NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Top Contenders

Our expert picks the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player (MOP) best contenders from a list of 41. Read on to see who's got the best chance to collect the award in our preview below.
Top NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player contenders
Drew Timme
Drew Timme is currently the favorite to win the Most Outstanding Player award in this tournament and there is a couple of reasons as to why.
First of all, he always shows up in big games for Gonzaga. The senior forward has scored over 20 points in five of his last six career games in the NCAA Tournament.
Most recently, he was the driving force of a ferocious comeback from the Bulldogs when they went up against Memphis over this past weekend.
Despite being down double digits at halftime, Timme rallied the team back and finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds to help them advance further into the tournament.
We really haven’t seen a player make this big of an impact down in the post for quite some time now, and if Gonzaga makes it all the way, he will be a major reason why.
Bennedict Mathurin
Bennedict Mathurin happens to be the best player on his team. A team that is heavily thought of as one of the strongest left standing in the tournament, the Arizona Wildcats.
Arizona has watched Mathurin completely take over game after game so far this season.
He doesn’t look like he is planning on slowing down anytime soon either. The number one option on this team just helped the Wildcats nab a huge win over TCU.
He drilled a huge game-tying three pointer towards the end of regulation before taking over overtime with multiple hustle plays to push them over the edge.
Not to mention that this man has been averaging 24.5 points and 6.5 rebounds a game throughout the tournament as just a sophomore.
If Arizona keeps on advancing, you can bet that Mathurin will get a lot of the credit.
Chet Holmgren
The freshman center, Chet Holmgren, doesn’t really play like he is in his first year of college.
He looks NBA ready and has a ridiculous number of skills to couple with his length and height.
We don’t get to see him completely take over games offensively, though we did watch him drop 19 earlier in the tournament.
We do get to see him impact the game defensively and on the glass.
Holmgren has been unstoppable when getting challenged by opponents at the rim. He put together 11 blocks in the first two games of the tournament.
He is already one of the most known players left standing and if Gonzaga winds up winning it all, Holmgren may end up being the more popular pick over teammate Drew Timme.
Ochai Agbaji
The Kansas Jayhawks haven’t quite been the team that we were expecting entering into the tournament.
However, they still have a lot of time left to improve and have shown an ability to find ways to win games.
Ochai Agbaji has been their best player all season long, averaging 19.3 points per game. In the tournament, he put together a mediocre 11 points, 6 rebound showing in the first round and a 15 point, 8 rebound showing in the second.
Neither were phenomenal performances, but the offense runs through him.
When talking about the Most Outstanding Player award here, it is usually handed out to the best player on the winning team.
Kansas has continued to win and Agbaji is the focal point of their offense. It’s also scary to think about how they aren’t really hitting their groove yet either, which could change at any moment down the line.
Jaden Ivey
There hasn’t been any doubt since this tournament started that Jaden Ivey wasn’t an elite scorer.
He has been proving it all season and that has just flown over to these recent games.
The Purdue star guard doesn’t just put together solid stats on paper, he dramatically impacts team success and always seems to be making flashy plays that have you stopping to think, how did he do that?
Ivey opened the tournament up by dropping 22 points on 46 percent shooting from the field to lead his team to a blowout victory.
Then he followed that up with an 18-point showing on 57.1 percent shooting from the field to get them yet another double-digit victory.
The Boilermakers wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for his shooting ability.
When it comes to guards left in the tournament, there is a case that Ivey is the best one left. It’s hard to find players with his knack for scoring no matter what the defense throws at him.
Andrew Nembhard
While it’s unlikely that Andrew Nembhard wins this award, he is still up there on the list.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs is the third option on this roster, and he has made the most of it.
He plays to his role to perfection. He only scored nine points in the opening round of the tournament, but had six rebounds and 11 assists.
In the second game, he had 23 points and five assists.
Nembhard seems to get forgotten in a stacked offense that features both Holmgren and Timme, but if he can keep up this level of play, he might get himself even more recognized.
Collin Gillespie
Finally, we come to the official longshot of the award, Collin Gillespie.
Villanova has won the national championship in two of the last five years, making it a strong possibility that somebody on this roster could win the award if they continue to play well.
Gillespie is the true leader of the offense. He pushes the ball down the court and facilitates everything that happens around him.
He leads the team with 16 points per game and his passing ability only make him that much more dangerous with the ball in his hands.
He doesn’t just relax there though, when you watch him play, you realize that he is a very sound perimeter defender.
He isn’t one of those guys that has flashy plays and stuffs the stat sheet.
But his team keeps on winning and he isn’t afraid to do the dirty work that a lot of other guys prefer not to do like rebounding and playing defense. Keep an eye on him throughout the rest of the way.
NCAA Tournament MOP Odds at BetOnline.ag
- Drew Timme 3-1
- Benedict Mathurin 8-1
- Chet Holmgren 9-1
- Ochai Agbaji 9-1
- Andrew Nembhard 14-1
- Jaden Ivey 14-1
- Collin Gillespie 20-1
- Christian Koloko 25-1
- Johnny Juzang 25-1
- Azuolas Tubelis 33-1
- Christian Braun 33-1
- Jaime Jaquez Jr. 33-1
- Paolo Banchero 33-1
- Trevion Williams 33-1
- Zach Edey 33-1
- Bryson Williams 40-1
- Fabian White Jr. 40-1
- Justin Moore 40-1
- Kyler Edwards 40-1
- Remy Martin 40-1
- Taze Moore 40-1
- Armando Bacot 50-1
- Jermaine Samuels 50-1
- Wendell Moore Jr. 50-1
- Brady Manek 66-1
- Jamaal Shead 66-1
- JD Notae 66-1
- Hunter Dickinson 75-1
- Kevin McCullar 75-1
- R.J. Davis 75-1
- Kevin Obanor 100-1
- Terrence Shannon Jr. 100-1
- Eli Brooks 125-1
- Al Durham 150-1
- Isaiah Wong 150-1
- Izaiah Brokington 150-1
- Nate Watson 150-1
- Gabe Kalscheur 200-1
- Kameron McGutsy 200-1
- KC Ndefo 200-1
- Noah Horchler 200-1
For the current Most Outstanding Player odds, please visit BetOnline.ag below.
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