Villanova Men's Basketball
Villanova Loses 86-79 to Creighton After 3-Point Onslaught

Villanova lost their first game in close to a month on Saturday, Dec. 21, falling 86-79 to the Creighton Blue Jays in Omaha.
The Blue Jays drained their first six 3-pointers and eight of their first nine, racking up 13 first half assists as they poured it on from beyond the arc. 7-foot-1, 270 pound center Ryan Kalkbrenner’s presence collapsed the Wildcats’ defense, forcing them to double up down low… and creating easy ball movement and wide open looks on the perimeter. Kalkbrenner finished with 23 points, five rebounds and two blocks, a number only outdone by Eric Dixon’s 27.
Jamiya Neal and Steven Ashworth each netted 20 points for Creighton, with the former making six of seven threes.
Even so, Villanova (8-5, 1-1 Big East) managed to hold the deficit to one possession at the half despite the onslaught. Creighton’s offense sputtered from 2-point range, where they made just six of 13 shots in the first half, while the Wildcats played a turnover free frame, forcing five from the Blue Jays in the interim. Six offensive boards — three from Enoch Boakye — helped Villanova weather the storm, as did 5-foot-11 Jhamir Brickus, who did a bit of everything in the opening 20 minutes, scoring 12 points with two rebounds, two assists and a block.
Dixon picked up nine points in the first six minutes of the second half, but no other Wildcat managed to score until a Wooga Poplar layup with 12:05 to play. Creighton pushed their lead to double digits during the lull, with Kalkbrenner racking up nine points and three dunks.
Wooga Poplar took over as Dixon ran cold, scoring 19 points on the back of a tremendous second half, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Creighton from pulling away.
A Kris Parker layup cut the deficit to eight points with less than two minutes to go, but the Wildcats couldn’t make up enough ground.
Up next for Villanova is another Big East road matchup, this one at Butler starting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 1.