Villanova Melts Down Again as Double Digit Lead Becomes 66-59 Loss

Villanova Men’s Basketball held the lead or faced a tie for all but two minutes and thirty-two seconds of their Tuesday, Feb. 18 road game against UConn. Those 152 seconds ended up enough to sink them as the Wildcats squandered a double digit second half lead, falling 66-59 in yet another catastrophic meltdown.

Villanova (15-12, 8-8 Big East) led 53-39 with nearly 12 minutes to play. They managed just two baskets the rest of the way, an Eric Dixon layup and a Wooga Poplar three, as the Huskies closed things out on a 27-6 run that at one point saw Villanova go more than six minutes without a point scored. Freshman forward Liam McNeeley — who scored a game-high 20 points — drew four fouls in the waning minutes, going a perfect 8-for-8 on the ensuing free throws, including a pair that gave UConn their first lead since it was 2-0 just two minutes into the game.

Down 60-58, an offensive foul from Poplar turned into a Tarris Reed Jr. dunk, prompting a timeout from Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune. A Dixon free throw cut the deficit to three, but the Wildcats drew no closer.

Villanova Starts Strong

Poplar led the visitors with 19 points, while Dixon’s 17 were enough to move him into fourth place on Villanova’s all-time scoring leaderboard. It wasn’t enough, however, to close out the win.

The Wildcats looked poised to take control early, riding a 9-0 run to a double digit lead with 11:36 to play in the first half. Connecticut battled back to close within two points, but the Wildcats still managed to take a 34-26 lead into the break. After the half, they kept the pressure up… until everything came unraveled.

Up next, Villanova Men’s Basketball will host No. 16 Marquette at the Finneran Pavilion, with the opening tipoff set for 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 21.