Latest Player of the Year Rankings for 2021-22 Men's College Basketball Season
In most men's college basketball seasons, there's either a clear favorite or a two-horse race for National Player of the Year by the time the calendar flips to February.
But this year?
It's still wide-open.
The trio of Kansas' Ochai Agbaji, Kentucky's Oscar Tshiebwe and Wisconsin's Johnny Davis appears to be separating from the pack a little bit. However, AP No. 1 Auburn and No. 2 Gonzaga each have a pair of stars still very much in the conversation. Between E.J. Liddell, Zach Edey, Kofi Cockburn, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Keegan Murray, there remains a reasonable chance a big man from the Big Ten wins the Wooden Award. And don't forget about Paolo Banchero.
A lot can still change with a little more than a month remaining in the regular season, but this is how we would rank the best of the best at this point in time.
Players are ranked based on a combination of individual stats/highlights and team success. The former is the larger piece of the puzzle, but the latter is an undeniable factor, as the NPOY and the top candidates for it just about always play for teams that earn a No. 4 seed or better in the Big Dance.
Honorable Mentions: Kendric Davis, Hunter Dickinson, Tari Eason, Wendell Moore Jr., Alondes Williams, Trevion Williams
Nos. 25-21
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Note: Nos. 25-21 are reserved for mid-major players. There's not an Obi Toppin or Ja Morant legitimately vying for NPOY this year, but we still want to use this space to highlight a few guys who are thriving off the beaten path.
No. 25: Hunter Maldonado, Wyoming (Previous Rank: None)
19.4 PPG, 6.4 APG, 5.5 RPG, 1.2 SPG
Wyoming's fifth-year 6'7" point guard set a new season high with 31 points in a two-point road win over Air Force on Friday, and then set a career high with 35 in an overtime win over Colorado State on Monday. Maldonado is not much of a three-point threat and he does commit quite a few turnovers, but he has also averaged 38.9 minutes per game over his past 11 contests for a Cowboys team flirting with an at-large bid.
No. 24: Malachi Smith, Chattanooga (Previous Rank: 24)
21.5 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 3.2 APG, 1.8 SPG, 43.4 3P%
Chattanooga has won nine of its past 10 games, asserting itself as the class of the SoCon and emerging as a serious Cinderella candidate. And Smith is the driving force of it all, averaging 22.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals during that 10-game stretch. He also scored a combined 83 points earlier this season against Belmont, Murray State and VCU.
No. 23: Isiaih Mosley, Missouri State (Previous Rank: None)
21.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.2 SPG, 45.9 3P%
Loyola-Chicago only allows 61.1 points per game, so it's a pretty big deal when a single player scores 40 in a road win over the Ramblers. That's what Mosley did on Jan. 22, just two weeks after a 43-point performance against Northern Iowa. He also had 33 against Southern Illinois and 32 against Valparaiso in between. Heck of a run for the star of a team that would have an at-large pulse were it not for November losses to SEMO and ETSU.
No. 22: Max Abmas, Oral Roberts (Previous Rank: 23)
23.1 PPG, 3.8 APG, 3.4 RPG, 1.0 SPG, 40.9 3P%
Abmas has made multiple three-pointers in 20 consecutive games and is averaging 27.0 points over his past seven contests. He's now up to No. 2 in the nation in scoring average, trailing only Detroit's Antoine Davis (24.0). If Oral Roberts winds up facing South Dakota State for the Summit League championship, get your popcorn ready.
No. 21: Orlando Robinson, Fresno State (Previous Rank: 21)
19.3 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.4 BPG, 1.1 SPG, 36.8 3P%
Robinson played sparingly in a recent win over New Mexico because of a rolled ankle, but he was back out there three nights later with 21 points in an overtime loss to Boise State. Per KenPom, Robinson has been the game MVP more times (13) than any other player in the country. And that checks out, because it sure feels like 14-6 Fresno State would be about 5-15 without the versatile seven footer.
