Auburn Tigers star Johni Broome was the favorite to win the 2024-25 Wooden Award, which goes to the nation’s best player, before he was injured in his last game. Unfortunately, it seems the injury could be serious, and he has been ruled out indefinitely as of this writing. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean that he is out for the season. Remember what the word “Indefinitely” means, which is that there is no definite time for his return. For that very reason, Broome is still listed on most odds boards to win the Wooden award, albeit he isn’t the favorite anymore, listed at around +350.
That honor goes to Duke’s Cooper Flagg, who is now a whopping -400 favorite to win it. I’d like to tell you that I have a ton of confidence that anyone else is going to win the award now, but unfortunately, the following wagers are longshots that probably will need some help to cash for us. Still, injury is a part of the game, and it isn’t impossible that Flagg also gets hurt. As such, taking a few shots for some baby peanuts is worth investing in.
Kam Jones, Marquette: (+750, DraftKings)
Outside of Flagg and Broome, no one is really close to even odds, but Jones is the closest we will get. He’s been phenomenal for No. 7 Marquette, leading them to a 14-2 record this season with his incredible scoring ability. Jones is averaging 19.7 points per game, which is good for 20th in the entire nation. He’s also dishing the rock at a very good rate, averaging 6.4 assists per game, which is 14th in Division I.
Jones is clearly one of the best players in the country, and he deserves to be as high on the odds board as he is. Will it be enough to overtake Flagg or Broome? Probably not, unless Broome is out for the season and Jones goes on an unreal run of scoring, as well as Marquette gets to be ranked close to No. 1 in the country. Still, he is certainly worth a small sprinkle on the offset chance that Flagg and Broome miss games.
Eric Dixon, Villanova: (+5000, DraftKings)
This is a longshot wager at 50/1 odds right now, but most of these bets are going to be with Flagg sitting at -400 to win. Still, I think you could do a lot worse than sprinkling Dixon here to win the award for some small pizza money. His team, the Villanova Wildcats, have to go on a run and be ranked in order for this to have a prayer most likely. I am not sure that happens, but they did defeat UConn the other day, and anything is possible.
Simply put, Dixon has been the best individual player in the nation to this point. He’s not at the top of the Wooden Award list because his team has not been winning games, but he is certainly not to blame. Dixon leads the entire nation in scoring, racking up a gigantic 25.2 points per game playing in the Big East conference, which is simply incredible. Anyone who leads the nation in scoring is always going to have a seat at the table to win the Wooden Award, and if the Wildcats can become a competitive team in the standings, his number could spike.
P.J. Haggerty, Memphis: (+10000, DraftKings)
If you really want a bet that is likely not going to hit, but is a good lottery type of play for some really small beer money, Haggerty is the man to go with. Memphis is a decent basketball team that has been ranked for most of the season. As of this writing, the Tigers are ranked No. 18 in the nation, and if they can start to climb into the top-10 with some big performances, it will likely be Haggerty that benefits the most from that exposure.
Like Dixon, Haggerty has been a scoring machine this season. He’s averaging 22.4 points per game, and perhaps his most memorable performance to this point was racking up 27 against No. 1 Auburn in a duel with Broome. The Tigers lost that game, but Haggerty was a standout going toe to toe with the former Wooden Award leader. He also scored 22 in a win over former No. 1 UConn, so he has stepped up in some big moments.
It is unlikely he will win it, but at 100/1 odds with his ability, it is worth a small sprinkle in case some shenanigans happen. We all know they happen in this crazy sport all the time.
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