NCAA Basketball: Gonzaga, Kansas among teams with 2022-23 NPOY favorites

2. Jalen Wilson – Kansas Jayhawks

2022-23 stats: 21.4 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.5 apg

There was a brief moment where I could’ve made the case for Wilson being the guy to beat for National Player of the Year. His stats have gotten even better and the team was No. 2 in the country. Unfortunately, the team has let them down as of late, losing three straight and losing whatever edge he could’ve had.

But Wilson has done all he could for Kansas. In the overtime road loss at rival Kansas State, Wilson went for a career-high 38 points in 45 minutes, going 12/25 from the field and 11/12 from the free throw line. He followed that up with a team-high 30 points against TCU, though the team got blown off the court.

A 23-point effort against Baylor this past Monday wasn’t enough to keep them from losing again but the issues have more to do with the lack of overall production from the supporting cast not named Gradey Dick. The biggest selling point that Wilson had was that he was a 20+ ppg scorer on the best team in the best conference. Right now, that’s not the case that had he not scored just four points against Kansas, Nowell of Kansas State should be higher than the forward at the moment.

The Jayhawks have the chance to bounce back on the national stage, taking on Kentucky this weekend in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. It’s an individual battle between Wilson and Tshiebwe as well that’ll have some implications for this award.