Men's College Basketball Most Outstanding Player Odds: Edey, Clingan, Newton among the favorites

The last four teams in the 2024 men's college basketball tournament are finalized, and two 7-footers are the favorites to win the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award.

The last five winners of the award were Connecticut forward Adama Sanogo in 2023, Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji in 2022, Baylor guard Jared Butler in 2021, Virginia guard Kyle Guy in 2019, and Villanova guard Donte DiVincenzo in 2018. Five of the last six winners of the award were in their junior year.

Most Outstanding Player odds

Zach Edey	+200
Donovan Clingan	+225
Tristen Newton	+550
Cam Spencer	+700
Stephon Castle	+2000
Braden Smith	+2200
Mark Sears	+2500
DJ Burns	+3000

Zach Edey +200

Purdue's 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey has thoroughly dominated in his team's four tournament games this season. He's averaging 30 points, 16.3 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks while shooting 65.6 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent from the free-throw line in the tournament.

He's also dominated games in different ways. He had three blocks in the team's first- and second-round games against Grambling State and Utah State, respectively. He grabbed nine offensive rebounds against Grambling. He took a tournament-low 11 shots against Utah State, making eight, and also went 7/8 from the line against Utah State. He had a 27-point, 14-rebound game against Gonzaga and then scored 40 points on 21 shots - plus 14/22 from the free-throw line - in 39 minutes against one of the nation's best defensive teams, Tennessee.

Edey also hasn't been in foul trouble in the tournament, which is a problem for most centers at this stage of the season. He committed one foul against Tennessee, two against Gonzaga and Grambling, and three against Utah State.

Donovan Clingan +225

Connecticut sophomore center Donovan Clingan has stepped into a starting role this season and in recent contests, he has shown the many ways he can impact a game.

He's not posting the inflated scoring numbers of Edey - likely because Clingan isn't the first option on his team - but he is averaging 15.8 points on 67.5 percent shooting in the tournament. He's also posting 1.3 steals, a whopping 3.5 blocks, and a respectable 2.0-to-1.3 assist-to-turnover ratio in that span. Plus, he's efficient with his playing time as he has not surpassed 30 minutes in any of UConn's four tournament games.

While his 22 points on 13 shots against No. 3 Illinois in the regional final was impressive, his five blocks in that game might have been more impressive. And he blocked eight shots in the second round against Northwestern. If UConn wins the tournament, his shot-blocking and efficient shooting will be a decisive factor.

Tristen Newton +550

Tristen Newton, UConn's fifth-year guard and floor general, has been key to his team's success in the past two seasons after transferring from East Carolina before the 2022/23 season. He helped his team to win the National Championship last season and has the Huskies heading toward a repeat.

In this year's tournament, Newton is averaging 13.8 points, four rebounds and 6.8 assists on 43.9 percent shooting while only turning the ball over seven times. He scored 20 points on 13 shots and added 10 assists in the second round against Northwestern. He had a sub-par game against Illinois with five points, all from free-throws, but he also chipped in five assists to just one turnover.

Newton is integral to Connecticut's success as the team's leading scorer with 15.0 points per game and assist provider with 6.1 assists per game.

Cam Spencer +700

Ranked sixth among Division I men's college basketball players in three-point percentage by making 44 percent of his long-range shots, there are few players who can match Connecticut guard Cam Spencer's shooting ability. Pair that with his 4.7 rebounds per game, 3.7 assists per game, and 1.4 steals per game and you have a well-rounded, modern player.

Spencer hasn't had the heaviest workload in the tournament as he is averaging 13.8 points on 10.5 field goal attempts plus 6.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and two steals. He could see more of the ball against a fast-paced, high-scoring Alabama team in the national semifinal.

Stephon Castle +2000

UConn freshman Stephon Castle won the Big East Rookie of the Year Award on the back of a productive regular season for a team that spent much of the season ranked first in the AP Poll. Castle has been a starter for most of the season, putting up averages of 10.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists from 47 percent shooting.

Castle isn't a three-point sharpshooter as he made just 26.2 percent of his shots from behind the arc. He hasn't had many opportunities to put up huge scoring numbers, but he has shown the ability to heat up quickly and affect the game in a number of ways. He has seven games with at least five assists and nine games with at least two steals.

Odds mentioned in this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.