Nos. 20-16
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No. 20: Johnny Juzang, UCLA (Previous Rank: 20)
18.1 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 1.8 APG, 39.5 3P%
Juzang was outstanding in mid-January, putting up at least 23 points in four consecutive games against Oregon, Oregon State, Utah and Colorado. However, he had a bit of an off night in the Bruins' big win over Arizona (15 points on 18 shots with three rebounds) before missing their two most recent games due to COVID-19 protocols. Will he be available for the rematch in Tucson? And will that be where he finally shines against a quality opponent?
No. 19: Collin Gillespie, Villanova (Previous Rank: 15)
17.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.2 SPG, 43.1 3P%
Gillespie had a tough shooting night in the Jan. 19 home loss to Marquette, but he has gone 13-of-20 from three-point range in recent wins over Georgetown, DePaul and St. John's. When the fifth-year senior gets cooking, the Wildcats are just about unbeatable. And if he continues to cook this week against Marquette and Connecticut, he might jump into our top 10.
No. 18: Bennedict Mathurin, Arizona (Previous Rank: 12)
17.2 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2.2 APG, 36.5 3P%
After averaging nearly 19 points through his first 13 games, Mathurin has been limited to 16 or fewer in each of his past six contests. And with the whole world tuning in for the game against UCLA late last Tuesday night, he shot just 5-of-22 from the field in a loss that was never even close. He also missed all eight of his three-point attempts against Arizona State on Saturday. Arizona's championship dreams hinge on whether its leading scorer can find a second wind in March.
No. 17: Justin Lewis, Marquette (Previous Rank: Not Ranked)
16.5 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.3 SPG
It's pretty late in the season to be adding a new player to the mix, but it would be irresponsible to deny Lewis a spot in the top 20 after he averaged 24.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in consecutive wins over Villanova, Xavier and Seton Hall to send the Golden Eagles rocketing up the projected seed list. He did get stifled in a loss at Providence on Sunday, but that merely kept him from vaulting straight into the top 10.
No. 16: Keegan Murray, Iowa (Previous Rank: 9)
22.3 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.1 BPG, 1.4 SPG, 1.1 APG
Murray's season totals still look great, but he has averaged just 15.8 points over the past four games, three of which were Iowa losses. Between his recent drop in production and the Hawkeyes plummeting toward the bubble, he's pretty clearly the odd man out in the crowded race for first-team All-Big Ten honors at the moment.
Nos. 15-11
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No. 15: Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana (Previous Rank: 7)
18.3 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 2.7 BPG, 1.8 APG
Because of early foul trouble, TJD finished Indiana's recent marquee win over Purdue with just four points and one rebound. He also got outplayed by Hunter Dickinson in the subsequent 18-point loss to Michigan, so we had little choice but to knock him down a few pegs in the Big Ten's loaded pecking order. By no means have we written off Jackson-Davis, though, and he could make a major push back up the rankings with a big showing against Kofi Cockburn on Saturday.
No. 14: Armando Bacot, North Carolina (Previous Rank: 16)
16.5 PPG, 12.5 RPG, 1.7 BPG, 1.4 APG
Was there a bigger one-man wrecking crew in the past month than Armando Bacot? The Tar Heels have been hit or miss, but he has been a metronome for double-doubles. North Carolina's big man averaged 18.1 points and 15.8 rebounds in his last 10 games, and he has recorded a double-double in 12 of his past 13 games. He also matched a career high with six blocks in Saturday's 100-80 shellacking of NC State.
No. 13: James Akinjo, Baylor (Previous Rank: 14)
13.6 PPG, 5.6 APG, 2.5 RPG, 2.2 SPG, 36.1 3P%
Prior to Monday's game against West Virginia, Akinjo had a five-game stretch in which he missed two games and played in three others at considerably less than full health because of a tailbone injury suffered Jan. 11 against Texas Tech. It just about destroyed his NPOY campaign. But with LJ Cryer and Adam Flagler both out, Akinjo carried the Bears to a come-from-behind victory over the Mountaineers with 25 points and four dimes. Let's see how he looks at Kansas on Saturday, but if Akinjo's back to normal, Baylor should be, too.
