Jahlil Okafor Headlines List of Finalists for 2015 Oscar Robertson Award

With the college basketball regular season winding down, postseason awards races are starting to heat up. The United States Basketball Writers' Association has announced the finalists for the Oscar Robertson Award given to the nation's best player. 

Per Rob Dauster of NBC Sports, there are 14 finalists headlined by the names you would expect including Duke's Jahlil Okafor and Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky.

Player	Team
Ron Baker	Wichita State
Malcolm Brogdon	Virginia
Willie Cauley-Stein	Kentucky
Rakeem Christmas	Syracuse
Jerian Grant	Notre Dame
Frank Kaminsky	Wisconsin
Georges Niang	Iowa State
Jahlil Okafor	Duke
Kevin Pangos	Gonzaga
Bobby Portis	Arkansas
D'Angelo Russell	Ohio State
Seth Tuttle	Northern Iowa
Kyle Wiltjer	Gonzaga
Delon Wright	Utah

While all 14 names on the list warrant consideration for any player of the year honors, Okafor is the marquee star in the group. He's the presumed No. 1 pick in June's NBA draft if he leaves Duke, dominates in the paint like few college players are capable of and has a world of talent. 

Returning to Duke's lineup on Wednesday against Virginia Tech after sitting out a game with an ankle injury, Okafor scored 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds in an overtime win. 

Per ESPN Stats & Info, Okafor's heroics made him the fifth Duke freshman to ever score at least 30 points in a game:

Gonzaga's Kyle Wiltjer is the rising star in the group. He's averaging 17.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game for the third-ranked Bulldogs. The junior forward had one of the best scoring games of the year against Pacific with 45 points on 15-of-22 shooting. 

If the Bulldogs finish the regular season with one loss and Wiltjer continues to dazzle, he could steal some votes away from Okafor. 

As things stand right now, with one week left in the regular season, everyone appears to be chasing Okafor. It's not a wide margin, by any means, so every game down the stretch will play a critical role in determining this year's Oscar Robertson Award winner.