Most Outstanding Player odds: Is it Flagg's award to lose?

Four No. 1 seeds represented in the Final Four should create thrilling games, and it means many of the nation's most talented players will compete in San Antonio. That creates a complicated Most Outstanding Player race, the award given to the best player in the Final Four and championship, typically from the national title-winning team.

Let's take a look at some of this year's contenders.

Most Outstanding Player odds

Unsurprisingly, Cooper Flagg is the favorite. He's not only the best player on the four remaining teams, but Duke has the best odds to cut down the nets as a +105 favorite on theScore Bet/ESPN Bet.

While Flagg isn't the only projected lottery pick on Duke's roster, he's the best and most impactful player. Kon Knueppel is the second-leading scorer and will likely be a top-10 pick in the draft.

Knueppel certainly can - and has - outplayed Flagg in recent games, but there's almost no scenario where Duke wins and Flagg doesn't earn the honor. Flagg averages 18.9 points, 7.5 boards, and more than four assists per game on 37% 3-point shooting. However, betting on Flagg at such a short price is risky when his team must win two games for consideration. Hakeem Olajuwon was the last losing player to win Most Outstanding Player in 1983.

Florida has the second-best odds to win the title at +285, leading to Walter Clayton Jr., the Gators' best player, having the second-best odds (+375) to capture Most Outstanding Player. Clayton's late-game heroics against Texas Tech, when he drilled two threes to cap off a 9-0 run with less than four minutes remaining, propelled the Gators to the Final Four.

Clayton has led Florida in scoring in three of its four tourney games while averaging 22.3 points in the Big Dance. Florida is a 2.5-point favorite over Auburn but would be an underdog against Duke in a potential championship showdown. Will Richard (+4000), who led the Gators in scoring against Maryland, and Alijah Martin (+2500) are the other Florida guards with a chance.

The odds drop significantly after Flagg and Clayton because oddsmakers doubt Houston or Auburn will win the title.

There's value for bettors who disagree with the books. Auburn's Johni Broome finished the season as the National Player of the Year favorite.

Broome left Auburn's Elite Eight game against Michigan State with an elbow injury before returning later in the second half. He'll almost certainly play in the Final Four, and the injury to his non-shooting elbow shouldn't impact the All-American's performance.

Auburn is an underdog against Florida and would also be against Houston or Duke in the final, explaining Broome's long odds (+800). Tahaad Pettiford (+2000) is the next-closest Tiger on the oddsboard. While Auburn has great guard depth, Broome is its engine as a physical forward who can score at three levels. He'd be my long-shot pick.

Finally, Houston has two guards with top-five odds. It's a 5.5-point underdog against Duke, but it's good enough to leave San Antonio on top of the college basketball world. The Cougars rely on a balanced scoring attack from their top guys. L.J. Cryer (+1000) is their leading scorer, averaging 15.4 points. They have four players averaging between 10 and 16 points, including Milos Uzan (+1500) at 11.6 per game.

Although Emanuel Sharp (+2500) averages more points than Uzan, the latter is Houston's primary playmaker and leads the squad in assists. Cryer has averaged 16.8 points and four assists in the tournament, while Uzan has averaged 12.8 points and five assists.

Betting on Flagg is essentially betting on the Blue Devils to win the tournament, but the wiser wager is Duke (+100) at nearly equal odds in case of the slight chance Knueppel (+2200) explodes and Flagg struggles in the final two games.

I believe Auburn has a better chance of beating Florida than oddsmakers believe. If the Tigers win, Broome's odds will be cut in half. So, Broome is my pick to earn Most Outstanding Player.

Sam Oshtry is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X @soshtry for more betting coverage.