Wooden Award honors Zeller

On Thursday, sophomore forward Cody Zeller was named to the John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 list, according to the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

As of Saturday evening, after the No. 5 Hoosiers defeated No. 8 Minnesota 88-81, Zeller ranked fourth in the conference in scoring with 16.6 points per game.

He also sits second in rebounding (7.8), second in field goal percentage (63.4 percent), seventh in blocked shots (1.4), fourth in offensive rebounds per game (2.7) and seventh in defensive rebounds per game (5.1).

Zeller entered the season as the preseason player of the year in the both the NCAA and the Big Ten.

Along with teammate senior forward Christian Watford, he was named to the Wooden Award preseason top 50 before the season began.

The Big Ten named four players, including Zeller, to the midseason list. Ohio State’s Deshaun Thomas, Michigan’s Trey Burke and Illinois’ Brandon Paul rank higher than Zeller in conference scoring.

The Wooden Award All-American Team, comprising the country’s top 10 players, will be announced during the week of the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament, and the John R. Wooden Award Player of the Year will be revealed during the Final Four weekend in Atlanta.

— Nathan Brown