The March Madness Tournament is right around the corner as teams across the nation are currently participating in their conference tournaments. With the season winding down, we’ll soon know which player will win the highly coveted Naismith Player of the Year award. There are 10 players in the running, with Auburn’s Johni Broome and Duke’s Cooper Flagg headlining the group.
Broome and Flagg have been on fire throughout the college basketball season. The Auburn center has led the Tigers to a 27-4 record, and they are ranked as the No. 3 team in the nation. Meanwhile, Duke’s star power forward has taken the sporting world by storm and has led the Blue Devils to the No. 1 seed in the nation. But they’re not the only two in the mix for the Naismith POTY.
The Naismith Awards account on X, formerly known as Twitter, shared the other eight college basketball players competing for the award. Those players include Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr., Marquette’s Ham Jones, Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner, St. John’s RJ Luis Jr., Alabama’s Mark Sears, Purdue’s Braden Smith, Texas Tech’s JT Toppin, and Wisconsin’s John Tonje.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹
Introducing our 2025 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year Semifinalists
@jerseymikes | #JerseyMikesNaismith2025 pic.twitter.com/rnG2obAE3j
— Naismith Awards (@NaismithTrophy) March 14, 2025
We won’t know who wins the award until late March. Right around the time the Final Four takes place. Although there are 10 players in the running to win the Naismith POTY, only two of them have betting odds on Fanduel, according to Brett Friedlander of Saturday Down South. Johni Boome has +230 odds to win, while Cooper Flagg is the betting favorite at -290.
Broom has been solid for Auburn throughout the season. Heading into the SEC Conference Tournament, the 22-year-old center averaged 18.6 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game while shooting 50.6% from the field and 61.6% from the free-throw line.
As for Flagg, the 18-year-old phenom has averaged 18.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game while shooting 48.8% from the field and 36.8% from beyond the arc. He’s led Duke to an impressive 29-3 record, and the Blue Devils look primed for a deep run in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
There is some concern regarding Cooper Flagg right now, though, as the Duke star suffered an ankle sprain in the Blue Devils’ 78-70 win over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Flagg is questionable for Friday night’s ACC semifinal against the North Carolina Tar Heels.
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