It may be the holiday season, but it’s never too early to start thinking about who to back for college basketball player of the year. And right now, the odds frontrunner for the honor is an overpowering power forward wearing orange and blue.
That would be Johni Broome of Auburn, whose +130 odds at FanDuel of winning the Wooden Award easily outdistanced the competition as of mid-December. The 6-10 senior was averaging 18.1 points and 11.5 rebounds, and had unleashed some monster performances—like 21 points and 20 rebounds against Ohio State, 20 and 12 against Duke, and 23 and 19 against North Carolina. He posted double-doubles in seven of the Tigers’ first 10 games.
Naismith College Player Of The Year/Wooden Award Betting Odds
| Player | College | Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Johni Broome | Auburn | +130 |
| Cooper Flagg | Duke | +135 |
| Kam Jones | Marquette | +430 |
| Chaz Lanier | Tennessee | +1100 |
| Keshon Gilber | Iowa State | +1400 |
| PJ Haggerty | Memphis | +7500 |
| Walter Clayton Jr. | Florida | +10000 |
| Hunter Dickinson | Kansas | +10000 |
| Josh Hubbard | Mississippi St. | +10000 |
Odds as of December 19, 2024 at FanDuel
And then came December 11th, against Georgia State, which Broome left after injuring his right shoulder. Broome’s availability for Saturday against Purdue was uncertain. Who could make a run at the top of the Wooden Award odds board should Brooms miss time? Here are other options to consider.
The Contender: Kam Jones, Marquette, +430
The Golden Eagles guard entered mid-December third in Wooden Awards odds behind Broome, and is on of just three players sporting a triple-figure moneyline (Cooper Flagg being the other). His great games are incredible, like his 17-point, 13-rebound, 10-assist triple-double against Purdue. Jones also put up 32 to help Marquette beat rival Wisconsin.
But his efforts haven’t always been enough to lift Marquette past elite opponents—the Golden Eagles dropped a game to Iowa State in which Jones had 14 points and nine assists, and fell to Dayton in a game where Jones scored 18. His games against Connecticut, looming in early February and early March, may offer the opportunity Jones needs to truly put his stamp on this race.
The Value Prospect: Mark Sears, Alabama, +12000
The Alabama guard was averaging 17 points and four assists per game as of mid-December, but his field-goal shooting remains at a career-low 39 percent. His 3-point clip of 31.8 percent is his lowest since arriving in Tuscaloosa. Sears has gone for 20 or more in four of his last five games, and elevates his play against elite opponents, but the consistency isn’t quite there yet.
He has time. Sears truly hit his stride at the start of SEC play last season, scoring 21 or more in each of his first eight league games, and shooting over 50 percent from the floor in half of them. But this is a deep Alabama team with lots of weapons, and so far Sears hasn’t needed to carry the Crimson Tide every night.
The Long Shot: R.J. Davis, North Carolina, +25000
Remember this guy, the reigning ACC Player of the Year and first-team All-America? Davis without big man Armando Bacot has sunk to 37 percent shooting from the field and a woeful 25 percent from the 3-point arc. And unlike Sears at Alabama, North Carolina as of yet hasn’t proven deep enough to give Davis much help.
Davis, who averaged 21.2 points last season, was at 18.6 at mid-December—and in four of his last five had fallen short of that. The ACC shouldn’t be as rough as UNC’s loaded non-conference schedule, at least giving Davis the opportunity to shoot his way out this slump against the likes of Boston College and Miami.
Last 10 College Basketball Player Of The Year Winners
| Year | Player | School |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Zach Edey | Purdue |
| 2023 | Zach Edey | Purdue |
| 2022 | Oscar Tshiebwe | Kentucky |
| 2021 | Luka Garza | Iowa |
| 2020 | Obi Toppin | Dayton |
| 2019 | Zion Williamson | Duke |
| 2018 | Jalen Brunson | Villanova |
| 2017 | Frank Mason III | Kansas |
| 2016 | Buddy Hield | Oklahoma |
| 2015 | Frank Kaminsky | Wisconsin |
How To Read Naismith And Wooden Player Of The Year Odds
If this is your first time betting on NCAA College Basketball Player of the Year odds and you aren’t sure about the difference between the Wooden Award and the Naismith Award, don’t sweat it.
They’re essentially the same individual award but the voting structures are slightly different. The Wooden Award is voted on by over 1,000 sports writers and former winners based on academic criteria, character qualifications and play during the regular season and includse some March tournament play with the award announcement coming after the Final Four. The Naismith Award, on the other hand, is finalized by a board along with fan voting based on regular season play and is announced during the Final Four.
Understanding College Basketball Player Of The Year Odds
At your college basketball sportsbook of choice, you’ll see prop odds to win College Player of the Year listed like so:
Hunter Dickinson +550
RJ Davis +600
Mark Spears +600
When there is no clear favorite due to the lack of a minus sign (-), the player with the lowest odds is the fave. In this case, it would be Hunter Dickinson at +550.
If you’re loving Dickinson at that number and you bet $100 on him, you’d get a payout of $650 – your original money is returned coupled with your winnings of $550. To see what you’d win based on the odds and the amount you bet, check out our odds calculator.
