Betsided

Fade Wisconsin's Johnny Davis for National Player of the Year

By Matt De Saro

Johnny Davis is the current odds on favorite to win the National Player of the Year but is not a great bet at this points in the year.
Johnny Davis is the current odds on favorite to win the National Player of the Year but is not a great bet at this points in the year. / MARK HOFFMAN/MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL
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As the race towards March heats up, so does the National Player of the Year race in college basketball.

This season has been much the same as last year's past. Players have been flip-flopping up and down the odds board week-to-week. Nobody has been able to hold onto the top spot for long before inevitably falling off their pace and tumbling a few rungs down the ladder.

The current king of the hill is Wisconsin’s 6-foot-5 guard Johnny Davis at 4/1. While Davis is a talented player, he is not the guy you want to target if you are looking to make a bet on the Naismith Award in February.

Here are the latest odds for the National Player of the Year at WynnBET Sportsbook heading into Tuesday night. 

  • Johnny Davis (Wisconsin) +400
  • Ochai Agbaji (Kansas) +600
  • Oscar Tshiebwe (Kentucky) +600
  • Kofi Cockburn (Illinois) +800
  • Drew Timme (Gonzaga) +1000
  • Paolo Banchero (Duke) +1200
  • E.J. Liddell (Ohio State) +1500

Davis has two things going against him heading into this week that make him a bad bet at these odds.

First off, and the lesser of the two issues, was his awful performance on Saturday against Penn State. Every player has a down game, but it’s not often a player leading what is in essence an MVP race puts up such a stinker. In 35 minutes, Davis went 2-for-13 from the field with four points. It’s not as if he had a Dennis Rodman-esque game with 20 rebounds either. He had just nine. Davis shot 15.4 percent and went 0-for-2 from downtown.  A bit of a cheap shot perhaps, but I can’t ignore such a poor night against a below-average team. 

The second, and the more relevant issue I have with Davis, is the schedule that Wisconsin has to deal with down the home stretch. The Badgers have two games left against ranked teams, including a game against No. 3 Purdue. They also have to play a Rutgers team that has been very impressive at home against conference foes. Michigan, Indiana and Minnesota won’t be pushover games either for Davis.

The latter three all rank in the top 5 in scoring defense in the Big Ten and will present unique challenges for Davis as the Badgers make a push towards the conference championship.

Follow all of Matt De Saro’s betting picks HERE

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