Wooden Award Odds Report as of February 19, 2020

Apr 2, 2023 7:50 AM ET | By: matan

The Wooden Award odds Are Getting Juicy with a Month to Go

By: Brent Booher

There is only a week and change left in the month of February, and with March Madness just around the corner, the college basketball regular season is nearing its conclusion.

The race to win the John R. Wooden award, which is essentially the Heisman Trophy of college hoops, is going to be as tightly contested as the NCAA Tournament itself, and this week we have a new leader at the top of the board.

Here’s a look at how the current top three shakes out.

Who Has the Best Wooden Award Odds

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Third Best Wooden Award Odds: Malachi Flynn, G, San Diego State – (+350); Last Week +1000

Malachi Flynn has been soaring up the Wooden Award odds list, as at the start of the month he was a +2000 shot to take home the Wooden Award, and this week his Wooden Award odds are at +350 to be named the best player in college basketball this season.

With the Aztecs a perfect 26-0 on the season, there’s not much surprise as to why the electric junior point-guard is surging up the board. Flynn is averaging 16.7 points, 4.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game for the undefeated Aztecs, and has only failed to record double digits in points one time this season.

As we’ve said all month, when you’re the best player on the only undefeated team in the country (especially in a season as wide-open as this one), you’re bound to get some attention.

Second Best Wooden Award Odds: Luka Garza, F/C, Iowa – (+115); Last Week +150

For the first time in over a month, Garza has fallen out of the top spot of the Wooden Award odds list, albeit slightly as he is listed this week at +115 to be named the nation’s best basketball player.

It’s really not related to anything Garza has done of late, as the 6-11 Junior is still averaging 23.7 points and 9.7 boards per game while shooting an absurd 39% from 3-point range.

The only reason Garza has become the second-best favorite to bring home the Wooden Award has much more to do with the new leader of the race than anything else.

Wooden Award Odds-On Favorite: Obi Toppin, F, Dayton – (EVEN); Last Week +350

Dayton’s Obi Toppin has been playing absolutely sensational basketball all season and has been the catalyst for the best season in Dayton Flyers history. Toppin has helped carry the Flyers all the way to No. 5 in the latest AP/Coaches polls and has been the focal point for a team that’s won 15-straight games.

Toppin’s Wooden Award odds last week were at +350, but are now listed as the odds-on favorite at even money to win the award.

If the Flyers keep their winning ways going all the way into conference tournament action, it may be very difficult to unseat Obi at the top of the leaderboard.

Other Names to Monitor for the Wooden Award

There’s no other player in the country who can light up the scoreboard quite like Markus Howard. Howard is averaging just under 27 points per game for No. 19 Marquette, and he epitomizes the saying of “putting a team on your back”.

However, a poor performance against Creighton may have put a few holes in the sails of Howard’s quest to get into seriously contesting for the award.

Given his ability to explode on the score sheet at any given moment, and given the quality of the Big East, we can’t write Howard off completely just yet though. And at +500, he still offers outstanding value.

In recent weeks, we told you to hop on the Malachi Flynn and Obi Toppin wagons and to hop off the Payton Pritchard wagon.
This week we are telling you to hop on the Devon Dotson freight train.

Kansas has quietly begun to emerge as the favorite to win the entire shebang and the sophomore point-guard is the biggest reason why.
Dotson has been nothing short of spectacular this season, scoring 18.4 point per night and putting up 15 points or more in 21 of the Jayhawks 25 games this season.

He may be the quickest guard in the country, and takes nearly half of his shots at the rim while converting on 65.6% of them.
Folks, that’s better than most 7-footers, much less a (generously listed) 6-2 guard.

Did we mention Kansas is really good? A strong showing Saturday against No. 1 Baylor and another Big 12 crown for the Jayhawks will almost assuredly shoot Dotson up the leaderboard even further.
Oh, and by the way, Ken Pomeroy currently lists Dotson as his favorite to win the award.
Get on +550 while you still can.

If you’re looking for a mid-deep sleeper to throw a little play money at, Duke’s Vernon Carey may be your guy.

While it’s probably not likely that Carey’s body of work would trump that of fellow bigs Obi Toppin and Luka Garza, Duke is also cooking right now as a team – winning seven straight and starting to round into the typical form we’ve come to expect from Coach K’s Dukies.

Carey has been a major reason why Duke has turned it around and suddenly looks like a formidable title contender. The 6-10 frosh is averaging 17.6 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, and maybe most impressive of all is he’s shown an ability to still dominate down low while playing with foul trouble.

If you’re of the belief that Duke tends to get a little bit of love in award races, Vernon Carey may be a nice sleeper to follow.

All odds courtesy DraftKings Sportsbook as of February 19, 2020

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