No. 12: Jabari Smith, Auburn (Previous Rank: 11)
15.6 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.3 SPG, 1.1 BPG, 40.4 3P%
Smith could not buy a bucket in Auburn's recent close call against Missouri, going 2-of-15 from the field en route to just five points. But we couldn't very well penalize him for that dud, considering he bookended it with 14 points and seven rebounds in the win over Kentucky and 23 points and 12 rebounds in the win over Oklahoma. Plus, he still racked up 10 rebounds and a pair of blocks in that off night against Mizzou. Even when he struggles, Smith still makes a positive impact. And he doesn't struggle often.
No. 11: Kofi Cockburn, Illinois (Previous Rank: 10)
21.1 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 1.0 BPG, 1.0 APG
After battling foul trouble against Purdue's frontcourt on MLK Day, Cockburn missed Illinois' next two games with concussion symptoms. He was back out there Saturday against Northwestern, though, and looked no worse for wear. Cockburn carried the Illini to a 59-56 victory with 22 points and nine rebounds. Games against Wisconsin, Indiana and Purdue in the next seven days will go a long way toward determining whether Cockburn is the Big Ten's top candidate for NPOY.
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Nos. 10-6
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No. 10: Chet Holmgren, Gonzaga (Previous Rank: 18)
13.9 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 3.3 BPG, 1.9 APG, 45.6 3P%
I've been all over the map with Holmgren in these rankings throughout this season, in large part because he wasn't much of a box-score factor in Gonzaga's marquee wins over Texas (two points) and Texas Tech (five points). But the 7'0" unicorn has made one heck of an argument to bypass teammate Drew Timme in the past month. In six January games, Holmgren averaged 16.0 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks while shooting 13-of-20 (65.0 percent) from three-point range.
No. 9: Jaden Ivey, Purdue (Previous Rank: 13)
16.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.2 SPG, 44.2 3P%
Got to at least bump Ivey up a few spots for having the ice in his veins to hit that game-winner against Ohio State on Sunday afternoon. He's had more than his fair share of highlight-reel breakaway dunks this season, but Sunday's shot is the kind of dagger everyone remembers when trying to make an NPOY decision. Ivey has now scored at least a dozen points in 15 consecutive games.
No. 8: Zach Edey, Purdue (Previous Rank: 5)
15.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 1.2 APG, 1.2 BPG
As great as Ivey has been, Edey is still the Boilermaker who leaves opponents feeling helpless. The 7'4" center hasn't been quite as dominant over the past two weeks as he had been in the month prior, so he dropped a few spots. Still, he went off for 20 points in 21 minutes of work against a solid Ohio State frontcourt. The big man can take over a game at a moment's notice.
No. 7: Walker Kessler, Auburn (Previous Rank: 19)
11.5 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 4.2 BPG, 1.1 SPG
One of these days, we're going to need to have a long conversation about who Auburn's MVP is, as that might determine who the NPOY will be. Jabari Smith is the potential No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft, but Kessler is a game-changer in the paint who has been nothing short of awesome as of late. Over the past 13 games, the big man is sitting at 14.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 4.8 blocks while shooting 73-of-93 (78.5 percent) from inside the arc, and that includes two games in which he wasn't able to make his usual impact because of foul trouble.
No. 6: Paolo Banchero, Duke (Previous Rank: 4)
17.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.1 SPG, 1.0 BPG
Banchero hasn't fallen two spots as much as he was simply bypassed by Ochai Agbaji and E.J. Liddell. Duke's star has scored in double figures in each game this season, and he has been contributing much better in the "other" categories as of late with 10.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists over his past six games. We're still waiting on a signature performance, though. If he lights up North Carolina for 30-plus points on Saturday, Banchero would jump right back into the mix for No. 1.
