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Monday, February 18, 2013
 Mason Plumlee's Wooden Award chances

 Earlier in the season, Duke's Mason Plumlee was widely considered to be one of the leading candidates for the Wooden Award, honoring the nation's top player. Where does the Blue Devils' senior big man stand now?

Plumlee now appears to be a longshot, for two reasons. Michigan's Trey Burke and Creighton's Doug McDermott, two of the other top contenders in the eyes of many experts, have continued to play well and put up big numbers throughout conference play. But, as our own Jason King points out, Plumlee hasn't helped his chances either.

Jason King
Don't expect Plumlee to win the award
"Mason Plumlee's chances of winning the Wooden Award have all but disappeared. His struggles against one of the country's other top big men (Maryland's Alex Len) are going to be difficult for voters to forget when ballots are due next month. Plumlee had just four points and three rebounds against Len in Sunday's loss to the Terps -- and that was in 33 minutes of action. Plumlee has certainly had a terrific season, and everyone is entitled to a few bad games. But it's going to be tough to tab Plumlee as the best player in America when he was outplayed so convincingly in a head-to-head matchup with another top big man."