The 2025-26 college basketball season has officially entered conference play and the best in the country are duking it out for the top individual player prize: the John R. Wooden Award. Per an official report, the Wooden Award is an award given annually to the most outstanding men’s and women’s college basketball players. As of this article’s writing, the crew over at XBet have released a variety of odds relating to the Wooden Award for this current season. As of now, Duke’s Cameron Boozer is the prohibitive favorite to win the top honor at -175. He is followed closely by BYU big man AJ Dybantsa at +300 alongside Braden Smith (+1000) of Purdue. Indeed with such a heavy field, it remains to be seen if Boozer can keep up the momentum down the stretch.
In this article, SBS will be going over the latest gaming updates coming from XBet, along with a variety of notes and information you can only find here at SBS.
Coming out of Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, Boozer was named the boy’s Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2023 and 2025, and was the second overall recruit in the class of 2025. Also, he is the son of NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer. During his sophomore season of high school, he averaged 21.1 points per game, 11.3 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and two blocks a game, leading his team to a state championship in the process. In addition to being named player of the year, he was named Florida Mr. Basketball, and Mr. Basketball USA.
Following his second national player of the year honor, Boozer was tabbed as a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2025 class. This was in addition to his twin brother, Cayden, who also committed to Duke. Donning No. 12 for the Blue Devils, he is currently leading the country in points per game with 23.5, along with averaging double figures in rebounds at 10.2. At 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds, Boozer is a fantastic force for Duke and should have them in the conversation to win a national title as well. This explains why XBet is so high on him to win the title.
After reclassifying from the 2026 class, Dybantsa was still rated as the number one overall player in the class of 2025. Born in Boston, he was named as the Massachusetts Boys’ Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year following his freshman season after averaging 19.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.5 blocks per game. Following a couple of moves, Dybantsa a report noted, concluded his high school basketball career attending and playing for Utah Prep Academy in Hurrican, Utah for the 2024-25 season.
Following a dynamic high school career, Dybantsa was named the number one NBA prospect in the 2026 class by ESPN following his high school freshman season. In July 2023, he was then recognized by a national recruiting outlet as the top high school player in the country regardless of class. After committing to BYU, he became the highest-ranked committed recruit to join BYU in program history. This season, he has had a dynamic campaign, notching 23.1 ppg, along with 7.2 boards each contest. Additionally, he is averaging a field goal percentage of 59.1% for each game.
The final player spotlight, Smith was rated as a three-star recruit and committed to playing college basketball for Purdue over other schools like Montana and Toledo. While he was certainly not as much of a blue chip standout as his contemporaries on this list, he has had an excellent college career to date. During his sophomore season, Smith broke the Purdue single season assist record with his 208th assist. By the end of the season, the Boilermaker guard led the nation in total assists and was named an Honorable Mention All-American. Purdue advanced to the National Championship, where Smith broke the Big Ten single season assist record with 292nd assist, narrowly passing the previous record holder, Cassius Winston by one.
A senior guard, the native of Westfield, Indiana has been averaging close to double-figures this season at 9.5 assists per game. Additionally, he has chipped in with 12.5 points per contests. His assists figure is number one nationally. Moreover, a respected and touted leader in the Purdue locker room, Smith has been excellent this season with Purdue accruing a record of 12-1 on the year. In a tough conference, he is the key ingredient to another long postseason run.
After you are all up to speed in relation to the lates gaming notes coming from XBet, make sure to check out the excellent array of information available to you at SBS. Of course, for even more analysis on the topic in this report, the XBet sportsbook review guide is a must-read resource that goes over all the latest coming from the outlet and beyond. Additionally, for those interested in diversifying their deposit and withdrawal options, look no further than the payment methods rundown, which goes over a variety of options from traditional banking routes to cryptocurrencies and beyond. Finally, for those who are eligible and interested, the NCAAB betting sites breakdown is a must-read page that goes over all of the latest markets and lines in college basketball.
About the Author
Chris Boline is a Reno-based business development professional and freelance sports writer with over a decade of experience covering the NBA G League, Los Angeles Chargers, and national football and basketball. His expertise spans the NFL, NBA, UFC, boxing, golf, and motorsports, along with topical news, marketing, and promotional content. A proud University of Nevada graduate, Chris earned both his BS in Management & Economics (2015) and MBA (2023). He is active in the Reno community, serving on boards such as the Nevada Sagebrush Alumni Chapter, NCET, and the College of Business Alumni Association, where he was past president (2022–23). Notable honors include: - Two-time University of Nevada Alumni Chapter of the Year honoree (2017, 2021) - 2021 NCET Professional Services Organization of the Year (with TAC) - 2016–17 Reno Bighorns MVP, awarded by the Sacramento Kings - Nevada Press Association Award for Best Sports Column (2015) - Former Editor-in-Chief of The Nevada Sagebrush Chris blends his passion for sports with a strong background in sales, marketing, and community engagement.
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