College Basketball Betting: Is Zach Edey a Shoo-In for the Wooden Award?

The 2023-24 men's college basketball season tips off this week, and FanDuel Sportsbook has Wooden Award betting odds for over 100 of the game's biggest stars.

Here are the players with the 10-shortest odds to win the 2024 John R. Wooden Award, followed by a breakdown of the top names.

*Odds as of Monday, November 6th at 12:00 p.m. ET.

Zach Edey (+155)

Purdue center Zach Edey is the reigning Wooden Award winner, so it makes sense he's the overwhelming favorite in 2024.

The 7'4" big averaged 22.3 points (sixth in Division-I), 12.9 rebounds (second), and 2.1 blocks (19th) per game in 2022-23. He did that while shooting 60.7% from the floor and 73.4% from the line.

Edey powered Purdue to a 29-6 overall record, regular season and Big Ten conference tournament championships, and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Boilermakers return 83.8% of their minutes, per BartTorvik, so Edey's role likely won't change much this season.

Hunter Dickinson (+850)

Hunter Dickinson made headlines in the offseason when he decided to transfer from Michigan to Kansas.

The former All-American center averaged a robust 18.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game for the Wolverines last season. Despite his personal efforts, Michigan missed the NCAA Tournament, which likely played a role in him transferring.

On Kansas, Dickinson joins a roster that won 28 games and was a No. 1 seed in last year's NCAA Tournament but returns just 46.6% of their minutes. They'll be without last year's two leading scorers, which could pave the way for Dickinson to immediately average close to 20 points per game.

Kyle Filipowski (+850)

Duke big man Kyle Filipowski opted to delay his professional career by at least a year and return to Durham, North Carolina for his sophomore season.

The reigning ACC Rookie of the Year received Second Team All-Conference honors after he averaged 15.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game last season. He finished second in the conference with 16 double-doubles.

Filipowski's Blue Devils return 74.1% of minutes from a 27-9 team that won the ACC Tournament in 2023. They enter the 2023-24 season ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll, so Filipowski will have plenty of opportunities to raise his Wooden Award stock.

If he wants to stand out from the numerous impressive big men in 2024, he'll likely need to improve his efficiency. The 7'0" flashed impressive range last season, but he shot just 28.2% from three and 44.1% overall.

Donovan Clingan (+1300)

If Donovan Clingan wanted to look for Wooden Award inspiration, he wouldn't have to go back very far.

UConn's 7'2" sophomore will look to build off a stellar tournament performance and take a Zach Edey-like jump in an expanded role this season.

Clingan averaged 6.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game during last year's regular season. However, he only played 13.1 minutes per game behind the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player, Adam Sanogo. With Sanogo off to the pros, Clingan is expected to step into a starting role.

If that culminates in anywhere close to 30 minutes per night, it won't be out of the question for Clingan to contend for the Wooden Award.

Tyler Kolek (+2500)

Marquette senior Tyler Kolek has the shortest odds of any guard to win the Wooden Award. The 6'3" point guard averaged just 12.9 points per game last season but ranked third nationally with 7.5 assists per game.

Kolek helped spur Marquette to a 29-7 overall record and a Big East Tournament title. The Golden Eagles received a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament before they were upset in the Second Round.

The floor general will likely need to take on a heftier scoring load to win the Wooden Award in 2024. He scored 20-plus points seven times last season -- a number that isn't guaranteed to improve considering Marquette returns their top-eight rotation players from last season.

Looking for more college basketball betting opportunities? Head over to FanDuel Sportsbook to check out all of the upcoming college basketball odds.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.