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.

On January 13, 2010 Jeremy Lin became the first Ivy League Midseason Candidate for the Wooden Award in over a decade. Read about his on-and-off court accomplishments in a recent Sports Illustrated article.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1165302/3/index.htm

LOS ANGELES (Jan. 13, 2010) – The top 21 candidates for the Women’s John R. Wooden Award, the nation’s most coveted college basketball honor, were named today by The Los Angeles Athletic Club’s John R. Wooden Award Committee. Because of a tie in the voting, 21 players were named rather than the traditional 20. Composed of the players who will compete for this season’s player of the year award, the midseason list is based on individual excellence and team record during the first half of the season.

LOS ANGELES (Jan. 13, 2010) – The top 21 candidates for the Women’s John R. Wooden
Award, the nation’s most coveted college basketball honor, were named today by The Los Angeles
Athletic Club’s John R. Wooden Award Committee. Because of a tie in the voting, 21 players were
named rather than the traditional 20. Composed of the players who will compete for this season’s
player of the year award, the midseason list is based on individual excellence and team record during the first half of the season.

Notre Dame’s Harangody, Kentucky’s Patterson and Wall and three Jayhawks head the list

LOS ANGELES (Jan. 4, 2010) – The top 30 candidates for the John R. Wooden Award, the nation’s most coveted college basketball honor, were named today by The Los Angeles Athletic Club’s John R. Wooden Award Committee. Composed of the players who will compete for this season’s player of the year award, the attached midseason list is based on individual excellence and team record during the first half of the season.

The Los Angeles Athletic Club and the John R. Wooden Award wish Coach Wooden a happy 99th birthday.  The coaches and guests in attendance at the 2009 Tip-Off Luncheon joined in signing “Happy Birthday” to Coach Wooden in absentia.  For a great article about Coach Wooden see the recent Los Angeles Times Article titled “On his 99th birthday, 99 things about John Wooden”.