Oscar Tshiebwe, Ochai Agbaji headline Wooden Award finalists

Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe and Kansas’ Ochai Agbaji are among the five finalists contending for the 2022 John Wooden Award.

The five finalists for the Wooden Award as college basketball’s most outstanding players were announced on Wednesday with some big hitters vying for the honor.

Ochai Agbaji of Kansas, Johnny Davis of Wisconsin, Keegan Murray of Iowa, Drew Timme of Gonzaga and Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky are still in the running.

Coming into the NCAA Tournament, Tshiebwe was considered the run away favorite to win the award. He averaged 17.4 points and 1.6 blocks this season while rebounding at a ridiculous rate, averaging 15.1 per game.

However, Tshiebwe and Kentucky were stunned in the first round by No. 15 Saint Peter’s, putting a damper on his candidacy. Voting closed on Mar. 21, after the huge upset on the opening day of the tournament.

Agbaji is averaging18.9 points for Kansas and could swoop in to capture the award if Tshiebwe doesn’t draw enough votes.

Oscar Tshiebwe and Ochai Agbaji are finalist for the Wooden Award

The Wooden Award winner will be announced on Tuesday, Apr. 5 on ESPN.

Candidates on the ballot who didn’t make the cut include Duke’s Paolo Banchero, Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn, Villanova’s Collin Gillespie, Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren, Purdue’s Jaden Ivey, UCLA’s Johnny Juzang, Auburn’s Walker Kessler and Jabari Smith, Ohio State’s E.J. Liddell and Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin.

Of the 15 candidates who appeared on the ballot, only Agbaji, Banchero and Gillespie managed to keep their teams in March Madness through the final weekend of action. Agbaji will lead his Jayhawks against Gillespie’s Wildcats on Saturday in the Final Four, so one of them will compete for the national championship this year. Banchero needs to get Duke past rival UNC to compete in the title game.

The Wendy’s All-American team, which was also announced on Wednesday, is made up of the top vote-getters for the Wooden Award. The five finalists were joined by Cockburn, Holmgren, Ivey, Mathurin and Smith for that honor.

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