Where is Paige Bueckers in player of the year race? Midseason award predictions for UConn women’s basketball

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The national player of the year in women’s basketball has been unanimous across the major awards (Naismith, Associated Press, Wooden) for the last three seasons, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see that trend end in 2024-25 without an obvious frontrunner at the midseason mark.

UConn women’s basketball star Paige Bueckers is one of three superstar contenders headlining the race, alongside Hannah Hidalgo at No. 3 Notre Dame and JuJu Watkins at No. 4 USC. Bueckers is one of the most efficient guards in the country, averaging 19.9 points on career-high 55.9% shooting from the field, also hitting above 40% from 3-point range. The redshirt senior also averages 4.3 rebounds, four assists and 2.1 steals per game, and she ranks top-10 in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Hidalgo has the best numbers among the trio, averaging 25.7 points, six rebounds and 3.7 assists per game, and she is shooting 50.4% from the field and nearly 46% beyond the arc. The sophomore point guard is also one of two players in the country averaging more than four steals per game. Watkins is just as productive logging 25.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.9 assists, though she is not nearly as efficient as Hidalgo or Bueckers shooting 46.5% from the field and 35.3% from three.

Bueckers was an almost-unanimous player of the year in 2020-21, becoming the first freshman to win the Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award and Associated Press honor. The only award missing from her collection was the Wade Trophy, which freshmen were not eligible for until the 2021-22 season. Hidalgo and Watkins were both first-team All Americans and Naismith Trophy finalists as freshmen in 2023-24, and Watkins was the first freshman finalist for the Wade Trophy since the change in eligibility requirements.

The biggest obstacle to Bueckers’ case in 2024-25 may be UConn’s head-to-head losses against the other two candidates. Hidalgo, the betting favorite for the Wooden Award, had a career performance in Notre Dame’s 79-68 victory…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/where-paige-bueckers-player-race-203100824.html

Author : Hartford Courant

Publish date : 2025-01-15 20:31:00

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