Villanova Men's Basketball
Villanova Forward Eric Dixon a Wooden Award Underdog

Although he ranks first in all of Division 1 with an average of 24.7 points scored per game, Villanova graduate forward Eric Dixon has some climbing to do if he wants to win the Wooden Award, the most prestigious honor afforded to college basketball players.
Named in honor of John R. Wooden, the national player of the year for the 1932 Purdue Boilermakers, the Wooden Award goes to the players in men’s and women’s college basketball deemed “most outstanding” in a given season. Although he didn’t make the preseason watch list, Dixon appeared on a midseason top 25 published by the award committee on Jan. 7, one that listed the players who qualified for the watch list but made no mention of their individual likelihood of winning the award.
A Look at the Odds
Right now, Dixon possesses the fourth-best odds of bringing home the trophy, listed at +2000 (20-to-1 odds) per FanDuel Sportsbook. He would be the second Villanova player to win the Wooden Award, joining Jalen Brunson, who did so during the 2017-18 season that ended with the Wildcats’ third NCAA Championship.
Ahead of Dixon are Duke freshman Cooper Flagg (-500), Auburn’s Johni Broome (+500) and Marquette’s Kam Jones (+900). Although he outscores each of the players ahead of him by an average of more than five points per game, their all-around ability — Flagg leads the Blue Devils in every statistical category, for example — and position on some of the best teams in the nation helps build their case.
Dixon’s scoring performance has taken a hit recently, as he hasn’t cleared the 25-point barrier since Villanova’s Jan. 4 win over DePaul, but he holds on to the top scoring spot by an average of more than two points per game.
For more on Eric Dixon, read where the experts think he’ll land in the 2025 NBA Draft.