The most prestigious individual honor in college basketball, the Wooden Award honors the best men's and women's college basketball players every year. 20 players made the Wooden Late Season Watch List, announced on January 30.

On the men's side Purdue center Zach Edey — the 2022-23 winner — is the favorite to take home the trophy again in 2023-24. Edey would be only the second repeat Wooden winner after Virginia center Ralph Sampson, who won the award in 1981-82 and 82-83. While this is Edey's award to lose right now, who are the other top contenders for the Wooden Award, and can they put pressure on the Purdue big man in the final month of the season?

Purdue, Purdue Basketball, Zach Edey, Wooden Award

The Favorite

Zach Edey (Center), Purdue

As long as Zach Edey is averaging 20-point double-doubles, he is going to be the overwhelming favorite. His dominance and efficiency are on a generational scale. He is the best offensive player in the country and the most influential defensive player. Somehow his offensive efficiency is up from last year — a season where he averaged 22.3 PPG and shot 60.7% from the field. It would take either a catastrophic finish for Edey or an all-time run from one of these contenders for the Purdue center to not earn his second consecutive Wooden Award.

The Contenders

Dalton Knecht (Wing), Tennessee

Many players struggled in the transfer portal era after moving from a mid-major to a high-major program. That was not the case for Dalton Knecht. After averaging 20.2 PPG last year for Northern Colorado, Knecht hit the ground running at Tennessee. The senior had 24 points at Wisconsin in just his second game for the Volunteers. A few weeks later, Knecht 37 in a road loss to North Carolina.

An ankle injury slowed him near the end of non-conference play, but the former JUCO product followed up with a six-game stretch in the  SEC where he averaged 31.8 PPG while shooting 45.5% from three and averaging less than a turnover per contest.

The Vols will want more consistency from their star scorer, but if Dalton Knecht stays hot down the stretch, this award will be much closer than many predicted.

R.J. Davis (Guard), North Carolina

North Carolina started the 2022-23 season ranked #1 in the AP Preseason Poll, but a talented team with Armando Bacot, Caleb Love, and R.J. Davis could not even guide the Tar Heels to the NCAA Tournament. This season has been a redemption year for UNC. Love is gone, but Davis has flourished and North Carolina is a top-five team once again.

The senior guard leads the ACC with 21.3 PPG and has scored in double-figures in all but one contest this year. As a distributor, Davis has one of the lowest turnover rates in the conference despite ranking near the top of the league in usage. His value to North Carolina is immeasurable, making R.J. Davis one of the top contenders for the Wooden Award.

DaRon Holmes II (Forward), Dayton

If not for the dominance of Zach Edey, Dayton forward DaRon Holmes II might be the big man capturing national attention this season. After earning First Team All-Atlantic 10 honors as a sophomore last year, Holmes has upped his game this season and become a truly dominant post player. He is averaging 20.0 points per game — upping that mark to 23.2 PPG in A-10 play — while also posting 7.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per contest.

Holmes had a career-high 34 points in Dayton's most recent contest against St. Bonaventure, but perhaps most impressive is his scoring efficiency. Of the 32 Division I players averaging at least 20 PPG this season, Holmes is just one of seven with an offensive rating of 120 or better (120.9). Using Bart Torvik's Player of the Year Standings, Holmes is third in the ratings behind Edey and Alabama guard Mark Sears. Yet the Dayton junior is hardly discussed in the POY debate.

His only down game in conference play came at Richmond in UD's only A-10 defeat thus far. Holmes had nine points on 2-12 shooting, with no makes inside the arc and nine three-pointers attempted. The Flyers do not face the Spiders again in the regular season, but a rematch in the Atlantic 10 Tournament would be the perfect platform for Holmes to earn his redemption.