Keegan Murray did it all for the Iowa Hawkeyes in his sophomore season. He led the Big Ten in scoring at 23.5 points per game while shooting a ridiculous 55.4 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from deep. He used all of his 6’8″ frame to become a top-3 rebounder in the conference (8.7 rebounds per game) and top-5 shot-blocker (1.9 blocks per game).
All of that was good enough to earn the conference’s player of the year award, right? Wrong. That honor went to Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis, who is on the fringes of potentially being a top-10 pick.
But Murray will likely get the better of Davis on Thursday. Oddsmakers at Tipico Sportsbook have set his draft position line at 5.5, with -185 odds he’s drafted after and -250 odds he’s selected before.
It seems as though the top-3 picks are all but set in stone with Jabari Smith, Paolo Banchero and Chet Holmgren going in whichever order. So, Murray would need to go at No. 4 to the Sacramento Kings (+135) or fifth to the Detroit Pistons to make good on those draft position odds at Tipico. Those scenarios feel more likely than him dropping out of the top 5, but no one will know until Thursday.
The Pick: Johnny Davis Under 5.5 (-250)
