Best Bets To Win College Basketball's Wooden Award

See who we think offers the most value to win the prestigious award

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Drew Timme, Gonzaga +450

This one is completely and patently obvious, but why not place a wager down on the clear-cut favorite for the award when you are getting +450 odds? They are probably the best you are going to get all year. Timme was one of the candidates to win this award last year, along with his now NBA player teammates Jalen Suggs and Corey Kispert. Now that he is the leader of this pack of stars for the Bulldogs, he should be the Wooden Award favorite.

It's very early in the season, so nothing can really be taken from such a small amount of games, but Timme seems to be picking up right where he left off. Last season, he averaged 19 points per game and 7.0 rebounds per game in Gonzaga's bid for a perfect season. They ultimately came up short, losing in the national championship game to Baylor. This year, Timme is averaging 19.3 points per game, 5.3 rebounds per game and 3.0 assists per game for Gonzaga. He's shooting a red-hot 64.1% from the field.

Barring an injury, this is the best value you will get on Timme all year long. There is buzz for his teammate Chet Holmgren to win the award, but I don't think both Timme and Holmgren can be the two favorites. With Holmgren being a freshman, Timme has the upper-hand here, so bet him now before you have to start paying juice to bet the guy.

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Johnny Juzang, UCLA +1000

When UCLA made an extremely surprising run to the Final Four last season, it was Juzang that led his team in almost every category along the way. He was the spark that took the Bruins to the next level and inspired his teammates to believe that they could actually win the whole thing. They eventually ended up losing in the semifinal to Timme and Gonzaga in an epic game.

Juzang averaged 16 points per game last season, to go along with 4.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists. It seems as though he has decided to step it up a notch this year, because he's been playing like an absolute maniac out on the floor in the early going. Again, it's only been a few games, but take a look at what Juzang has been doing in this early season. He's averaging 23.0 points per game and bringing down 5.3 rebounds per game.

If he can keep this up, and UCLA can make another strong run this season into March, Juzang is very much alive to win this award. And if Holmgren on Gonzaga actually challenges Timme for the award this season, it could be Juzang that sneaks in past both of them and wins it for himself. He's a natural born scorer, and he'll be making highlights all year long.

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Sleeper: Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana +2000

Indiana basketball has been going through some problems after being a perennial powerhouse of college basketball for years. Gone are the days of Tom Crean and Victor Oladipo, but you can just feel that a resurgence is on the way for this program with what they have now. Former NBA head coach Mike Woodson takes over at the position, and he will be leading a roster with plenty of experience to go deep into the tournament this year.

One of those experienced players is Trayce Jackson-Davis, who was one of the players on the Wooden Award list late last year. He was a First-Team All-Big Ten selection, and averaged 19.0 points per game and 9.0 rebounds per game. Jackson-Davis was the only high-major player to put up numbers like those last season.

This season through two games, Jackson-Davis has been phenomenal. He's averaging 20.0 points per game and 10.5 rebounds per game so far. The question will be whether or not Indiana can compete this season. I think his candidacy for the award depends a lot on if the Hoosiers can make a run deep into March.

With the addition of Xavier Johnson, who averaged 14.2 points last season with the Pittsburgh Panthers, I think it is quite possible. Say what you want about Woodson, he has over two decades of experience at the highest level of basketball, and he gets an experienced club with a potential superstar in Jackson-Davis.

At +2000, this is certainly worth a flier bet with the potential Jackson-Davis has to become great.