March Madness betting: Most Outstanding Player race zigs as Zags' Drew Timme exits
One weekend after Gonzaga's Drew Timme opened the tournament as a +500 favorite to win Most Outstanding Player, all the handle riding on his handlebar mustache belongs to Vegas. Timme's Zags were eliminated from the tournament by Arkansas on Thursday, shaking up title and MOP odds alike. The new favorite on BetMGM to win MOP is the Kansas Jayhawks' Ochai Agbaji (+700).
You have to be in it to win it
The last person to be awarded Most Outstanding Player who wasn't a member of the national championship team was Akeem Olajuwon in 1983. Olajuwon's Houston Cougars were shocked 54-52 by North Carolina State on an airballed three-pointer that turned into a game-winning alley-oop. Since then, if you want to pick a winner for MOP, you have to find someone whose team will be cutting down the nets.
Kansas owns one of the easiest remaining paths to the Final Four, which is reflected in their -175 price. The Jayhawks are 6.5-point favorites versus Providence tonight. Should they dispatch the Friars, they'll play either No. 10 Miami or No. 11 Iowa State on Sunday. Agbaji was their leading scorer coming into March Madness, but has totaled just 26 points through two games, shooting 5-of-14 in each contest.
Bettors have been more interested in anteing up on Agbaji's teammate Remy Martin for MOP. Despite coming off the bench, Martin has led Kansas in scoring in both of their tournament wins. The Arizona State transfer was named preseason Big 12 player of the year but spent much of the season battling a knee injury and struggling to score, averaging in the single-digits. Martin wasn't even offered on the betting board for MOP when the tournament was kicking off. He's now 28-to-1 and carries the second-highest handle of all players remaining with 8.4% of the money. Purdue's Jaden Ivey has the highest handle (10.9%) after putting up 40 points in the first weekend of play.
Duke's Paolo Banchero is the most popular bet, with 9.1% of all tickets taking the freshman. A likely top-5 pick in the 2022 NBA draft, Banchero's performance in the tournament has bolstered his draft stock even more as he has Duke one win away from the Final Four. The Blue Devils are 3.5-point favorites against Arkansas in Saturday's Elite Eight matchup.
If you bet any of Houston's stars to win MOP before the tourney started, you're sitting on some great value right now. The Cougars are the new favorites to win the title (+350) after bouncing Arizona on Thursday. All five of their starters opened at 125-to-1 or greater to be named MOP. Jamal Shead opened at 250-to-1, Josh Carlton and Taze Moore's prices were 150-to-1, and Kyler Edwards and Fabian White Jr. were 125-to-1. Edwards is currently 12-to-1, White and Shead are 20-to-1, and Moore and Carlton are 25-to-1.
The top 10 favorites for Most Outstanding Player on BetMGM are:
Ochai Agbaji, Kansas +700
Jaden Ivey, Purdue +800
Paolo Banchero, Duke +900
Collin Gillespie, Villanova +1200
Kyler Edwards, Houston +1200
JD Notae, Arkansas +1800
Johnny Juzang, UCLA +2000
Fabian White Jr., Houston +2000
Jamal Shead, Houston +2000
Stats provided by Sports Reference.
