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Gonzaga Basketball

Gonzaga’s Drew Timme, Chet Holmgren crack Wooden Award Top 20 watch list

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Drew Timme (2) chats with center Chet Holmgren during Saturday’s game against Portland in Spokane. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
By Theo Lawson theol@spokesman.com(509) 459-5584

The Wooden Award trimmed its watch list once again, but two members of Gonzaga’s frontcourt are still in the hunt for the trophy given to college basketball’s most outstanding player.

Drew Timme and Chet Holmgren were both named to the Wooden Award Top 20 watch list, which is an abbreviated version of the Top 25 list that was unveiled earlier in January. Gonzaga is one of just two teams with multiple players on the most recent edition of the watch list, joining Purdue.

The frontcourt pairing of Timme and Holmgren has helped Gonzaga to a 17-2 ranking, 6-0 record in West Coast Conference play and the nation’s No. 2 ranking.

Both are among the country’s most efficient players with Holmgren’s field goal percentage (63.3%) ranking No. 5 in the NCAA and Timme’s clip (62.1%) ranking No. 8.

Holmgren’s 3.37 blocks per game lead the WCC and rank seventh nationally. The freshman center is also leading the league in field goal percentage and defensive rebounds per game at 6.9. He’s second in total rebounds per game (8.7) and fourth in three-point percentage (45.6). The Minnesota native is coming off his best three-game scoring stretch this season, with 55 combined points against Portland, Loyola Marymount and San Francisco.

Timme has been one of the most dominant players in the WCC, leading the conference in field goals per game (6.9) and free throws per game (4.1). He’s also second in field goal percentage and third in points per game (18.1). In WCC games only, Timme’s averaging 21.1 ppg.

Others on the list included Purdue’s Jaden Ivy and Zach Edey, Oral Roberts’ Max Abmas, Kansas’ Ochai Agbaji, Baylor’s James Akinjo, Duke’s Paolo Banchero, Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn, Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis, Villanova’s Collin Gillespie, Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis, UCLA’s Johnny Juzang, Ohio State’s E.J. Liddell, Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin, USC’s Isaiah Mobley, Iowa’s Keegan Murray, Colorado State’s David Roddy, Auburn’s Jabari Smith and Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe.