Two Freshman Centers Notch Solid Showings in Saturday Victories

Conference play continued across the country on Saturday with a massive slate of college basketball games.

As a result, mulitple NBA Draft prospects were in action, with a handful of prospects starring for their teams. In the Big 12, Arizona State improved to 10-6 on the season with an 87-84 victory against Kansas State.

In the SEC, Kentucky picked up its first SEC win of the season with a 92-68 victory against Mississippi State, who came into the matchup with a 2-0 record in conference play.

For both teams, standout freshman big men turned in big performances.

Sun Devils' first-year center Massamba Diop tallied 21 points, 9 rebounds, an assist, 5 blocks and just one turnover while shooting 8-of-10 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.

Hailing from Senegal, Diop played in Spain before heading to Arizona State, but has impressed during his first year in Tempe. Coming into Saturday's contest, the 7-foot-1 center was averaging 14.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 64.5% from the field.

Diop is also shooting 50% from beyond the arc, but is averaging just 0.4 shots from 3-point range per contest. The Sun Devils' standout is also shooting 73.5% from the free throw line.

With good size, length and athleticism, in addition to flashes of decent skill for a player of his size and stature, Diop garnered attention on social media early in the season. If the freshman big man can continue to perform well throughout Big 12 play, he should have a chance at being selected in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Arizona State next matchup comes against Arizona, which will give Diop an opportunity to compete against potential lottery pick and fellow freshman standout Koa Peat.

For Kentucky, Malachi Moreno finished with 17 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals while committing just one turnover against Mississippi State. Moreno shot 8-of-10 from the field and 1-of-2 from the free throw line in the win.

Entering Saturday's contest against the Bulldogs, the former five-star recruit was averaging 8.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 63.2% from the field. Listed at 7-feet tall and 250 pounds, Moreno's stats may not be eye-popping, but the Wildcats' freshman has enough upside as a defender to potentially earn a spot in the 2026 draft, or an upcoming class.

Coming out of high school, Moreno was ranked one of the top 25 players and top two centers in the 2025 recruiting cycle by the 247Sports composite rankings.

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