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Villanova Men's Basketball

Bricks Plague Villanova Men’s Basketball in 70-60 Loss to Virginia

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Villanova Wildcats forward Eric Dixon (43) March 20, 2022 David Hague/PSN

Villanova Men’s Basketball’s streaky start to the season continued at the Hall of Fame Series in Baltimore on Friday, November 15, when they lost 70-60 to the Virginia Cavaliers after another woeful shooting performance. 

Even without longtime head coach Tony Bennett, who announced his surprise retirement on the eve of the 2024-25 season, these Cavaliers still know how to play defense. The Wildcats made just 35.2 percent of their shots from the field and 28.1 percent of those from three. 

Virginia, meanwhile, poured it on from beyond the arc, with junior guard Isaac McKneely going a perfect 6-for-6 from three on the way to a 23 point evening.

Eric Dixon netted 20 points, while Jordan Longino was the only other Wildcat who managed to crack double digits, sneaking over the finish line with ten. Virginia received 26 points from their bench, compared to a paltry 10 for Villanova.

After a McKneely jumper to start the game, Villanova surged ahead 9-2. From there, the Cavaliers began to harass the Wildcats from beyond the arc, taking 11 of their next 12 shots from three… and converting on seven of them to take a 23-14 lead.

Virginia led by as much as 12 in the first half, but three pointers from Dixon (an eventual and-one) and Tyler Perkins cut the deficit to five at the break.

Villanova managed to keep Virginia within striking distance during a back-and-forth stretch to open the second half, but the Cavaliers’ sharp shooting eventually became too much to keep pace with. An 11-0 Virginia run made it 50-33, and the Wildcats never whittled the deficit back into single digits… although a scoring push in the last two minutes kept the final score somewhat respectable.

Villanova Men’s Basketball falls to 2-3 on the season, their first time with a losing record since February 2023. They’ll host the Penn Quakers at 7pm on Tuesday, November 19 to conclude Big Five pool play.

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