With Selection Sunday just two weeks away and the Big Dance tipping off soon after, NCAA hoops fans are gearing up for the most unpredictable three weeks of the sports calendar.
The bracket-busting phenomenon, which sees the First Four tip-off March 18-19, is set to once again break hearts and make stars, with BetMGM providing sharp bettors a glimpse of what to look for around the tournament, as well as how the Wooden Award could shake down.
Leading the pack as favorites to win the NCAA Men’s tournament, the No. 1 ranked Auburn Tigers enter the dance at +325. Led by Johni Broome and his elite rebounding and defense, Auburn became the 3rd team ever to win 10-plus games against ranked opponents prior to its conference tournament. There’s little doubt Auburn should be expected to go deep in March for the first time since reaching the 2019 Final Four.
"Us being ranked No. 1 in the country, I think it's deserving, considering the schedule we've played and the teams that we've beaten — the great teams that we've beaten — and the job this team has done," Auburn coach Bruce Pearl noted last month. "It matters to me, because making history at Auburn matters.”
Slotting in behind Auburn, and representing the largest liability according to BetMGM, are Cooper Flagg and the Duke Blue Devils.
Amidst a 6-game winning streak with an average margin of victory of over 30 points, College Basketball’s forever villains are once again looking like not only one of the favorites to do damage in March but are among the most popular picks at BetMGM.
According to the book, Duke currently sits at +375 to win the tournament, with a 50-point line movement week-over-week from +425. Duke also boasts both the highest ticket percentage at 13.6% and the highest handle percentage at a staggering 21.8% — almost 13% higher than Houston, who owns the third shortest odds at a relatively distant +750.
Cooper Flagg has scouts, bettors salivating
Duke’s rise up the rankings is largely fueled by Wooden Award favorite Cooper Flagg. After starting the season off the board as a 17-year-old, Flagg is now listed at -125 and could become the first freshman winner since Zion Williamson in 2019.
Flagg, who’s widely expected to become the top selection in the NBA Draft this June, has similarly captured the hearts of bettors as well, with approximately three-quarters of all cash bet on the Wooden Award laid down on the phenom known as The Maine Event.
“He knows no other way, he can’t turn it on and off, he’s the same way all the time,” Head coach Jon Scheyer said to Fox Sports of Flagg’s competitive edge. “Same energy, same competitiveness, there’s an edge to it which I love and I think in order to be great you have to have that.”
Behind Flagg, Auburn’s Johni Broome has seen his own meteoric rise, jumping from +3500 at the open of Wooden Award odds to -105 today.
"You see what type of numbers he puts up," teammate Chaney Johnson said last month after the team’s 67-60 win over Arkansas. "He's one of the best players on the best team in the country. The work he puts in and how confident he is in himself — and how confident we are in him…I've been saying it: National Player of the Year.”
