College Basketball: Top 10 Candidates for the Wooden Award

Buddy Hield Oklahoma. Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports

1. Buddy Hield – Oklahoma Sooners

Buddy Hield is in the lead for the Naismith award despite the awesome numbers that Denzel Valentine is putting up for the Michigan State Spartans this year.

Oklahoma Sooners

The things that give Buddy Hield the edge over Denzel Valentine are the facts that Oklahoma being undefeated is a tad more surprising at this point of the season than Michigan State not having a loss, and also the fact that without Buddy Hield, the Sooners are more than likely a .500 ball club that is not in contention for an NCAA Tournament bid.

Hield is averaging 24.0 points and 5.1 rebounds from the shooting guard spot. He has been a great scorer for Oklahoma hitting 49.0% of his shots from the field and an insane 52.3% from three-point land.

Shooting over 50% from deep is totally ridiculous, and without Buddy Hield playing out of his mind like this Oklahoma is not No.3 in the country.

Next: Gonzaga Bulldogs Continue to Roll with Win over Loyola Marymount

At this point of the season, Buddy Hield is the front-runner for the Naismith Award though Denzel Valentine is almost neck-and-neck with him.