In the past three decades, there have been eight freshmen from major-conference programs who played in at least 10 games and averaged at least 20 points and eight rebounds per contest: Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Carmelo Anthony, Kris Humphries, Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley, Deandre Ayton, Marvin Bagley III and Zion Williamson.

But there's a chance that Alabama's Brandon Miller (19.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG) will join that club en route to being named the 2022-23 men's college basketball National Freshman of the Year.

Miller is the clear-cut No. 1 for this late-January ranking of the top freshmen, but not for a lack of quality candidates behind him. Guys such as Duke's Kyle Filipowski, Kentucky's Cason Wallace and Kansas' Gradey Dick are thriving under the bright lights at their respective blue-blood programs.

It's just that what Miller is doing for what might be the best team in the nation is hard to beat.

As with National Player of the Year, team success plays a factor in these rankings. Albeit, not as big of a factor, as there have been as many USBWA National Freshman of the Year recipients from NCAA tournament No. 1 seeds (Zion Williamson in 2018-19) as there have been from non-tournament teams (Ben Simmons in 2015-16) over the past seven years. And in 2017-18, NFOY Trae Young and Oklahoma barely got in as a No. 10 seed.

Still, national exposure in the form of big moments and performances in significant games is important, so it should come as no surprise that eight of the freshmen in our top 10 play for teams that either rank in the AP Top 25 or just barely outside of it atop the list of others receiving votes.

Honorable Mentions

Taylor Hendricks, UCF: A 6'9" forward with well-established three-point range, a nose for rebounds and good shot-blocking instincts, Hendricks is flying up NBA draft boards despite playing in relative obscurity with UCF. He went for 16 points and 12 rebounds against Oklahoma State in the Knights' biggest win of the season.

Jalen Hood-Schifino, Indiana: After missing three games in early December because of a lower back injury, Hood-Schifino averaged 20.0 points and 5.2 assists while shooting 60 percent from three-point range in his first five games back. He is leading the Hoosiers in both total assists and total steals and ranks second to Trayce Jackson-Davis in scoring. Really tough call leaving him out of the top 10.

Jett Howard, Michigan: Howard exploded for 34 points in an overtime loss to Iowa but was held scoreless 10 days later in a win over Minnesota. Typically, though, he scores 12-19 points, doing most of his damage from three-point range. He is also an above-average passer for a 6'8" wing.

GG Jackson, South Carolina: Jackson is averaging 15.9 points and nearly 6.7 rebounds per game for a Gamecocks squad that has been just plain bad outside that one magical night at Kentucky. Because it's taking him more than 15 shots per game to get those points, it's hard to put him in the top 10. But it's also not hard to understand the inefficiency, since slowing him down is pretty much the entire goal of opposing defenses.

Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State: Much like Monte Morris during his freshman campaign nine years ago, Lipsey doesn't do much scoring for Iowa State. But at 4.7 assists and 1.9 steals per game, he might be the MVP of a Cyclones team that has played its way onto the fringe of the No. 1-seed conversation.

Judah Mintz, Syracuse: Mintz is a dreadful perimeter shooter (7-of-38), but this point guard thrives at attacking the rim, as he can either kick it out to the open man or finish through contact. He's also a great on-ball defender on the other end.

Jarace Walker, Houston: Walker has had a few excellent outings this season, most notably his 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the win at Virginia. But he has also posted some serious duds, having been held to either one or two points on four occasions. That wild inconsistency keeps him just outside our top 10, but there aren't five freshmen better than Walker at his peak.

Cam Whitmore, Villanova: Whitmore might be the first college player selected in the 2023 NBA draft, and it's easy to see why. When he's feeling it, he's an outstanding scorer and perimeter defender. But he missed the first seven games and scored in single digits in nearly half his outings, and Villanova is a .500 team. The star potential is readily apparent, but he's not a legitimate threat for National Freshman of the Year.

10. Aidan Mahaney, Saint Mary's

2022-23 Stats: 15.0 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.0 SPG, 43.2% 3PT

I'll never understand how coach Randy Bennett does it year after year, but Saint Mary's always seems to be one of the oldest teams in the country. Every now and again an Evan Fitzner or a Matthew Dellavedova will earn a starting job as a freshman and maybe finish top-five on the team in scoring.

But leading the Gaels in scoring as a freshman?

Preposterous. You've got to go back to 2007-08 and Patty Mills to find the last time that happened, and now you're talking about a 14-year NBA vet.

