(Image via: SI.com)

As the second half of the college basketball season progresses, we are beginning to see how the March Madness bracket will shape out. From what we have seen so far this year, the NCAA tournament should be a lot of fun. The tournament isn’t the only thing that college basketball fans look forward to at the end of the season. There is usually a lot of debate and attention surrounding the AP National Player of the Year award.

There are many worthy candidates this year, as college basketball got an influx of talent from the freshman class. Frank Mason III(Kansas), Josh Hart(Villanova), Lonzo Ball(UCLA), and Malik Monk(Kentucky) are the favorites to win the award. This is an interesting choice for the Associated Press(AP) to make, as there will most likely decide between two seniors(Hart, Mason) and two freshman(Ball, Monk). I believe that Josh Hart should win this prestigious award for his incredible play on the nation’s best basketball team.

This is a very difficult decision to make, but it comes down to the fact that Hart has been more effective than the other three players on their respective teams. Here are the current AP college basketball rankings to show where each team stacks up.

(Image via: ncaa.com)

Conveniently, Villanova, Kansas, UCLA, and Kentucky are all in the top 5 of the AP poll. I think it is appropriate to give the National Player of the Year to a player on a successful team, and that will most likely be the case this year. That being said, it is hard to ignore how good Villanova has been this year. After winning the national championship last April, Villanova looks even better this year. They are far more balanced as a team, and that can be attributed to their main man Josh Hart.