5. E.J. Liddell, Ohio State
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Season Stats: 19.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.8 APG, 2.7 BPG, 39.7 3P%
Previous Rank: 8
E.J. Liddell took a brief dip outside the top five after a rocky first half of January, but he bounced back in a big way this past week.
It started with a career-high 15 rebounds—not to mention 23 points and five assists—in a road win over Minnesota. After that, he went for 20 points at Purdue in a game that went right down to the wire. He started slow in that one, but scored 14 of his 20 in the final 10 minutes as the Buckeyes battled back from a 20-point second-half deficit to tie the game on Liddell's back-to-back three-pointers in the final 40 seconds.
It wasn't his most efficient outing and the Buckeyes lost at the buzzer, but considering the way Purdue's frontcourt shut down Kofi Cockburn, Keegan Murray and Trayce Jackson-Davis in recent weeks, 20 points, three rebounds, three assists and two blocks against the Boilermakers feels like a Herculean performance.
In other words, it sure looks like "first month of the season" Liddell is back, which would make for a fun February featuring games against Cockburn, Murray, Jackson-Davis and Hunter Dickinson.
There's a sizable gap between the top three and the rest of the rankings right now, but Liddell undeniably still has a chance to become the frontrunner for NPOY by thriving in those big head-to-head showdowns.
4. Drew Timme, Gonzaga
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Season Stats: 18.1 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.0 BPG
Previous Rank: 3
Could the preseason favorite for National Player of the Year still find his way back to No. 1?
Maybe.
But only if Drew Timme quits sharing the spotlight with Chet Holmgren and Gonzaga's deep stable of quality scoring options.
What Timme did in those mid-January games against BYU, Santa Clara and San Francisco—putting together a combined line of 85 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists—was a mighty impressive stretch against the top half of the WCC. However, in three games against the bottom half of the league (Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount and Portland), he scored a combined total of 42 points and committed 10 turnovers.
On the one hand, we all know those are the games where Gonzaga can afford for him to take it easy, and he has—for the most part—brought the lumber against better opponents.
On the other hand, it's a little hard to take a guy seriously for NPOY when he routinely gets a light night of cardio against weak teams.
And this isn't a new phenomenon for Timme. He has now played 10 games against opponents that rank outside the KenPom top 175, and he has averaged 13.2 points and 5.6 rebounds in those games. By comparison, Iowa's Keegan Murray basically built his NPOY campaign against that level of competition, averaging 25.4 points and 9.1 rebounds in eight games.
The good news is Gonzaga's February schedule mostly consists of games against the top half of the league, so maybe Timme will finish the regular season with a flourish to really throw his headband back in the ring.
3. Ochai Agbaji, Kansas
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Season Stats: 20.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 1.5 APG, 46.4 3P%
Previous Rank: 6
As things currently stand, there's a pretty clear top tier of three NPOY candidates: Ochai Agbaji, Johnny Davis and Oscar Tshiebwe. That doesn't mean those are the only guys who could still win it, but if the season ended today, those are your clear-cut first-team All-Americans.
As such, Saturday's Kansas-Kentucky clash was massive for these rankings.
Had Agbaji played well in a Kansas win, he would have jumped to No. 1.
He entered that night having scored at least 20 points in five of his past six games, and he suffered an early hand/wrist injury against Oklahoma in the exception to that rule. Even in that one, he came back in the second half and had eight points and a huge assist in the final four minutes of a come-from-behind victory. In the subsequent game at Kansas State, he scored 16 second-half points in bringing the Jayhawks back from a 16-point halftime deficit, and then he was masterful in the double-overtime classic against Texas Tech, finishing with a career-high 37 points.
