2019 NCAA Men’s Tournament Most Outstanding Player Odds: Zion Williamson Favored

• Zion Williamson is favored to win the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four MOP award
• Five Blue Devils have won the honor
• Houston’s Akeem Olajuwon (1983) was the last player to be named MOP from a team that didn’t win March Madness

After two dominant performances in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, Duke’s Zion Williamson is a heavy favorite to be named the Final Four Most Outstanding Player.

Odds to Win 2019 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player

Five Duke players have earned Final Four MOP in the NCAA Tournament, most recently Tyus Jones in 2015.

Run down the list of players who’ve won the most outstanding player of the NCAA Tournament, and you’ll have to admit that there are some basketball players on there who are . . .  well  . . . outstanding.

Lew Alcindor, a.k.a. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, won three times. Wilt Chamberlain’s on the list, and so are Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Bill Bradley, Bill Walton, Magic Johnson, Akeem Olajuwon, Isiah Thomas, Patrick Ewing, Carmelo Anthony, and Anthony Davis.

https://twitter.com/DevilsDukeBlue/status/1109250338962505729

Is Duke’s dominant freshman forward about to be included among this roster of all-time greats? The odds say yes.

Williamson Is Outstanding

Is it moments that make champions, or champions that make the moments? Either way, fans witnessed Zion’s championship pedigree on Sunday as Duke gutted out a 77-76 second-round win over UCF.

https://twitter.com/barstooltweetss/status/1109960892005974016

The Blue Devils trailed 76-73 with 33 seconds to play. Stifled all game by the presence of UCF’s 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall in the paint, Williamson was a dismal 6-for-17 from the field when Fall was on the floor. He’d had three shots blocked by Fall.

But with the game on the line, Williamson beat Fall to the hoop, and dropped the ball in the hole.

Williamson finished with a game-high 32 points. His 11 boards were also the best of anyone in the contest. That performance followed a 25-point effort in the first round against North Dakota State.

If he keeps putting up those kinds of numbers, Williamson will own the Most Outstanding Player, as long as Duke survives.

Could A Teammate Usurp It?

Duke’s other star has also been coming up big in the tournament. Freshman wing RJ Barrett hit the game-winning bucket against UCF off a missed free-throw from Zion. He also scored a game-high 26 points against North Dakota State.

RJ Barrett with the clutch put-back!! (via @marchmadness) pic.twitter.com/CPAwC5hxWj

— SLAM (@SLAMonline) March 24, 2019

Last season, as the Villanova Wildcats captured March Madness, guard Jalen Brunson was clearly their most talented player.

But during the NCAA Tournament, reserve guard Donte DiVincenzo heated up, scoring 31 points in the championship game against Michigan. He was named the MOP of the Final Four.

If you think Duke wins the tourney but want better odds on the MOP, Barrett wouldn’t be a bad play. Remember that there is an MOP for each region before the Final Four, and then another one is named for the semifinals and finals.

Zion’s performances to date won’t be decisive when it comes time to vote on the Final Four MOP.

Bestow The Ones

Nine of the top 10 contenders in the MOP odds are all from 1-seeds. The lone breakthrough is Michigan State junior point guard Cassius Winston.

He’s been doing MOP kind of stuff for the Spartans, the 2-seed in the East, all season long, cutting the heart out of the opposition.

Take Michigan State’s Round 2 win over Minnesota. The Golden Gophers reduced a 20-point deficit to nine and found life. Then Winston delivered the dagger, scoring seven points in a 54-second span to return MSU’s advantage to 16.

Come to think of it, wasn’t there another fellow named Cassius who once shocked the world?

MOP-ping Up

One thing is virtually certain: to be the Final Four MOP of March Madness, you must win the NCAA Tournament.

With 32 points tonight, Zion Williamson now has 57 points so far in the tournament.

He has tied Kevin Durant for the most points by a freshman across their first two NCAA Tournament games. pic.twitter.com/4OQ9IK7aki

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 24, 2019

The last 35 NCAA Tourney MOPs all came from the NCAA Tournament champions.

Duke is still the best bet to win it all, and unless his play falls off significantly, Williamson will clean up the MOP. It’s not a value play at +350, since Duke’s true odds to win the tournament are longer than that, but he’s the best player on the best team.

SBD’s Regional Odds Analysis

• Updated Odds to Win East Region of 2019 NCAA Men’s Tournament Ahead of Sweet 16
• Odds to Win Midwest Region of 2019 NCAA Men’s Tournament Ahead of Sweet 16