The top candidates for this season’s Wooden Award winner have shifted quite a few times since the beginning of the season. Experienced college players like Mark Sears and Hunter Dickinson have faded while a freshman has skipped to the front of the line. Bettors are still looking to find an edge with plus-money options, though. Are you looking to see how the public is wagering on the award? Let’s go over the metrics.
Duke’s Cooper Flagg (-800), who was initially off the board because of his age, is the odds-on favorite at BetMGM and is currently averaging 19.2 points, 8.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists. However, the star forward is a long way away from having the most tickets. Purdue’s Braden Smith (+6600) has that honor. The junior guard commands 12% of the tickets and is widely considered the largest liability in the race while currently averaging 15.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 8.9 assists.
Auburn’s Johni Broome (+600) is receiving plenty of attention as well. The senior forward has the second-best Wooden award odds and has the highest handle percentage at 24%. He’s also right behind Smith in ticket percentage (10.8%) and is the second largest liability. The third largest liability is Alabama’s Sears, who opened the year among the favorites at +1000 and climbed as high as +700 before sliding back to +8000.
Flagg is in what appears to be a lopsided, one-horse race right now. There will be opportunities for others to gain ground on the Blue Devil, but Wooden Award hopefuls will likely need to depend on a major dropoff in quality from the Flagg in order to catch up. There might not be much use chasing value here at this point in the season.
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