That's where Aidan Mahaney is at, though, averaging 15 a night for a team that is very quietly No. 7 in the KenPom.com rankings.

Mahaney scored 25 off the bench in his collegiate debut, and he became a full-time starter a month later. He has scored at least 11 points in 16 of his last 17 games, including 14 on the road against Houston and 20 in a win over San Diego State in Phoenix.

There haven't been any games against Gonzaga yet. Those will come on Feb. 4 and Feb. 25, if you want to go mark your calendars. And considering Gonzaga's defense hasn't been this bad since the year before Mills arrived in Moraga, California, Mahaney might put on one heck of a show.

9. Anthony Black, Arkansas

2022-23 Stats: 12.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 4.0 APG, 1.8 SPG, 33.9% 3PT

It's hard enough being a starting freshman point guard for what was supposed to be one of the 10 best teams in the country. It's even harder when that freshman point guard has to try to hold the team together while losing multiple critical teammates to injury.

And while we can argue about whether Arkansas belongs in the projected NCAA tournament field, there's no argument against the fact that Anthony Black is the reason this Razorbacks team even has an at-large pulse.

Black is leading the Hogs in both total assists and steals, ranks second in points and rebounds, blocks the occasional shot and hits the occasional three.

He has been Mr. Everything for a team that has had to adjust to life without both Trevon Brazile (torn ACL) and Nick Smith Jr.—the latter of whom was supposed to be one of the most dominant freshmen in the nation but has only played three games at anything close to full health.

More often than not, Black is out there for at least 35 minutes, stuffing the stat sheet.

In the win over Ole Miss this past weekend, Black finished with 17 points, eight assists and five steals. He also had 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in the previous game at Missouri, which Arkansas should have won.

8. Braden Smith, Purdue

2022-23 Stats: 9.9 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.2 SPG, 44.6% 3PT

Zach Edey is Purdue's biggest and brightest star, but where would the Boilermakers be without Braden Smith?

The freshman point guard had 20 points and three assists in the early win over Marquette, put up 14 points, seven assists and five rebounds in the big victory over Gonzaga and was all over the stat sheet in the narrow road win over Ohio State, finishing that game with 16 points, six assists, four rebounds, two steals and just one turnover.

Those were big showings in critical Quadrant 1 games. Smith was even the KenPom game MVP in the win over the Buckeyes—designations that have been mighty difficult for non-Edey Boilermakers to come by. And he got another one with a 19-point, seven-rebound, seven-assist line in the recent win at Minnesota.

Smith has posted a positive assist-to-turnover ratio in 14 consecutive games, with either zero or one giveaway in half of those contests.

And he is an excellent shooter, both from distance (44.6 percent) and from the free-throw line (90.3 percent).

Smith doesn't shoot a ton, though. Considering the rest of Purdue's roster shoots a combined 30.9 percent from three-point range, it's hard not to wish he would call his own number a little more often.

Then again, no need to tinker with a good thing when you're 19-1 and No. 1 in the nation.

7. Donovan Clingan, Connecticut

2022-23 Stats: 8.5 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.0 BPG

Donovan Clingan was No. 1 when we did our first batch of in-season freshman rankings mid-December. And on a minute-by-minute basis, there's a strong argument that the Huskies' reserve center should still be no lower than No. 2.

Clingan is averaging 24.5 points, 17.9 rebounds and 5.8 blocks per 40 minutes, which is just ridiculous. The 5.8 blocks per 40 is identical to what Anthony Davis averaged as a freshman at Kentucky in 2011-12. But even AD23 only averaged 17.7 points and 13.0 rebounds per 40 en route to winning nearly all of the NPOY awards and becoming the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NBA draft.

Of course, Davis played 32.0 minutes per game, while Clingan's playing time is at just 13.9 minutes per game.

Which is just plain maddening.

Connecticut's inability to figure out how to play Clingan and Adama Sanogo together feels a whole lot like Purdue not figuring out how to play Zach Edey and Trevion Williams together last season, even though it is/was abundantly clear in both situations that those are/were two of the three most valuable players on the roster.

Tough love time: There's no reason for Hassan Diarra or Nahiem Alleyne to be playing at this point. Neither one plays in the frontcourt, but those 34 minutes per game should be split up between Clingan and backup shooting guard Joey Calcaterra, with at least 10-15 minutes per game devoted to Sanogo and Clingan being on the floor together and just devouring the opposing frontcourt.

