The conversation about who the top team in college basketball is not much of a debate as the Syracuse Orange have clearly established themselves as the best. Could the race for the Wooden Award be following a similar fate?
Doug McDermott has been atop these rankings for the last month and after surpassing Larry Bird to be the 13th all-time leading scorer in NCAA history in a 21-point upset win over the No. 6 Villanova Wildcats, he’s separating himself from the rest of the pack.
McDermott poured in 39 on 13-17 shooting as the Creighton Bluejays small forward dominated one of the best teams in the nation and leads the John Wooden Award power rankings with a little more than two weeks left in the regular season, he may be tough to overcome.
- Doug McDermott-Creighton Bluejays
- Jabari Parker–Duke Blue Devils
- Tyler Ennis-Syracuse Orange
- Shabazz Napier-Connecticut Huskies
- Russ Smith–Louisville Cardinals
- Sean Kilpatrick–Cincinnati Bearcats
- C.J. Fair–Syracuse Orange
- Lamar Patterson-Pittsburgh Panthers
- Nick Johnson–Arizona Wildcats
- Cleanthony Early-Wichita State Shockers
Just missed the cut: Julius Randle (Kentucky), Xavier Thames (San Diego State), DeAndre Kane (Iowa State), Casey Prather (Florida), Cameron Bairstow (New Mexico) and Kyle Anderson (UCLA).
Sound of in the comments section with your thoughts on the biggest challenger is to McDermott for the Wooden. Next week’s Wooden power rankings will be released at 7:00 a.m on Monday, Feb. 24.