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Purdue big man Zach Edey is pacing the crowd with his excellent year so far. PIC: NCAA.com & Purdue Athletics
Pundits dubbed the 2022-23 season as the Year of the Big. So far, it's delivering as promised; the top three candidates for the Wooden Award are multi-threat forwards or centers, who dominate the paint and can score at will from most places on the floor.
If you made a wager on the 2022-23 National Player of the Year, or just want to catch up on College Basketball's Have's and Have Not's, you'll want to get a pulse check on the candidates for the crown.
We'll start with the Frontrunners, and then over the next few days will go over some of the preseason favorites that have fallen off, as well as the Dark Horses.
Odds courtesy of VegasInsider.com (as of Jan 24, 10p ET). Please bet responsibly; call 1-800-GAMBLER if you have a gambling problem.
Part I: The Frontrunners
1. Zach Edey - Purdue, Center
Odds: -450
It's no secret Zach Edey is having a career year. He's still averaging over 21 points and over 13 rebounds per game. Having longevity issues in the past, speculating if Edey can continue this sustained success is fair game. But regardless, the 7'4" center is making his mark on the field this year, having led the KenPom MVP crowd by quite a large margin for the entirety of the season so far. It'll be tough to catch him...but it's certainly not impossible.
2. Jalen Wilson - Kansas, Forward
Odds: +800
Duke, Wisconsin, NC State, and Missouri have all been ranked at some point this year. They've also all been torched by Jalen Wilson, who racked up a nearly effortless double-double in each of Kansas' wins against them. You wouldn't even know this Jayhawks team lost David McCormack, Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun, who scored a combined 44 points-per-game last year. Wilson's 21.5 PPG this season now makes up half that output...and doing it on the reigning national champion's roster only sweetens the case for Wilson.
3. Brandon Miller - Alabama, Forward
Odds: +2000
Nick Smith was hailed by Arkansas fans as their "knight in shining armor," and for the right reasons; his talent is catching the eyes of many NBA scouts. When he went down with an injury that will sideline him for likely the rest of the year, Brandon Miller emerged as the clear-cut candidate for Freshman of the Year...but he's not stopping there. Michigan State, Memphis, and Gonzaga were all victims to a combined 84 points in those three games; a whopping 28 points per contest. It's clear the Crimson Tide's offense runs through Brandon Miller, and a few more explosions could seriously threaten Edey's foothold on the #1 spot. This could be a major value play for those making a wager.