Oscar Tshiebwe Named to Wooden Award Late Season Watch List. Can He Become the Second-Ever Two-Time Winner?

The Wildcats' star center has his work cut out if he wishes to repeat as a Wooden Award winner.

Kentucky center Oscar Tshiebwe will have an opportunity to repeat as the winner of the John R. Wooden Award. 

On Monday afternoon, the Wooden Award announced its late season watch list, featuring Tshiebwe and 19 other players at the top of the contenders list for the prestigious honor: 

• Armando Bacot - North Carolina
• Antoine Davis - Detroit Mercy 
• Kendric Davis - Memphis 
• Zach Edey - Purdue 
• Kyle Filipowski - Duke 
• Trayce Jackson-Davis - Indiana 
• Jaime Jacquez Jr - UCLA
• Keyontae Johnson - Kansas State
• Mike Miles Jr - TCU
• Brandon Miller - Alabama
• Kris Murray - Iowa 
• Markquis Nowell - Kansas State
• Jalen Pickett - Penn State
• Marcus Sasser - Houston
• Terquavion Smith - NC State
• Drew Timme - Gonzaga
• Oscar Tshiebwe - Kentucky 
• Azuolas Tubelis - Arizona 
• Jalen Wilson - Kansas
• Isaiah Wong - Miami FL 

The Wooden Award was just one of many honors that Tshiebwe took home last season, as he became Kentucky's first-ever unanimous National Player of the Year, averaging 17.4 points and 15.1 rebounds-per-game. 

Tshiebwe's numbers are a tad behind this season, though still immensely impressive, as he currently sits at 16.6 PPG and a nation-leading 13.7 RPG. The Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo native is once again the straw that stirs the Wildcats' drink. 

He would miss the first two games of the regular season due to a knee procedure he had done in October. Tshiebwe would miss four weeks overall, slowly making the trek back to 100 percent through the beginning of the season. He debuted in the Champions Classic against Michigan State, promptly putting up 22 points and 18 rebounds in the double-overtime defeat. 

The West Virginia transfer has since added 11 more double-doubles to his 2022-23 season stat sheet, highlighted by a career-high 37-point 24-rebound performance in Kentucky's win over Georgia on Jan. 17. Tshiebwe is currently shooting 59 percent from the floor this season. In 53 games at Kentucky, the star big man has 40 double-doubles. 

Tshiebwe's primary competition comes in the form of Purdue's behemoth center Zach Edey. The 7-foot-4 junior is third in the nation in both points (22.1) and rebounds (13). He is also averaging 2.2 blocks a night, paving the way for the current top-ranked Boilermakers. 

Another top contender is Jalen Wilson, someone that Tshiebwe and the rest of Kentucky just got a great look at over the weekend. The Jayhawks forward dropped 22 points and eight boards in KU's huge 77-68 road win over the Wildcats in Lexington. Wilson provides 21.4 PPG and 8.6 RPG for Kansas. 

Alabama's Brandon Miller is the only other player from the Southeastern Conference to crack the list, as the freshman sensation adds 19 PPG and 8.1 RPG to pace the SEC-leading Crimson Tide. He scored 19 points and hauled in seven boards in Bama's 78-52 stomping of UK in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 7. 

Kentucky's starting center is currently tied with Arizona's Azuolas Tubelis for the fourth-best odds to win the award at plus-2500, per VegasInsider. Catching up to the likes of Edey and Wilson will be a challenge over the final 10 games of the regular season, but if there's one player who can rack up video game numbers on a daily basis, it's Tshiebwe.

Virginia legend and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Ralph Sampson is the only player to win the Wooden Award in back-to-back years, doing so in the 1981-82 and 82-23 seasons.

Tshiebwe's next showcase comes on Tuesday night in Oxford, Miss. against the struggling Ole Miss Rebels — a team that Tshiebwe scored 18 points and grabbed 15 rebounds against in a win last season. Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. EST and will air on ESPN. 

More on how Kentucky stacks up with five weeks left in the regular season HERE.

More on Kentucky's loss to Kansas HERE.

Kentucky is leaving the KU loss with optimism. More HERE.

Everything John Calipari said after the defeat can be found HERE.

WATCH: Tshiebwe, Reeves and Toppin talk KU defeat.

Want the latest on national football and basketball recruiting, including Cats targets? Head over to SI All-American for the latest news, blogs, and updates about the nation's best prospects.

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