Arizona sophomore wing Bennedict Mathurin has jumped onto the midseason watch list for the Wooden Award, one of college basketball's major player of the year awards.
The announcement was aired on ESPNU late Wednesday afternoon.
Mathurin was not named to the Wooden Award's 50-player preseason watch list, which included three UCLA players (Tyger Campbell, Johnny Juzang and Jaime Jaquez) plus USC's Isaiah Mobley and Oregon's Will Richardson. But his explosive play in the early season moved him ahead of many players on the list who were dropped at midseason.
Averaging 18.9 points and 6.5 rebounds over 13 games so far this season, Mathurin has been on a roll in big games lately. Between the Wildcatsβ two Pac-12 games and nonconference games at Illinois and Tennessee, Mathurin is averaging 28.5 points while shooting 60.9% from the field.
The Pac-12 now has four Pac-12 players on the midseason watch list, with Mathurin joiningΒ Jaquez and Mobley.
