Zach Edey Won’t Win Wooden Award Again
The 2023 college football season hasn’t even gotten underway yet, but it’s never a bad time to start looking at college basketball odds. BetOnline has some NCAAB futures odds out there, and betting on the winner of the Wooden Award is going to be one of those options.
The Wooden Award is given to the best men’s college basketball player each year, and it’s typically a tight race. Zach Edey of Purdue was the winner of the award a season ago, and he is a pretty big favorite to repeat at the end of this season.
The odds would suggest that it would be a huge upset for anyone outside of Edey to win this award, but that’s exactly what will happen. Here is a look at the top contenders for the Wooden Award and the player that will take it home.
Check out the full NCAAB 2023 odds over on Bookmaker
A Look at the Odds
One quick look at the betting odds, and you will notice that this appears to be a one-man race that is going to be won by Edey. He is the huge favorite at +175, and then there is a massive gap after him.
There just isn’t a ton of value when betting on Edey for this award, and it’s a good idea to check into some other options. The betting odds tend to get pretty tight for a while after Edey, and that is where there will be a ton of movement as well:
- Kyle Filipowski (Duke +700
- Hunter Dickinson (Kansas) +700
- Armando Bacot (UNC) +1600
- Max Abmas (Texas) +2200
- Tyler Kolek (Marquette) +2500
- Oumar Ballo (Arizona) +2500
- Donovan Clingan (UCONN) +2500
- Caleb Love (Arizona) +3300
- Isaiah Collier (USC) +3300
- RJ Davis (North Carolina) +4000
- Tyson Walker (Michigan State) +4000
There are some great players on this list, but there aren’t as many major names as you will see in some other years. It doesn’t look like there is a clear future NBA star in college basketball, at least not when looking at the Wooden Award winner odds.
Why Edey Won’t Win
Zach Edey won the 2023 Wooden Award after guiding the Purdue Boilermakers to a near-perfect regular season. Edey averaged 22.9 points and 12.3 rebounds per game a season ago and was a dominant force inside of the Big Ten Conference.
Voters are going to remember though, that Purdue was upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by a 16-seed, and that’s going to hang over Edey’s head all season long. There are also other players on this team that are looking for their moment to shine, and they won’t want Edey to get all of the attention.
The numbers that Edey will put up during the 2023-24 college basketball season will be great, but it’s time for voters to pick someone else to win this award.
The Pick
If you are going to bet on someone else to win the Wooden Award this season, then you are automatically going to get some great betting odds. The odds drop off in a big way after Edey, and that’s another reason to target a different player.
Hunter Dickinson is going to be a top candidate for the award in 2023-24, as he is set to lead the Kansas Jayhawks to a great season. Kansas has been known to produce some Wooden Award winners, and taking a look at Dickinson at +700 isn’t a bad play.
The real winner of the Wooden Award in 2023-24 will be Tyler Kolek of Marquette, and he was in the mix a season ago. Marquette should be one of the best teams in the country, and taking Kolek at +2500 is going to be the bet to make.