Basketball is ever-changing, and the recent trend toward a positionless game has left little space for the traditional big at the NBA level.
At the NCAA level, though, big men are still thriving. Those who tower over the field remain hard for opposing teams to stop, and that defensive problem is often exacerbated during the NCAA Tournament.
The 2024 NCAA Tournament is particularly rich with talented centers. They stand out as key playmakers on top-tier teams and could be among the biggest stars of March Madness — both figuratively and literally.
Who are the tall stars to know for March Madness? The tallest player in the field is one of the best-known players in the sport, and there are a few other high-end centers that are just a couple of inches shorter than him.
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Tallest players in 2024 NCAA Tournament
Purdue's Zach Edey is the tallest player in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
The 7-4 star led the nation with 24.4 points per game this season, and he also contributed 11.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.1 blocks per game. He will be a handful for even the largest opposing teams to cover during March Madness.
In total, 14 players participating in March Madness stand at least 7-1, and Purdue has two of them thanks to Edey and Will Berg.
Below is a full breakdown of the tallest players in this year's NCAA Tournament.
| Rank | Player | Team | Height |
| 1 | Zach Edey | Purdue | 7-4 |
| 2 | Will Berg | Purdue | 7-2 |
| Donovan Clingan | UConn | 7-2 | |
| Hunter Dickinson | Kansas | 7-2 | |
| Zvonimir Ivisic | Kentucky | 7-2 | |
| 6 | Aaron Bradshaw | Kentucky | 7-1 |
| Jeriah Coleman | Arizona | 7-1 | |
| Vladislav Goldin | FAU | 7-1 | |
| Micah Handlogten | Florida | 7-1 | |
| Ryan Kalkbrenner | Creighton | 7-1 | |
| Andrew McKeever | Saint Mary's | 7-1 | |
| J.T. Rock | Iowa State | 7-1 | |
| Harry Wessels | Saint Mary's | 7-1 |
Yet while tall, Edey is not the tallest player in college basketball history. That honor still belongs to Paul Sturgess, a 7-8 center who played for Florida Tech and Mountain State from 2007-11. In recent tournaments, several players — such as Tacko Fall (7-6) and Connor Vanover (7-5) — have stood higher than Edey.
That said, few have been as productive as Edey, who is Sporting News' two-time reigning national player of the year. If he performs well during Purdue's NCAA Tournament run, his draft stock should continue to rise.
Elsewhere, Clingan is averaging 12.5 points and 7.2 rebounds in 21.2 minutes per game for UConn. He should be a force for the Huskies as they look to become the first team to repeat as national champions since Florida in 2006 and 2007.
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Kansas' Dickinson and Florida's Handlogten are nursing injuries that will impact them for the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Dickinson missed the Big 12 Tournament but may try to play in March Madness, while Handlogten suffered a broken leg in the SEC championship game and is out for the rest of the season.
Kalkbrenner should be impactful for Creighton, as he averages 17.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game. He and Edey could potentially clash in the Elite Eight if Purdue can avoid its recent stretch of first-weekend failures. If it comes to pass, the clash might be one of the most exciting big-man matchups in recent NCAA Tournament history.
No matter what, though, there are plenty of talented bigs in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. That should create some old-school battles in the paint that will thrill fans of back-to-the-basket basketball.
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