Hunter Dickinson Claims Another Award as No. 4 Kansas Heats Up
Hunter Dickinson Stats: Leads Big 12 in Double-Doubles
Hunter Dickinson
Hunter Dickinson
Kansas Jayhawks1
23 Years Old (11-25-2000)
7’2″
Alexandria, VA., USA
Center
As the Kansas Jayhawks set their sights on another national championship, the key to their success is no secret. It starts with All-American center Hunter Dickinson, who transferred to the Jayhawks this past offseason after three seasons at Michigan.
Dickinson — the reigning Big 12 Conference Player of the Week — ranks second on the Jayhawks in scoring and leads them in rebounds, blocks and double-doubles.
At 18-4 entering Monday, Kansas finds itself back in the top 5 of the national polls as it chases a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time in the last 18 seasons under coach Bill Self.
Let’s take a closer look at Hunter Dickinson’s stats as we break down his season to date.
Hunter Dickinson Stats
Much was expected of Dickinson before landing at Kansas, and he’s certainly lived up to the billing as one of the biggest prizes in the NCAAB transfer portal. Dickinson is averaging a healthy 18.8 points and ranks sixth in the country with 11.1 rebounds per game. The 7-foot-1 center is shooting 59.3%, including 37% from 3-point range. He also has 12 double-doubles.
While his former team Michigan is reeling, Kansas is flourishing. The Jayhawks (18-4, 6-3 Big 12 Conference) climbed four spots to No. 4 in the AP Top 25 poll following Saturday’s 78-65 upset of Big 12 favorite Houston.
On the heels of his 16-point, 11-rebound effort against Oklahoma State on Tuesday, Dickinson had 20 points and eight rebounds. He also tallied his 2,000th career point and 1,000th career rebound during the week.
Dickinson now has 10 20-point games this season and 44 for his career. He is the only player in the Big 12 averaging a double-double.
The Jayhawks were slated to visit rival Kansas State (14-8, 4-5) on Monday, seeking their third straight win. Kansas opened as a 4-point favorite and climbed as high as -5 before falling back to the initial odds.
Odds Outlook
Dickinson opened +825 to win the John R. Wooden Award, a distant second to Purdue center and reigning winner Zach Edey (+165). While Dickinson has mostly lived up to expectations as a star for the Jayhawks, the gap between he and Edey on the oddsboard for national player of the year continues to grow.
As of last week Edey’s odds had climbed to -725, making him the overwhelming favorite to defend the award. The gap between Edey and Dickinson (+3000) is now longer than ever, and nobody else is reasonably close to challenging the Purdue 7-footer. Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht and North Carolina’s RJ Davis are +2250 and +2500, respectively. Dickinson has the fourth-shortest odds.
Edey is certainly deserving of this notoriety. He ranks third in the country in scoring (23.1), fourth in rebounding (11.7),14th in blocks (2.3) and has 16 double-doubles. On top of that, Purdue is 21-2 and No. 2 in the AP college basketball rankings.
Dickinson was also recently named one of 10 finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, given to the nation’s top center.
Even with a strong final month, Dickinson may have run out of time to catch Edey. And that’s no disrespect to the Kansas standout.
Dickinson’s odds climbed as high as +285 on Dec. 4 — Edey was +150 at the time — but dropped to +365 within 10 days. A disappointing performance (12 points, season-low four rebounds) in an upset loss to UCF on Jan. 10 didn’t help his case. Be sure to keep that in mind when making your NCAAB picks.
Nevertheless, Dickinson is sure to remain a fixture as Kansas chases its second NCAA title in three seasons. The Jayhawks are now +400 to make the Final Four and +1700 to win the national championship. Only seven NCAAB teams have shorter odds at the moment: Purdue (+750), UConn (+800), Houston (+900), North Carolina (+1300), Arizona (+1400) and Tennessee (+1600) and Kentucky (+1600).
For Hunter Dickinson player stats, betting analysis and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
