2022 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 odds, props: Gonzaga's Drew Timme clear betting favorite for Most Outstanding Player

Entering the 2022 NCAA Tournament, Gonzaga junior Drew Timme, the West Coast Conference Player of the Year and a second-team All-American, was priced as the +900 favorite to be named Most Outstanding Player of the Big Dance. After two dominant efforts to get the Zags to their seventh straight Sweet 16, Timme is now the clear-cut +350 favorite.

In Round 1 as Gonzaga had a tougher-than-expected game against No. 16 Georgia State, Timme had 32 points on 13-for-21 shooting and 13 rebounds as the Zags pulled away. In the Round of 32, Gonzaga was down 10 at halftime vs. No. 9 Memphis, but Timme scored 21 of his 25 points after intermission. He finished 10-for-16 from the field and added 14 rebounds.

Timme is the third player to have back-to-back games of at least 25 points, 10 rebounds and 60 percent shooting in the past 30 NCAA Tournaments. LSU's Shaquille O'Neal in 1992 and Oklahoma's Blake Griffin in 2009 were the other two. Neither of them won Most Outstanding Player because neither team won the national title. If the Zags come up short again, Timme probably will too. He was quite dominant in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, but of course Gonzaga lost in the final to Baylor. The Bears' Jared Butler won MOP.

If there's one knock on Timme so far, it's that he's 10-for-21 from the free throw line in the two games. Gonzaga has struggled from the charity stripe overall but remains the +225 favorite to cut down the nets on April 4 in New Orleans. The seven straight trips to the Sweet 16 for Gonzaga is one of the four longest in tournament history, joined by two from Duke under Mike Krzyzewski (nine and seven, respectively) and a record 13 consecutive Sweet 16s for North Carolina from 1981-1993 with coach Dean Smith.

The 6-foot-10, 235-pound Timme is not considered a major NBA Draft prospect and isn't even among the Top 60 on the CBS Sports Big Board for the Class of 2022. If he was a top prospect, he probably would have left after last season. Gonzaga is -9 for Thursday's game vs. No. 4 Arkansas. 

Behind Timme for NCAA Tournament MOP are Arizona guard Bennedict Mathurin (+800), Gonzaga freshman Chet Holmgren (+900) and Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji (+1000) – all players on top seeds. Gonzaga could only fac Arizona or Kansas in the final. Since 1990, only three freshmen have won Most Outstanding Player honors: Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Davis and Tyus Jones.

Duke freshman forward Paolo Banchero, who could be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft if Holmgren or Auburn's Jabari Smith (eliminated) aren't, is +3300 on this prop. Duke would face Gonzaga in the Elite Eight if both win Thursday. Banchero has totaled 36 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists so far in two games. 

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