Friday saw just one John R. Wooden midseason candidate take the court. Jeremy Lin of Harvard had 24 points in a matchup of two of the top seniors in the Ivy League in a 79-70 loss to first place Cornell and their standout Ryan Wittman. Lin made seven of twelve shots from the field and ten of eleven from the charity stripe. Lin is first in the Ivy League in steals (2.7 per game), second in assists (4.6) and fourth in scoring (16.7).

Thursday’s night college basketball action was highlighted by a battle of two top ten teams and two midseason John R. Wooden Big East candidates.

Robbie Hummel from Purdue led the #4 Boilermakers to a 60-57 road win over #12 Ohio State in a matchup of two John R. Wooden Award midseason candidates. He was just one of three from the field and two of two from the line as the junior finished with four points and four caroms. Purdue has won eight straight games after a three-game losing streak.

John Wall and Patrick Patterson of #2 ranked Kentucky fought off a pesky Mississippi State team on the road in an 81-75 overtime win. Freshman guard Wall made six of 16 from the field and six of eight from the line as he finished with 18 points, ten rebounds and eight assists. He also added three steals and two blocked shots. Wall is third in the country in assists. Patterson made seven of twelve shots from the floor and all four attempts from the charity stripe as he chipped in with 19 points, ten boards and three blocked shots.

Connecticut and Villanova met in a Big East matchup that featured two John R. Wooden Award midseason candidates.

Wesley Johnson was held to five of 20 shooting as #3 Syracuse was upset by Louisville 66-60 at home. The Iowa State transfer was two of seven from three-point range and made both free throws as he finished with eight rebounds and three assists. The Orangemen fell to 24-2 with the loss, snapping an eleven game-winning streak.

Kansas, the lone team with three midseason candidates, defeated Iowa State 73-59 as all three players reached double figures in scoring. Cole Aldrich made five of six from the field as he finished with eleven points and twelve rebounds. Sherron Collins was just four of 14 from the field and three of ten from three-point range, but dished out five assists to go with his eleven points. Freshman Xavier Henry sank five of nine from the field, three of five from beyond the arc and three of four from the charity stripe as he added 16 points. The Jayhawks, who improved to 24-1, faces Texas A&M Monday.

If you are a basketball player who wants to win the John R. Wooden Award, you need to be more than an outstanding player. The 34^th annual winner will also have to be a solid student and good teammate and it certainly wouldn’t hurt to be on an outstanding team.

Only one Wooden Award midseason candidate played on Friday night. However, he didn’t finish playing until Saturday, as Da’Sean Butler and his West Virginia teammates played three overtimes in a 98-95 loss to Pittsburgh. Butler finished with a game-high 32 points and also grabbed eleven rebounds. He added three assists and two blocked shots. The 6-foot-7 senior made nine of 22 shots from the field and 13 of 18 from the charity stripe. Butler came up one point short to tying his season-high 33 points, which he accomplished last Saturday versus St. John’s. The #4-ranked Mountaineers fell to 19-5 this season.

Gordon Hayward had a double-double to lead #15 Butler to a 68-57 road victory over Youngstown State. The sophomore forward made six of ten from the field, two of five from beyond the arc and eight of nine from the charity stripes as he finished with 22 points and 17 rebounds as the Bulldogs improved to 22-4.