Alas, it seems we'll have to settle for appreciating the brief stints we get of Clingan, who somehow has four double-doubles despite not playing more than 21 minutes in a game.

6. Gradey Dick, Kansas

2022-23 Stats: 14.9 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.8 APG, 1.6 SPG, 43.7% 3PT

The Gradey Dick and Jalen Wilson show has been all sorts of fun to watch at Kansas over the past three months.

The perimeter shooting is, of course, the primary draw with Dick. He has made at least one triple in every game, attempting at least four in all but one contest. And given the 43.7 percent success rate, he might not be shooting enough.

But he's no one-trick pony.

In the recent loss at Baylor, Dick scored 16 second-half points without even attempting a three until the final few seconds. The bouncy 6'8" wing had three layups and a pair of dunks, getting to and finishing at the rim on a regular basis.

He has also been embracing contact with more regularity as of late, attempting 28 free throws over the past six games, compared to 24 in his first 14 games.

Moreover, Dick has grabbed at least four rebounds in 15 consecutive games and has at least one steal in 14 straight. And though he's typically looking to create his own shot any time he gets the ball in the offensive half, he does average nearly two assists per contest.

With a lot of high-usage freshmen, one month into conference play is typically around the time of year that we see them hit the proverbial wall. If anything, though, this young Jayhawks star just seems to be getting stronger.

5. Cason Wallace, Kentucky

2022-23 Stats: 11.2 PPG, 3.6 APG, 3.5 RPG, 1.9 SPG, 39.6% 3PT

It's no coincidence that Kentucky's horrible loss to South Carolina came on a night when Cason Wallace was limited to eight minutes by an early back injury. And it's no coincidence that Kentucky has won four in a row since a Sahvir Wheeler shoulder injury forced coach John Calipari to hand the reins of the offense over to this dynamic freshman.

Save for going for 27 points and nine assists against Florida A&M and racking up eight steals in the early double-overtime loss to Michigan State, Wallace doesn't typically put up huge numbers.

But, on offense, he's an above-average shooter who can both drive and dish.

From the triple-threat position, Wallace actually is a triple threat. When he's flanked by Antonio Reeves and CJ Fredrick along the perimeter, Kentucky can legitimately stretch the defense, can run real offense and just looks so much better.

And then there's the impact he makes on defense, where Wallace is well on his way to becoming the first Kentucky player with at least 67 steals in a single season since Rajon Rondo in 2005-06.

Wallace is having a great all-around season and would be getting at least some love in NPOY conversations were it not for A) Kentucky's status as a bubble team and B) reigning NPOY Oscar Tshiebwe hogging the spotlight.

4. Brice Sensabaugh, Ohio State

2022-23 Stats: 17.4 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.1 APG, 46.7% 3PT

Few players—freshman or otherwise—can consistently get into a groove on offense quite like Brice Sensabaugh.

At 6'6" and 235 pounds, he's built like a tight end, but the Buckeyes freshman shoots like he's the second coming of Steph Curry.

Prior to a 14-point performance in Tuesday's loss to Illinois, Sensabaugh had scored at least 18 points in 10 consecutive games, averaging 20.6 points and 28.2 minutes played. (That's nearly 30 points per 40 minutes.) He made multiple threes in all but one of those contests, with the lone exception coming when he shot 10-of-15 from inside the arc in a near-upset of No. 1 Purdue.

Because of his size, Sensabaugh is also a plus-rebounder. He had consecutive double-doubles against Minnesota, Rutgers and Nebraska, averaging 7.7 boards during the aforementioned 10-game stretch.

Don't ask for much on defense, though. Sensabaugh is far from the only defensive liability on Ohio State's roster, but let's just say it's a good thing he scores as much as he does to make up for his shortcomings on the other end of the floor.

He's no stranger to foul trouble, either, whether it's from reaching on defense or from trying to steamroll someone when he has the ball. Sensabaugh has fouled out of three games already, the worst of which was in just 14 minutes in the November loss to Duke.

Still, that's the only time he was held below 10 points in a game.

3. Keyonte George, Baylor

2022-23 Stats: 16.9 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 3.3 APG, 1.0 SPG, 34.4% 3PT

Say this much for Keyonte George: He is not shy about letting it fly.

Baylor's freshman combo guard averages more than 13 field-goal attempts and more than five free-throw attempts per game.

