Even coming off his worst game of the season, the negatives didn’t last long for Yante Maten.
The Georgia senior was recognized on Thursday with an appearance on the Wooden Award midseason top-25 list. The Wooden Award is college basketball’s most prestigious annual award, given to Division I’s best player in the nation who also meets certain GPA requirements.
Maten also appeared on the Wooden Award’s top-50 list from the preseason. There will be a late-season list of 15 players that will serve as the national ballot for the award. The winner will be announced on April 6, following the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament.
Maten leads the SEC in both scoring and rebounding. Despite a season-worst performance of 9 points and 2 rebounds on Wednesday night at Missouri, he’s still averaging 19.3 points and 8.9 rebounds per game and 1.8 assists and 1.2 blocks.
Maten and Alabama freshman phenom Collin Sexton are the only two SEC representatives in the top 25. Seven SEC players appeared on the preseason top-50 list.
Georgia is 11-4 overall and 2-2 in the SEC, good for sixth place. Maten and the Bulldogs return home Saturday to face South Carolina at 1 p.m. ET. The game will air on SEC Network.