College Basketball Wooden Award Odds Update: Hunter Dickinson Closing In

We're a month into the 2023-24 college basketball season and a lot has changed. The early season tournaments -- multi-team events (MTEs), as the kids call them -- have passed, but teams still have another month to bolster their nonconference resume.

As such, this is a good opportunity to check in on the Wooden Award odds, courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.

Here are the players with the 10-shortest odds to win the 2024 John R. Wooden Award, followed by a breakdown of the top risers and fallers from our last update.

Odds as of Friday, December 1st. All College Basketball odds via FanDuel Sportsbook.

December Outlook

Purdue big man Zach Edey has averaged 21.9 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks per game through seven contests, but his odds have risen ever-so-slightly from +155 to +160 from opening night.

There is now a market specifically for Edey to win the award -- Yes (+160) or No (-230).

Edey propelled his Boilermakers to a Maui Invitational title, and they are now ranked first in the AP Poll. He ranks 12th nationally in scoring, 11th in rebounding, and fourth in blocks. The 7'4" center leads all Division I players in free throw attempts per game (10.9) and ranks second in makes (7.9).

He remains the favorite to take home his second consecutive Wooden Award, but there's at least some competition.

Risers

Hunter Dickinson, Kansas Jayhawks

Odds Movement: +850 to +270

Hunter Dickinson's placement (second) hasn't changed from our initial update, but he's now turned this into a real two-man race.

The big man has been nothing short of remarkable through seven games. He ranks 16th nationally in scoring (21.7 points) and leads the country with 12.7 rebounds per game. He's picked things up on the defensive end, as well, chipping in 1.1 blocks and 1.6 steals a night.

His efficiency has been out of this world. Dickinson's 67% field goal percentage is 17th in D-I and he's shooting an otherworldly 62% from three (on nearly two attempts per game).

It helps that his Jayhawks are 5-1 and ranked 5th in the AP Poll. Their only loss came to third-ranked Marquette, but they have a pair of top-15 wins against Tennesee and Kentucky.

Looking ahead, Dickinson takes on Donovan Clingan and the fourth-ranked UConn Huskies to open the month. That's likely his best chance to pull even with Edey, and it's easily Kansas' toughest game until Big 12 play begins in January.

Tyson Walker, Michigan State Spartans

Odds Movement: +5000 to +2500

Michigan State has gotten off to a nightmare-ish start, dropping three of their first seven games and falling out of the AP Top 25.

But don't blame Tyson Walker.

Walker just barely cracked the top 10 in our preseason preview, but he's now tied for the fourth-shortest odds to win the Wooden Award.

Through six games, Walker is averaging 20.5 points per game while shooting 50% from the floor. Both of those are major improvements from last season (14.8 points; 46%) -- a remarkable feat considering his struggles from deep this season.

Last season, Walker averaged 1.7 threes per game while shooting 42% from beyond the arc.

This year, the senior has only made 1.3 per game at an ugly 30% clip. He's also down to just 61% from the line (compared to 80% last season) despite more than doubling his free throw attempts per game (from 1.9 to 4.7).

Walker is a career 39% three-point shooter, and he's shot over 77% from the free throw line each of the past three seasons. If his shot begins to fall, he could further climb the odds standings.

Fallers

Donovan Clingan, UConn Huskies

Odds Movement: +1300 to +2500

I think it's fair to say Donovan Clingan's preseason Wooden Award odds were a bit too optimistic.

UConn's 7'2" center averaged only 6.9 points and 5.6 rebounds in 13.1 minutes per game last season. Yes, he flashed dominance in the tournament, but it feels like people were expecting an Edey-like jump from the big man.

Still, it's not like Clingan has been bad. I wouldn't even consider saying he's been a disappointment. The sophomore is averaging 15.0 points 6.0 rebounds, and 1.9 rebounds per game. He's shooting an impressive 68% from the floor, while his 54% from the line is at least an improvement from last season.

Oh, and he's still playing fewer than 20 minutes per game!

That's right, Donovan Clingan is averaging just 19.3 minutes per game this season. That's considerably below Edey (27.4), Dickinson (30.1), and Kyle Filipowski (27.4) -- the only three guys with shorter odds than him.

Clingan is a ticking time bomb of production. He missed just one field goal in a 29-point effort to close out November and clearly has through-the-roof potential.

The only thing holding Clingan back is playing time, but it's fair to wonder how much that will improve. There's not much of a reason to risk stretching out his minutes during the regular season as long as the undefeated Huskies continue playing well.

That said, I'd love to see him get a bit longer of a leash. He notably played 30 minutes in their win over Indiana, so perhaps some prolonged appearances are in his future.

Max Abmas, Texas Longhorns

Odds Movement: +2500 to +7000

Max Abmas isn't the only name to drop out of the preseason top 10, but he may be the biggest.

The Longhorns' guard -- famous for his postseason heroics with Oral Roberts -- has suffered from decreased volume upon transferring to Texas. He'd averaged 23.0 points and 16.7 shot attempts per game in his previous three seasons with the Golden Eagles.

This year, he's at 16.7 points on 13.7 field goal attempts.

It's not like he's played bad, though.

Far from it.

Abmas is shooting 45% from the floor and 41% from three -- his best marks since that initial 2020-21 breakout season. He's duplicating last year's 4.0 assists per game while cutting his turnovers to 1.6 per game.

Moving to a big-time program was always going to cut down on Abmas' volume. The Longhorns have four other players averaging at least 11.5 points per game, after all.

Unfortunately -- while a more balanced offense will undoubtedly lead to more postseason success -- that decrease in volume probably eliminates his chances of winning the Wooden Award.

Honorable Mentions

Dalton Knecht (Tennesee) has climbed to +3000 after not even having odds in the preseason. He's averaging 20.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game on 51% shooting. The Northern Colorado transfer broke onto the scene with 37 points on the road versus North Carolina.

Ja'Kobe Walter (Baylor) is making an early case for best freshman in the country. The five-star recruit leads the undefeated, ninth-ranked Bears with 15.6 points per game. His odds are up to +5000 after beginning the year at +25000.

Jaedon LeDee (San Diego St.) played a big role in their Final Four run last season, so it was natural to expect some improvement in a starting role, but I don't think anyone expected this. LeDee is third in the country in scoring (24.0 points) for the undefeated Aztecs. His odds are up to +6000.

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.