We knew he would be a volume scorer before he ever stepped onto the court in Waco, Texas, but playing a handful of games in December without veterans Adam Flagler and/or LJ Cryer seemed to really kick George's assertiveness into a higher gear.

He had a few 20-point performances early in the year, even scoring 20 against Virginia's often impenetrable defense. But it wasn't until after Christmas that George started drawing more fouls (8.1 FTA/G in his last nine games; 3.1 in his first 11 games) and taking it more upon himself to make sure the offense gets going.

Baylor lost three of the games, but there was a recent five-game stretch in which George scored 118 points (23.6 PPG). One of those was the career-high 32 points (on 18 shots) in the road win over West Virginia that started the Bears' current five-game winning streak. He later added a 27-point performance (on 15 shots) in the win at Texas Tech.

Even on his off shooting nights in recent weeks—16 points on 4-of-19 shooting against Oklahoma State and Kansas—George still made a positive impact with a combined 12 rebounds and eight assists with zero turnovers.

If he can keep doing that while Baylor makes its way up to the No. 2 or No. 3 seed range for the NCAA tournament, maybe George can make a real run at National Freshman of the Year.

2. Kyle Filipowski, Duke

2022-23 Stats: 15.7 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 1.4 APG, 1.3 SPG

Duke is having a tough first season under Jon Scheyer.

Freshman center Dereck Lively II has been nothing close to the difference-maker in the post that we were promised. Veteran lead guard Jeremy Roach has been dealing with a toe injury for most of the season. Freshman Dariq Whitehead was finally starting to make a real impact after starting the season on the shelf with a broken foot, but he suffered another lower leg injury Monday night against Virginia Tech.

The Blue Devils cannot seem to catch a break.

But Kyle Filipowski is just about single-handedly keeping them in good shape for a spot in the NCAA tournament.

The 7'0" stretch 4/5 has scored in double figures in all but two games this season, amassing 10 double-doubles.

For the first half of the season, "Flip" pretty consistently hung out in the 12- to 18-point range on a nightly basis. But it appears he finally got the memo a couple of weeks ago that he needs to be more assertive if he's serious about trying to hold this team together.

Filipowski went for 28 points and 15 rebounds in Duke's come-from-behind win over Pittsburgh and put up 29 points and 10 rebounds (and took one inadvertent punch to the throat) in nearly carrying the Blue Devils to a road win over Virginia Tech. He also had a combined 35 points and 28 rebounds against Clemson and Miami in between those two scoring outbursts.

Similar to Jalen Wilson at Kansas, Drew Timme at Gonzaga and Trayce Jackson-Davis at Indiana, Filipowski can't do it all by himself. Guys such as Tyrese Proctor and Mark Mitchell need to start helping Flip on a regular basis. But Duke at least has a shot in just about any game when he's doing his thing.

1. Brandon Miller, Alabama

2022-23 Stats: 19.8 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.7 APG, 45.7% 3PT

We're giving you a full top 10, but as is the case with Purdue's Zach Edey in the National Player of the Year rankings, Alabama's Brandon Miller is operating at a "The trophy is his, so long as he doesn't get injured" level on the Freshman of the Year front.

Heck, Miller overtaking Edey for NPOY is more likely than anyone catching Miller from behind for FOY.

There were some early duds against North Carolina and Houston in which Miller shot a combined 4-of-29 from the field, but cut him some slack. The UNC game was a four-overtime war of attrition just two days after Miller had gems on back-to-back nights against Michigan State and Connecticut. And who doesn't struggle with Houston's defense?

Since then, he has been sensational.

Heading into Wednesday night's game against Mississippi State, Miller's marks over the previous 10 games were: 21.5 points and 8.2 rebounds on 53.8/48.0/84.1 percent shooting.

Those are basically Doug McDermott's career numbers at Creighton—21.7, 7.5, 55.0/45.8/83.1, respectively.

Though the Crimson Tide lost the game, their star freshman lit up Gonzaga for 36 points.

Even more impressive was the recent annihilation of LSU in which Miller racked up 31 points and nine rebounds in just 24 minutes. He had another 30 burger (on 16 shots) with 10 rebounds in the subsequent win over Vanderbilt.

He has been wildly efficient for most of the season, but that two-game stretch was ridiculous domination. And if Miller can continue to deliver like this without hitting any sort of "freshman wall," Alabama may well enter March Madness as the favorite to win it all.

Statistics current through the start of play Wednesday.