Reigning Wooden Award winner Zach Edey and Tennessee star Dalton Knecht were among the 15 finalists named for the national men's vote Saturday morning, as revealed on ESPN's “College GameDay.”
Edey, Purdue's 7-foot-4 center, enters the final weekend of the regular season as the favorite to win the Wooden Award, given annually to the nation's best college basketball player. His goal is to be the first repeat winner since Ralph Sampson of Virginia in 1982 and 1983.
After averaging 22.3 points and 12.9 rebounds last season to take the award, Edey has arguably been more dominant this season. He is averaging 24.1 points (second in the country) and 11.7 rebounds (third), while blocking 2.2 shots and shooting 62.3% from the field.
He led Purdue to its second straight Big Ten regular-season championship, posting 28 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's title-clinching win at Illinois.
Tennessee's Knecht, a former college transfer from Northern Colorado, will likely be in second place entering the postseason. He has an impressive collection of single-game performances, including 39 points against Auburn and Florida, 37 points against North Carolina and 36 points against Georgia. Knecht is averaging 20.7 points on the season, but he has been even better in conference play, scoring 24.6 points and shooting 42.7% from 3-point range in 17 games against SEC opponents.
Other notable candidates include North Carolina's RJ Davis, who ranks ninth nationally in points per game (21.5) and scored 42 in a win over Miami last week; Houston's Jamal Shead, arguably the best defender in the country and leader of the top-ranked Cougars; Marquette's Tyler Kolek, the nation's assists leader; and Arizona guard Caleb Love, who is having the most productive and efficient time of his career after transferring from North Carolina.
Two players on the national ballot were not on the late-season top 20 list: Shead and Alabama's Mark Sears. Sears has been looking forward to finishing the season, scoring at least 20 points in 12 of his last 13 games, including 33 this week against Florida. He averages 21.1 points and 44.2% from three-point range.
The men's Wooden Award has been awarded every year since 1977, beginning with Marques Johnson of UCLA.
Complete National Ballot for the 2024 John R. Wooden Award:
Johni Broome, Chestnut
RJ Davis, North Carolina
Hunter Dickinson (Kansas)
Zach Edey, Purdue
Kyle Filipowski, Duke
DaRon Holmes II, Dayton
Dalton Knecht (Tennessee)
Tyler Kolek, Marquette
Jaedon LeDee, San Diego State
Caleb Love, Arizona
Kevin McCullar Jr., Kansas
Tristen Newton, University of Connecticut
Antonio Reeves (Kentucky)
Mark Sears, Alabama
Jamal Shead, Houston
