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Betting Guide
Everyone loves the NCAA Tournament and picking a winner isn’t hard as some think. One of the four #1 seeds wins the tournament most of the time. From 1985 to 2018, the winner of the tournament has been a #1 seed in 20 of the 33 tournaments. The top seeds are the top seeds for a reason. Only problem is, there is four of them and there are still those 13 times when it is not a #1 seed. Picking the winner is still hard.
Perhaps even harder? Picking the Most Outstanding Player. The good news is that the odds for this are often great and sometimes don’t appear til the later rounds when you have some context.
That said, the Most Outstanding Player often has some great odds and can really pay off if you nail it. This article is going into the Most Outstanding Player award bets a little more and cover everything you need to know about it from where to bet to how to bet.
Where To Bet NCAA Most Outstanding Player:
America: Bovada is a great site for betting on college basketball as they offer a ton of NCAA props during the season including the Most Outstanding Player award. They also have point spreads, game props, player props, and a ton of NCAA Tournament props as well.
Canada: The best site to bet college basketball in Canada is clearly Bodog. This site offers a ton of props on games throughout the season and they have you covered for the NCAA Most Outstanding Player award futures as well. You can also bet NCAA Championship futures, game props, and much more.
Everywhere Else: 888 always has a ton of betting options on the NCAA Tournament and the college basketball season so they have you covered when it comes to the Most Outstanding Player award as well. This is a great site to find betting odds on all the latest NCAA futures bets and they also offer a ton of game props on each game of the NCAA season and tournament.
What is the NCAA Most Outstanding Player Award?
The NCAA Most Outstanding Player award is given by the Associated Press at the end of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. The MOP does not necessarily need to be on the winning team, but they have been in each year since 1983. Akeem Olajuwon and Wilt Chamberlain are two famous players who won the award without winning the National Championship.
During the tournament, the sportsbooks will set on each player who is performing at a high level to win the Most Outstanding Player award. The odds are typically in American format so for instance in 2018 the odds during the Final Four looked like this:
Jalen Brunson (Villanova) +240
Mikal Bridges (Villanova) +400
Malik Newman (Kansas) +750
Devonte Graham (Kansas) +800
Donte DiVicenzo (Villanova) +2000
As you can see, last year had Villanova as a big favorite to win. They did end up winning the tournament and, in an upset, Donte DiVicenzo ended up winning at 20/1 odds.
Common Most Outstanding Player Award Questions:
What is the difference between the Men’s College Basketball Player of the Year and the Most Outstanding Player awards?
The Men’s College Basketball Player of the Year award is for the regular season. It is awarded to the player who does the best during the season, similar to the NBA MVP award.
The Most Outstanding Player award is for what the player does during the NCAA tournament and only during that time.
Have any players won the Most Outstanding Player multiple times?
There have been five players who have repeated as the NCAA Most Outstanding Player award winner, but it hasn’t happened since 1973. Those five players are Bob Kurlan (1945-46), Alex Groza (Kentucky, 1948-49), Jerry Lucas (Ohio State, 1960-61), Lew Alcindor (UCLA, 1967-69) and Bill Walton (UCLA, 1972-73). Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) is the only player to win this three times.
How many freshman have won the award?
Surprisingly, there have only been five freshman to win this award. The first was Arnie Ferrin of Utah in 1944. He was followed by Pervis Ellison (Louisville, 1986), Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse, 2003), Anthony Davis (Kentucky, 2012), and Tyus Jones (Duke, 2015).
How To Bet NCAA Most Outstanding Player:
Bovada/Bodog: From the top menu select “Basketball” and then find “College Basketball”. The Most Outstanding Player award is typically listed under “Futures”.
888: Select “Basketball” from the A-Z Menu and then find “NCAAB”. The MOP award odds will be listed under “Outrights”.
NCAA Most Outstanding Player Betting Strategy:
From 2009-2018 there was only one player to win this award as a freshman and that man’s name was Anthony Davis. Davis is a once in a lifetime talent so we can just go ahead and throw him out of this sample.
Outside of Davis, every single player in this sample was at minimum a sophomore and more often a junior or a senior. This award and the play that it requires often requires someone who has been there before and knows how to react to a big game situation. These players are often not even big time draft prospects (besides Davis, only Kemba Walker can be considered even a starter in the NBA) so don’t let the draft heads sway you when betting on this award. You’re looking for at least a sophomore who is playing important minutes for their team.
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