The Wooden Award preseason watch list, an annual, gradually narrowing compilation of college basketball players most likely to win the postseason award for best in the game, will include freshmen and transfers for the first time ever, ESPN reported.

Nine freshmen made the top 50. Twenty five will survive into January, and finalists (no set number) are announced in March, according to ESPN. Even with the influx of freshmen, seventeen seniors, headlined by last year's third place finisher Douglas McDermott (Drake) and fellow preseason All-American Marcus Smart (Oklahoma State), found the top 50. The nine freshmen included three from Kentucky (Julius Randle, Andrew Harrison, James Young), three from Kansas (Andrew Wiggins, Wayne Selden, Jr., Joel Embiid), Duke's Jabari Parker (#2 ESPN 100), Arizona's Aaron Gordon, and Indiana's Noah Vonleh.

Apropos timing to add freshmen following one of college basketball's best and most watched early season double headers ever -- back-to-back games which happened to feature three of the year's most anticipated first years, including the presumed #1 overall pick in next year's NBA draft, KU's Wiggins. The first game, which pitted #1 Kentucky's 260 pound freshman Randle against a veteran #2 Michigan State team, drew just over four million viewers and a 2.6 rating, the second highest ratings ever for a non-conference college basketball game on ESPN, according to NBC Sports. Louisville was by far the strongest market with a rating of 20.2, according tvbythenumbers.com. Detroit was second with a 8.6 rating.

Because both teams played on the same United Center court (where the Bulls play), the second game (Duke v. Kansas) started a little late, but still commanded almost three million viewers and a 2.1 rating.

The highest rated non-conference game ever was also the last time the number one team played the number two team in the regular season. Over five million people watched top ranked Memphis play number two Tennessee in 2008, according to NBC. That game, however, wasn't followed by a four vs. five matchup and two of the most anticipated freshman basketball players ever in Parker and Wiggins. Had the night belonged solely to Kentucky-Michigan State or Duke-Kansas, the record established by Memphis-Tennessee might have fallen.

The third annual Champions Classic, which has included Duke, Michigan State, Kentucky, and Kansas since 2011, will continue for the next three years with games in Indianapolis (2014), Chicago (United Center, 2015), and New York (Madison Square Garden, 2016).