Hansbrough, Love, Beasley top POY candidates

by Jeff Goodman

Updated: January 29, 2008, 6:31 PM EST 78 comments

However, the National Player of the Year appears to be a three-man race right now.

We'll take a look at the Player of the Year race in this space each Tuesday with the Top 20 front-runners.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR RACE

1) Tyler Hansbrough, 6-9, PF/C, Jr., North Carolina — The Tar Heels' junior went off against Miami with a season-high 35 points and eight rebounds. He just puts up numbers and effort in every single game and his stats are the best of his three-year career.

Season Averages: 22 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 1.4 spg, 55% FG, 82% FT

2) Kevin Love, 6-10, C, Fr., UCLA — The Bruins' freshman center went back to his home state and ripped apart Oregon and Oregon State. He had 26 points and 18 rebounds against the Ducks and followed it up with 16 points and 21 boards against Oregon State. He's starting to close the gap on Hansbrough.

Season Averages: 17.3 ppg, 11.3 rpg, 1.9 apg, 59% FG, 76% FT, 38% 3-pointers

3) Michael Beasley, 6-9, F, Fr., Kansas State — The Wildcats' freshman had a big game Wednesday against Kansas and he's coming off a 33-point, 15-rebound outing against Iowa State in which he completely dominated in the first half.

Season Averages: 25.3 ppg, 12.7 rpg, 1.8 bpg, 57% FG, 38% 3-pointers

4) D.J. Augustin, 6-0, PG, Soph., Texas — The Longhorns have settled down and their point guard continues to produce. Augustin had 25 points and five assists against Colorado and 26 points in a win over Oklahoma State.

Season Averages: 20.7 ppg, 5.9 apg, 1.3 spg, 48% FG, 40% 3-pointers

5) Derrick Rose, 6-3, PG, Fr., Memphis — The talented freshman had been erratic earlier in the season, but he's starting to display more consistency of late. He scored 19 points, dished out nine assists and grabbed eight boards in the win against Gonzaga.

Season Averages: 14.3 ppg, 4.4 apg, 4.1 apg, 1.2 spg, 49% FG, 68% FT, 36% 3-pointers

6) Eric Gordon, 6-4, SG, Fr., Indiana — Gordon has gone into a little bit of a scoring funk lately, but he's still averaging 18.7 points over his last three games — and he's starting to do a little more than just score. He's rebounding a little more and his passing is improving as well.

Season Averages: 21.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.4 apg, 48% FG, 85% FT, 40% 3-pointers

7) Mike Green, 6-1, PG, Sr., Butler — How in the world could this kid be left off the Wooden Midseason Top 30 List? The Bulldogs' floor leader does everything — and his team wins. He scored 15 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out six assists with just one turnover in a win over Illinois-Chicago — and that's a typical stat line. By the way, the Bulldogs are No. 12 in the country and are 19-2.

Season Averages: 15.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 4.9 apg, 1.5 spg, 44% FG, 40% 3-pointers

8) Ryan Anderson, 6-10, PF, Soph., California — He's been arguably the best player in the top conference in America and somehow he's not on either the Wooden or Naismith midseason lists. Anderson leads the Pac-10 in scoring and is fourth in rebounding. He also tops the conference in free-throw shooting. Anderson had 30 points and seven boards in a loss to Arizona and 36 points and 15 rebounds in a setback to Arizona State.

Season Averages: 21.3 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 51% FG, 86% FT, 45% 3-pointers

9) Luke Harangody, 6-8, PF, Soph., Notre Dame — The rugged big man leads the Big East in scoring and is second to South Florida's Kentrell Gransberry in rebounding. He scored 25 points and grabbed 10 boards in a win over Villanova and went for 25 points and seven rebounds in a victory against Cincinnati.

Season Averages: 19.3 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 51% FG, 80% FT

10) Jerryd Bayless, 6-3, G, Fr., Arizona — If he didn't miss four games with a knee injury, the Wildcats' freshman guard would probably be further up the list. He's been the main reason for Arizona's recent success — three straight wins against Cal and the Washington schools. Bayless averaged 24.3 points and 5.7 assists in the three games.

Season Averages: 19.9 ppg, 4.6 apg, 2.8 rpg, 1.0 spg, 49% FG, 86% FT, 46% 3-pointers

11) D.J. White, 6-9, C, Sr., Indiana
Season Averages: 16.8 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 1.8 bpg, 62% FG

12) Mario Chalmers, 6-2, G, Sr., Kansas
Season Averages: 11.9 ppg, 4.9 apg, 2.7 spg, 54% FG, 48% 3-pointers

13) Jamont Gordon, 6-5, SG, Jr., Mississippi State
Season Averages: 17.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.4 apg, 1.1 spg, 45% FG, 34% 3-pointers

14) DeMarcus Nelson, 5-3, SG, Sr., Duke
Season Averages: 14.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.6 spg, 51% FG, 62% FT, 42% 3-pointers

15) Will Daniels, 6-8, F, Sr., Rhode Island
Season Averages: 18.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.2 spg, 1.0 bpg, 50% FG, 69% FT, 31% 3-pointers

16) Raymar Morgan, 6-7, F, Soph., Michigan State
Season Averages: 16.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 58% FG, 71% FT

17) Tyler Smith, 6-7, SF, Soph., Tennessee
Season Averages: 13.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.9 spg, 55% FG, 35% 3-pointers

18) Chris Douglas-Roberts, 6-6, SG, Jr., Memphis
Season Averages: 16.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 54% FG, 66% FT, 50% 3-pointers

19) O.J. Mayo, 6-5, G, Fr., USC
Season Averages: 19.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.3 spg, 44% FG, 77% FT, 38% 3-pointers

20) Brook Lopez, 7-0, PF, Soph., Stanford
Season Averages: 17.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.7 bpg, 48% FG