With only a few weeks left in the college basketball regular season, a few players have started to break away in the player of the year race.
There are, expectedly, multiple players from the SEC in contention for the award, as the league boasts the top four ranked teams in the country in Alabama, Auburn, Florida and Tennessee, along with three other teams in the top 25.
Duke true freshman Cooper Flagg, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, looks to be the first true freshman to win player of the year since another Blue Devils forward, Zion Williamson, took the honor in 2018-19.
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The 6-foot-9 forward has been dominant this season, averaging 19.8 points with 7.6 rebounds and four assists per game. Flagg is also just as good defensively, with 1.2 blocks and 1.6 steals per contest.
The last player to win the Wooden Award was former Purdue forward Zach Edey, who took the honor back-to-back seasons before being drafted No. 9 overall by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2024.
Here’s who has the best odds to win player of the year in 2025:
College basketball player of the year odds
Odds from BetMGM as of Friday, Feb. 14
Here’s which players have the best odds at winning the Wooden Award this season:
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1. Duke forward Cooper Flagg (-400)
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2. Auburn forward Johni Broome (+250)
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3. Purdue guard Braden Smith (+10000)
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T-4. Creighton forward Ryan Kalkbrenner (+25000)
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T-4. Alabama guard Mark Sears (+25000)
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T-4. Memphis guard PJ Haggerty (+25000)
What is the Wooden Award?
The Wooden Award is given annually to the best men’s and women’s basketball player nationally.
The award is in honor of legendary coach John Wooden, who led UCLA to 10 national championship wins during his tenure from 1948-75. Wooden is one of the most revered coaches in the history of college sports.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: College basketball player of the year odds: Who’s favored to win?
