2023 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Odds: Sasser Favored, Cougars Dominate Board

This is March. America’s favorite sports tournament has finally arrived, and bettors are filling out their brackets and backing their favorite schools to go on deep runs.

But as important as it is for a team to play well collectively, you cannot win a 68-team mega-tourney without great players stepping up. Sportsbooks are offering odds for Most Outstanding Player (MOP) as the 2023 NCAA Tournament ramps up, so now’s your chance to wager on which hoopster you think will have the biggest impact.

Houston guard Marcus Sasser (+720 odds) is the favorite to win MOP, followed by Alabama forward Brandon Miller (+800). The next four players are Sasser’s Cougars teammates, and coming in with the seventh-shortest odds is Kansas forward Jalen Wilson (+1100), and then there’s Purdue center Zach Edey (+1300) at 10th.

Odds For Most Outstanding Player of 2023 NCAA Tournament

Here are the betting prices for the 2023 MOP award for players offered at 20-to-1 odds or shorter:

The formula for picking the top-performing player in March Madness is fairly simple: examine which teams are most likely to reach the Final Four, and then identify players on those programs who can make a big difference.

The winner isn’t always on the top overall team going into the tournament, though that doesn’t mean you should put your money on Tucker Richardson on the Colgate Raiders. And by the look of the award’s history, winning the championship and winning the award go hand in hand.

Of the past 39 MOP winners, all played on the national championship team. The last man to buck that trend was Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwon in 1983, when his team lost to NC State by two points in the title game.

Most Outstanding Player Betting: Favorites, Contenders

Marcus Sasser, Houston (+720)

Sasser is averaging 17.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists for a Houston squad that won 31 games to just three losses. If it were not for a groin injury suffered in the semis, he would’ve played in the AAC title game, and the Cougars likely would’ve been crowned AAC champs.

The 2023 AAC Player of the Year said he’ll be fine for the national tournament. Houston has the shortest odds in the entire bracket to reach the Final Four (+160, DraftKings). Once there, Sasser just has to play his normal game two more times, and he’ll grab another award before taking his talents to the NBA next year.

Pools: bet365 March Madness Bracket Challenge dangles $10 million prize | 5 Alternatives to March Madness Bracket Pools | Sports Betting Hasn’t Hurt March Madness Office Pools, COVID May Have 

Brandon Miller, Alabama (+800)

Miller became an immediate star in college hoops, earning SEC Player of the Year and First-Team All-American honors as a freshman. Averaging 19.6 points and 8.3 rebounds on the tournament’s top overall seed, he has a chance to lead the Crimson Tide to their first basketball title.

The freshman star has gone through his fair share of distractions this season and has come out looking more confident than ever. Alabama should cruise through the nonthreatening South region and reach the Final Four with relative ease.

The team arguably has the highest ceiling of any team in the bracket, which will come in handy once it meets a top-ranked opponent in the later rounds.

Live prices: Odds To Win March Madness

Jalen Wilson, Kansas (+1100)

Wilson was very close to winning this award last year when Kansas cut down the nets. He scored a game-high-tying 15 points in the title clincher against North Carolina, but the MOP award was given to Ochai Agbaji, who scored just 12 points in the Final. Zooming out, Wilson averaged 12.0 points and nearly double-digit rebounds in the tournament last year, compared to 13.7 points and 4.7 rebounds for Agbaji.

The Big 12 Player of the Year leads the Jayhawks in scoring (20.1 points per game). Kansas does have other players who are capable of stealing the award from Wilson, though considering how Wilson played from last year’s tourney to now, we’d give him the nod to claim the title this time around if the team repeats as champs.

Zach Edey, Purdue (+1300)

Many people are writing off the Boilermakers this year, saying that they’re the weakest of the four No. 1 seeds and that they won’t out of the competitive East region. That may be true.

But this is March Madness, where anything and seemingly everything can happen. Purdue earned No. 1 for a reason, and that reason stands at seven feet and four inches tall.

Zach Edey is a matchup nightmare whenever he steps on the court. He scored 30 points and hauled in 13 rebounds against Penn State to help the Boilermakers secure the Big 10 title.

The runaway Wooden Award favorite averages 22.3 points 12.8 boards per game (second in the nation) and ranks first by a mile in win shares per 40 minutes.

The problem with Edey’s MOP case isn’t Edey himself; it’s his team. 32.6% of the team’s possessions go through the dominant center, which is the highest rate among all players in the tournament. Edey could play like the All-American he is, but if the rest of the team doesn’t pull its weight, then Purdue won’t make it far and the 7-foot-4 giant won’t get the award

Also read: Biggest upsets in March Madness history | How sharp bettors are moving NCAA Tournament lines