Correctly picking the winner for the the Wooden Award, given annually to the nation’s most outstanding player, one week into the college basketball season can feel almost as likely as winning the lottery. In truth, however, you have at least a 1-in-50 chance even this early in the year.
That’s because the 50 possible winners have essentially already been given to you in the form of the preseason watch list. Out of the past 12 winners, only Dayton’s Obi Toppin was not on the award’s initial top 50 list (Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis was not on the list before he won in 2012, but only because at that time freshmen were ineligible).