- Alabama’s Brandon Miller is the odds-on favorite to win the March Madness Most Outstanding Player award.
- Miller is currently listed at +400, with Houston senior guard Marcus Sasser as the second favorite at +500 odds.
- UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez is the only other player with odds better than +1000 at +900 via the online sportsbook BetOnline.
Alabama’s Brandon Miller has opened as the odds-on favorite to win the Most Outstanding Player award of the 2023 NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
According to BetOnline, Miller is the +400 favorite to take home the award with Houston’s Marcus Sasser right behind him in the odds board at +500 odds. UCLA’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. is the only other player with odds shorter than +1000. He’s listed at +900 as of Wednesday morning.
USBWA National Freshman Player of the Year
Miller was named the Wayman Tisdale National Freshman Player of the Year by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association on Tuesday. The award was the latest for the 20-year-old Miller in a very successful freshman campaign.
Just last week, Miller was selected to the Associated Press First-Team All-American along with Purdue’s Zach Edey, Indiana’s Trayce Jackson-Davis, Kansas’ Jalen Wilson, and Houston’s Marcus Sasser.
That marked the second All-American honor for the Antioch, Tenn. native who was also named to the Sporting News All-American first team, the only freshman to receive All-American honors from Sporting News this season.
USBWA National Freshman Player of the Year❗️
Congrats to Brandon Miller being named the @USBWA Wayman Tisdale Award, recognizing the National Freshman Player of the Year!#RollTide | #BlueCollarBasketball pic.twitter.com/gL9dVCeDs4
— Alabama Men’s Basketball (@AlabamaMBB) March 21, 2023,
Miller is also the first SEC freshman to win both player of the year and freshman of the year award during the same season since Kentucky’s Anthony Davis in 2012. He is also the 4th player in the last 50 years to lead the SEC in scoring as a freshman, joining Bernard King (1975), Chris Jackson (1989), and Cameron Thomas (2021).
Miller Added to the Wooden List
Miller was the only Division I player to score 605 points, grab 245 rebounds, and hit 90 three-pointers during the regular season. Miller made 105 three-pointers this season, 11th most nationally. He also won six SEC Freshman of the Week awards, matching the school record set by James “Hollywood” Robinson.
Miller is also a top candidate to win the Wooden Award which is given to the best collegiate basketball player in the nation. The path to the Wooden wasn’t without controversy. Initially, Miller was left off the list of candidates because of potential involvement in an off-court incident where former Alabama player Darius Miles committed a crime.
After going scoreless in 19 minutes against No.16 Texas A&M – CC, Miller bounced back with 19 points and 7 rebounds in a win over Maryland in the second round of the Tournament.
With Alabama looking every bit the top overall seed in March Madness and currently the +300 favorite to cut the nets, Miller is favored to win the Most Outstanding Player award in the tournament.
Sasser Houston’s 1st First Team All-American Since Olajuwon
Second on the odds board is Houston guard Sasser who is the first player from the Cougars to make the First Team All-American since Hakeem Olajuwon during the Phi Slama Jama days in the early 80s.
The 22-year-old was also named the 2023 AAC Player of the Year after finishing the season ranked 7th in scoring and in the Top 15 in assists, free throw percentage, 3-point field goal percentage, 3-point shots made per game, and assists-to-turnover ratio. He also ranked 7th in the league in steals at 1.7 per contest.
The senior guard also became the 50th 1,000-point scorer in Houston history and currently ranks 17th on the Cougars’ all-time scoring list. He is Houston’s all-time leader in three-point field goals made.
Entering the tournament, the Dallas native recorded 12 20-point games, including a career-high 31 last January 11 against South Florida. Sasser also had 28 double-digit scoring games this season, the most for any Houston player this year.
Marcus Sasser named first-team AP All-American, UH’s first since 1984 https://t.co/YWsRV4X8Tw
— James Mueller (@jdm2186) March 14, 2023
Sasser is Close to Being 100%
There were concerns about Sasser’s health heading into the tournament. The Cougars’ star guard suffered a groin injury during their SEC tournament semifinal match against Cincinnati last March 11th. That forced him to miss the conference title game where the Cougars were upset by Memphis to the tune of 75-65.
He played in Houston’s first-round match against No.16 ranked Northern Kentucky, seeing action in only 14 minutes before being pulled out of the game after seemingly aggravating the injury and scoring only five points.
That caused more worries but Sasser erased doubts when he scored 22 points on 7-14 shooting, including 5-9 from behind the three-point line to lead the Cougars to victory over the No. 9 Auburn Tigers in the second round of the tournament.
In a recent interview heading into the Sweet 16, Sasser told reporters that he should be at least 90% and close to being 100% when the Cougars face Miami on Friday. How far the Cougars advance in the tournament will depend largely on Sasser’s health.
And, how far they move forward will also have a say in Sasser winning the MOP award. The Cougars have the second-best odds to win the 2023 March Madness tournament at +425 odds.
Jaquez Waxing Hot in the Tournament
Meanwhile, the only other player with odds shorter than +1000 is UCLA senior guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. The 22-year-old from Irvine, California, scored 17 points in the Bruins’ opening-round game. He then shot 11-19 from the floor while scoring 24 points during a 68-63 win over Northwestern in the second round of the tournament.
Jaquez was a consensus Second Team All-American this season. He was named the Pac-12 Player of the Year, the first Bruin to win the award since Kevin Love in 2008. Jaquez also won his second consecutive conference First Team selection and was a two-time Pac-12 All-Defensive Team selection during the previous two seasons.
With the Bruins currently listed as the +215 favorites to win the West Region and UCLA having the 4th best odds to win March Madness at +850, there’s no doubt that Jaquez will be in the mix to win the tournament MOP award.
