With the college basketball regular season coming to a close soon, it is crunch time for players to make their case for being one of the top players in the nation and win the Wood Award. With one week left for some conferences and two weeks for the higher conferences with more bids into the NCAA tournament, not much time is left in the regular season. Here is my list from last week.
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Jaden Ivey, Purdue
Ivey had a tough week but still is one of the top players in the running for this prestigious award. They went 2-0 with wins against Maryland and at Northwestern. Ivey had 11 points against Maryland and eight points against Northwestern. He shot 4-23 from the field, 0-10 from three, and 19-23 from the free-throw line. He only had seven rebounds and assists during the two games. Furthermore, he averaged three turnovers during the two games as well. He did not commit a single foul against the game at Northwestern, but you also have to factor in that he only played 23 minutes.
Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky
Tshiebwe and the Wildcats went 1-1 last week. They lost at Tennessee and won at home against Alabama. Tshiebwe went 14-28 from the field, 6-8 from the free-throw line, 14.5 rebounds per game, two turnovers per game, and one block per game. Tshiebwe is my favorite to win the award with his dominating performance on the boards. The Wildcats loss on Tuesday at Tennessee was their first loss since January 22 at Auburn. This is an incredible statistic as it was almost a month that Kentucky went without losing a game.
Johnny Davis, Wisconsin
The Badgers went 1-0 last week with a win at Indiana. Davis had a stellar week scoring 30 points, grabbing 12 rebounds, one assist, and only committing four turnovers. He shot 10-15 from the field, 10-14 from the free-throw line, and only committed one foul in 38 minutes played. Davis has been stellar all year and will most likely be a finalist come to the end of the year.
Paolo Banchero, Duke
Banchero had a solid week for the Blue Devils last week. He scored 30 points, shot 8-22 from the field, 1-8 from three, 13-14 from the free-throw line, 11 rebounds, seven assists, four turnovers, three blocks, and three steals. Duke went 2-0 with wins at home against Wake Forest and Florida State. Likely to be the first overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Banchero will need to continue to help the Blue Devils in the ACC and NCAA Tournament.
Kofi Cockburn, Illinois
Cockburn and Illinois went 2-1 last week. They won against Northwestern, lost at Rutgers, and won at Michigan State. The Rutgers loss may drop Illinois in the standings, but they are still one of the top teams in the Big Ten. The Jamaica native had 47 points, went 26-40 from the field, 14-23 from the free-throw line, grabbed 19 rebounds, three personal fouls, and committed six turnovers. Look for Cockburn to have a solid last few weeks leading up to the Big Ten Tournament and even the NCAA Tournament.
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