It’s not Hannah Hidalgo or Paige Bueckers: This is the favorite to win the Women’s Wooden Award

The Caitlin Clark storm has settled in women’s college basketball, but just because there isn’t the media attention surrounding her and the Iowa Hawkeyes this season, doesn’t mean there isn’t a talented crop of superstars ready to take the torch. The University of Southern California is having an outstanding season and the secret to their success is superstar point guard Juju Watkins who is the current favorite for the Wooden Award.

Watkins holds edge past halfway point of season

The home grown heroine has the Trojans in the top five in the AP rankings with a record of 18-1 and they are leading the Big 10 in their debut year in the conference. After a freshman year that saw Watkins finish second in the nation in scoring, behind Caitlin Clark, and earn a unanimous selection to the first team All-American she is back at the top of the women’s game.

Watkins average per game has actually dipped this year, but she has become a more efficient scorer. She is shooting less and has a better shooting percentages from the field and from behind the arc. The point guard is taking better care of the ball in her sophomore season, averaging one TO less than she did as a freshman. Last year, she went for 27.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists a game and this year she is averaging 24.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per outing.

The Trojans are 18-1 this season and ranked 4th in the AP Top 25. Their only loss came to Notre Dame during Thanksgiving week. Since then USC is on a 14 game win streak. Watkins is trying to get the Trojans in line for a one seed in the NCAA Tournament and look to make a deeper run in the dance than their Elite Eight exit at the hands of UCONN last year.

The challengers

Speaking of UCONN, their star Page Bueckers is having quite the season of her own. The Huskies are 19-2, and Bueckers is the star of the show in Connecticut. She returned from a season ending injury at the beginning of last year, and had a fantastic season and now she is in the mix for the Wooden Award, averaging 19.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists while shooting a staggering 42.9% from three point range. Bueckers is in the mix but her current odds to win the Most Outstanding Player of the Year award are +950 according to FanDuel.

Watkins closest challenger is Hannan Hidalgo who has led Notre Dame to the Top 3 in the AP polls with a 17-2 record. The shooting guard is having an even better season than she did in her freshman year in a season that the Fighting Irish have already beaten three top 5 teams including UCONN and USC. She is averaging 22.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.5 assists while shooting 43% from three (just ahead of Bueckers) and is currently at +145 on the FanDuel odds board.

While the other two are fantastic scorers, Watkins has a bit of flare and flash that is perfect for the Trojans run and gun offense in the City of Angels. That could be what set her apart and wins her the Wooden Award this year. Either way, just because Caitlin Clark has moved on doesn’t mean you should be paying any less attention to the women’s game this year.