Zach Edey Headlines 15 Wooden Award 2023 Finalists; Brandon Miller Not Included

Purdue center Zach Edey headlines the 15 men's Wooden Award finalists, which was revealed during ESPN's College GameDay on Saturday morning.

The list also includes reigning winner Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky. The entire group can be found below.

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Finalists

• Armando Bacot, North Carolina

• Antoine Davis, Detroit Mercy

• Zach Edey, Purdue

• Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana

• Jaime Jaquez Jr., UCLA

• Keyontae Johnson, Kansas State

• Mike Miles Jr., TCU

• Kris Murray, Iowa

• Jalen Pickett, Penn State

• Marcus Sasser, Houston

• Drew Timme, Gonzaga

• Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky

• Azuolas Tubelis, Arizona

• Jalen Wilson, Kansas

• Isaiah Wong, Miami

The list does not include Alabama first-year player Brandon Miller, who is averaging 19.6 points and 8.0 rebounds per game for a Crimson Tide team widely projected to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

No official reasoning was given for the omission, but it comes while Miller is facing scrutiny after police testified in February that he transported a gun to ex-teammate Darius Miles that was later used in a shooting that killed Jamea Jonae Harris. Miller is not considered a suspect in the shooting.

Miller has remained on the team and will play Saturday against Texas A&M.

Edey is the clear favorite for the award. The big man averages 22.1 points, 13.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game for the Big Ten regular-season champions. Barring an early collapse in the Big Ten tournament, the Boilermakers look destined for a No. 1 seed. In essence, Edey checks off all the boxes to be named the men's college basketball player of the year.

His remarkable efficiency also stands out. The 7'4" Edey shoots 61.6 percent from the field and 72.8 percent from the free-throw line. He also has 5.6 rebounds per game on the offensive end.

Other long-shot candidates include Kansas' Jalen Wilson, who leads the Big 12 regular-season champion and reigning national champion Jayhawks with 19.6 points per game.

Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis can make a case to overtake Edey. His Hoosiers beat Purdue twice this year, and Jackson-Davis averaged 17.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks. For the season, he's posting 20.3 points and 11.1 rebounds per game.

Still, Edey's immense production has him as the frontrunner for the award, and it'd be shocking to see anyone else take the trophy at this point despite other worthy candidates out there.