Late-game heroics and big scoring totals for a team that played its way into a projected No. 1 seed?
Pretty much exactly what you want to see from a National Player of the Year candidate.
Unfortunately, he and the Jayhawks ran into a Big Blue woodchipper in the SEC-B12 Challenge. Agbaji managed just 13 points on 14 field-goal attempts in an 18-point loss to Kentucky—an off night made doubly painful by Tshiebwe doing his usual thing with 17 points, 14 rebounds and great defense.
While that kept Agbaji from jumping to No. 1, he's still right in the mix and has plenty more opportunities to impress. Carry the Jayhawks to dramatic victory over Baylor and/or Texas in the next seven days, and he might take over the top spot.
Note: Agbaji missed Tuesday night's win over Iowa State due to COVID-19 protocol. We'll have to wait and see if he's able to play against Baylor on Saturday.
2. Johnny Davis, Wisconsin
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Season Stats: 21.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.3 SPG, 35.5 3P%
Previous Rank: 1
Johnny Davis' slide from No. 1 to No. 2 isn't a product of poor play by him, but rather a product of Oscar Tshiebwe being absurdly dominant on both ends of the floor as of late. Davis could absolutely still win the Wooden Award / Naismith Trophy and might still be the slight favorite depending on whom you ask.
After all, going for 37 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks in the road win over Purdue is still hands down the best individual performance of the season. His 30 points, four steals and two blocks in the neutral-site win over then-full-strength Houston would also be a lock for top 10 on that list. And he has scored at least 13 points in every game played this season.
But does he have enough left in the tank to get this NPOY campaign across the finish line?
Over these past three weeks, Davis seems to be showing the understandable fatigue of a man being asked to take nearly three times as many shots per game as he was last season—and with exponentially more defensive focus on each of those shots, no less. He is just 39-of-98 (39.8 percent) from the field over his past six games after posting just two sub-40 percent performances in his first 12 games.
Don't get me wrong, he's still doing an incredible job of carrying this Badgers squad. He willed them to victory over Minnesota on Sunday with a career-high 15 rebounds. And if Nov. 9-Jan. 6 Davis was an A+, the past three weeks have still been a solid A-.
But that A+ to A- transition left the door open just wide enough for Kentucky's big man to ascend to No. 1.
1. Oscar Tshiebwe, Kentucky
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Season Stats: 16.3 PPG, 15.1 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 1.5 BPG
Previous Rank: 2
I noted way back in mid-November when he had 22 offensive rebounds in the first two games of the season that Oscar Tshiebwe realistically could join Kenneth Faried (200 offensive rebounds in 2010-11) as the only player since 2009-10 with at least 180 offensive rebounds in a season. He's currently at 108 and may end up falling just shy of that mark.
But here's the fun part: Even if we disregard his nation-leading 5.1 offensive rebounds per game, Tshiebwe's 10.0 defensive rebounds per game would still be more total rebounds per game than all major-conference players not named Armando Bacot or Kofi Cockburn.
What this man is doing on the glass is nothing short of phenomenal.
Per Sports Reference, there have only been three instances in the past 30 years of a player averaging at least 14.3 rebounds while playing in at least 28 games. Those players were Tim Duncan, Blake Griffin and Faried. And at 15.1 rebounds per game through 21 contests, Tshiebwe is well on his way to joining that elite club.
He's much more than just the rebounds, though. Tshiebwe has had seven 20-point performances this season, including his first 20-20 game of the year (21 points and 22 rebounds) last week against Mississippi State. He's also a menace on the defensive end, racking up eight blocks and 15 steals just in the past five games.
He went for 16 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks and two steals in the loss at Auburn, and he finished Saturday's blowout win over Kansas with 17 points, 14 rebounds and four steals.
Now that Kentucky has enough quality wins to be taken somewhat seriously as a candidate for a No. 1 seed, it sure feels like Tshiebwe is the man to beat for the Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy.
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