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College Basketball Wooden Award Odds: Zach Edey Has Buried the Field

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College Basketball Wooden Award Odds: Zach Edey Has Buried the Field

We are on the verge of witnessing history in college basketball as Purdue's Zach Edey could become the second player ever to win two John R. Wooden Awards -- given to the most outstanding college basketball player. Since the award's inception in 1977, Virginia's Ralph Sampson is the only two-time winner of the coveted award (1982 & 1983).

With under a month remaining in the regular season, Edey looks to be running away with the award. Can anyone pull off a late run for the Wooden Award? Let's check out why Edey leads the pack and FanDuel Sportsbook's college basketball odds for the award. Which players have the best chance of challenging Edey for the hardware?

Wooden Award Odds

Wooden Award Winner
FanDuel Sportsbook Odds
Zach Edey-3000
RJ Davis+3500
Hunter Dickinson+4000
Dalton Knecht+4000
Kyle Filipowski+7500
Tyler Kolek+7500
DaRon Holmes II+7500

Zach Edey, Purdue Boilermakers (-3000)

The Wooden Award race feels pretty much wrapped up, with Edey sitting at -3000 for the award. FanDuel even has the superstar center at -3000 to win the award while the field is +1800. But as we know in the crazy world of sports -- especially in college basketball -- nothing is ever a done deal. With that said, looking at the odds still seems worthwhile.

Before checking out Edey's Wooden Award competition, let's look at why Purdue's center is such an overwhelming favorite. Edey pretty much coasted to winning the award last season while averaging 22.3 points per game (PPG), 12.9 rebounds per game (RPG), and 2.1 blocks per game (BPG). His numbers are pretty similar this season -- 23.3 PPG, 11.7 RPG, and 2.3 BPG.

His rebounding slightly dropped, but Edey still remains one of the nation's top rebounders as he leads the Big Ten with a 17.5% offensive rebounding percentage while also ranking second in the conference with a 25.2% defensive rebounding percentage.

The Boilermakers are also in the national picture once again as they rank as KenPom's second-best team and are tied for the shortest college basketball national championship odds (+650). Of course, with his gaudy stats, Edey is irreplaceable for Purdue as he leads the Big Ten with a 31.5% usage rate -- which is also the fourth-highest mark among all Power Six players.

Edey winning his second Wooden Award certainly feels warranted. Frankly, any potential competition for this award is a longshot at this point. Here are a handful of names who have an outside chance of making a push.

Longshots

RJ Davis, North Carolina Tar Heels (+3500)

North Carolina, who owns the fifth-shortest college basketball national championship odds (+2000), is led by their star guard, RJ Davis. He paces the team with 21.4 PPG (the ninth-most in the nation) and a 25.8% usage rate.

Davis' previous career-high was 16.1 PPG from last season. His increase in scoring has helped elevate the Tar Heels to a national contender. After Caleb Love transferred to Arizona in the off-season, UNC had some real scoring worries as Love totaled over 15.0 PPG in back-to-back season with the Heels. The backcourt has not missed a beat thanks to Davis' increase in production.

The senior guard has continuously taken over games throughout the campaign. He even had a stretch where he scored at least 26 points in five straight games from November 24th to December 16th. Davis has truly been one of the nation's best guards, and he's on a title-contending team. But his lack of value outside of scoring -- in addition to Edey's dominance -- will likely cause him to fall short of the Wooden Award.

Hunter Dickinson, Kansas Jayhawks (+4000)

Hunter Dickinson of Kansas might be the biggest longshot among the three mentioned players.

One could argue he is not even the top player on the Jayhawks, with Kevin McCullar Jr. carrying a 27.3% usage rate, 19.5 PPG, and an impressive 3.15 Defensive Bayesian Performance Rating (DBPR), per EvanMiya -- all of which are team-best clips. However, McCullar is +10000 to win the award.

Dickinson's double-double average of 18.2 PPG and 10.8 RPG certainly helps his case. But he is not the clear alpha dog of his team like other contenders for the award, such as Edey or Davis. Plus, Dickinson has too many off games, including his five-point performance on February 12th.

Dalton Knecht, Tennessee Volunteers (+4000)

Tennessee has the second-shortest odds to win the SEC (+240) and the fourth-shortest college basketball national championship odds (+1500). The Volunteers would not be here without Dalton Knecht -- the Northern Colorado transfer.

After totaling 20.2 PPG last season, Knecht was a coveted transfer as 247 Sports' 13th-best available player in the off-season. The star forward has shown he was perhaps the best transfer available, producing a team-best 20.3 PPG while shooting 47.7% from the field and 40.5% from three.

Mid-major players usually experience a learning curve when transferring to a major Power Six squad. That has not been the case for Knecht. If anything, his numbers have only improved as his three-point percentage has jumped more than two percentage points from his 2022-23 mark.

Knecht's ability to score has also elevated the Volunteers' chances for a national championship. Tennessee typically has an elite defense -- as is the case once again (sixth-best adjusted defensive efficiency) -- but they often lack a go-to scorer. Knecht has been exactly that with a team-high 28.0% usage rate.

It's very unlikely that anyone passes Edey for the Wooden Award in the final month of play, but if anyone has a legit chance, it could be Davis of North Carolina or Knecht of Tennessee.


Looking for more college basketball betting opportunities? Head over to FanDuel Sportsbook to check out all of the upcoming college basketball odds.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.

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