Duke basketball freshman phenom Cooper Flagg is now the heavy favorite to win college basketball's National Player of the Year award at -400 odds at DraftKings.
The shift in the odds comes right after Flagg's record-breaking 42-point performance in Duke's 86-78 home victory against Notre Dame last Saturday.
His 42 points are the most a Duke basketball freshman has ever scored in a game, the first 40-point performance by a Blue Devil since JJ Redick dropped 41 points against Georgetown in 2006, and an all-time ACC freshman scoring record.
On top of that, only eight freshmen in the history of college basketball have scored more points in a game than Flagg did against the Fighting Irish.
Flagg has continued to look like the most complete player in college basketball and possibly the most complete freshman college basketball has seen this century.
The one knock to his game was if he could be a true scorer, and he's shown just how elite he can be in that category.
Flagg currently leads Duke in all five major statistical categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks) and he's doing it for one of the best teams in the country.
Duke (14-2, 6-0 ACC) sits at #3 in the Associated Press Poll and is a projected #1-seed in the NCAA Tournament, all led by the 18-year old freshman.
The Blue Devils also recently became the betting favorites to win the national championship.
Also read: Duke basketball now betting favorite to win 2025 national championship
On the season, Flagg is averaging 19.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.2 blocks a game on 47.9% shooting from the field and 34.5% shooting from three point range. But his scoring numbers have inflated since the beginning of ACC play.
Against ACC opponents, Flagg's numbers jump to 23.6 points per game on 59.5% shooting from the field and 55% from three.
His three point shooting improvements have been the major drive in his scoring skyrocketing, as Flagg shot just 22% from three through the non-conference slate and has upped that to 55% in conference play.
The heavy odds shift comes shorty after former NPOY favorite, Auburn's Johni Broome, severely sprained his ankle in Auburn's win over South Carolina last weekend and he is now expected to miss significant time.
Flagg has been as consistent as anyone through the 2024-25 college basketball season and now the odds are in his favor heavily to win the NPOY award.
The Blue Devils end a three-game home stand on Tuesday night (9:00pm ET, ESPN) hosting the Miami Hurricanes (4-12, 0-5 ACC) looking for their 11th straight win.