Evan Turner continued to demonstrate his well-rounded game as he scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half to led #12 Ohio State to a 74-67 road win over #11 Michigan State. He added ten rebounds and six assists. The junior made six of 17 shots from the field and eight of twelve free throws.

We recently looked at the school records of the past John R. Wooden Award winners. As you might expect, the top players in the country usually plays on top-flight teams. Five of the 33 Wooden Award winners have played for national champions and twenty of the honorees won 30 or more games.

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.