in the second half.

Joe Mazzulla (West Virginia) - Mazzulla came off the bench and contributed in every way possible for the Mountaineers as they knocked off the might Duke Blue Devils in the second round. He put in 13 points, dished out 8 assists, and the 6-foot-2 reserve guard yanked down 11 rebounds. He also knocked down 7 of his 8 free throw attempts.

Jerel McNeal (Marquette) - McNeal went off for 30 points (13-25 FG, 4-12 3PT), 8 rebounds, 2 assists and added a steal and block for good measure, but it wasn’t enough to get the Golden Eagles past the Lopez twins of Stanford.

Scottie Reynolds (Villanova) - The super sophomore Reynolds tossed in 25 points, including 4-7 from downtown and 7-9 from the charity stripe. He added 8 rebounds and 5 assists in leading the Wildcats to a second round win over Siena.

Deon Thompson (North Carolina) - It’s hard to pick a best performance from a team that has back-to-back 100+ point outings. Four Tar Heels were in double digits in their second round blowout, but Thompson finished a perfect 8-8 from the floor for 16 points. He also 3 assists and 3 blocks from the power forward position.

We’ve given you 12 candidates we think could be considered as the ‘2nd Round Workhorse,’ but the final vote is up to you. Place your vote for the player you think had the most outstanding performance in the second round. Also, don’t forget to vote for the ‘1st Round Workhorse’ as well.

Shotgun Spratling

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