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Villanova Men’s Basketball Destroys DePaul 100-56

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Villanova Wildcats forward Eric Dixon (43) March 18, 2022 David Hague/PSN

Villanova Men’s Basketball dominated the DePaul Blue Demons for their third Big East win of the season, prevailing 100-56 at the Finneran Pavilion on Saturday, Jan. 4.

The Wildcats (10-5, 3-1 Big East) opened the game on a meteoric 13-0 run, not allowing a Blue Demons shot to fall for the first six minutes of play.

Injuries did little to help DePaul’s case. They went without starting center David Skogman, who missed his third straight game with a leg injury. Point guard Conor Enright, who entered play ranked sixth in the nation with 7.2 assists per game, left early in the first half after a nasty collision driving to the basket. He briefly checked in before the break with a wrap on his right shoulder, but didn’t play at all in the second half.

Villanova dominated the glass in Skogman’s absence, out rebounding the Blue Demons 18-11 in the first half and 42-32 overall, while the Wildcats’ 24 assists far outpaced DePaul’s eight… and DePaul entered as the No. 18 team in the nation in assists per game with 18.1.

All Hands on Deck for Villanova

Point guard Jhamir Brickus keyed the Wildcats’ offense, picking up eight assists in the first 20 minutes alone. Brickus finished with an 11 point, 11 assist double-double. Wooga Poplar served as a secondary scoring presence to Eric Dixon (who hit 25 points for the fifth game in a row and the eighth time this season), finishing with 17 points on the day… including this dunk where he did it all himself, picking Layden Parker’s pocket before going coast to coast.  

DePaul warmed up as the half went on, cutting the deficit to 45-32 with a 10-0 run that took just over two minutes, prompting head coach Kyle Neptune to call a timeout with 17 seconds before the break.

The result? An Eric Dixon three.

Villanova continued to pour it on from beyond the arc in the second half, nailing six threes before the under 12 media timeout. A Jordan Longino triple capped a 14-0 run, putting the Wildcats ahead 68-36. A Blocker layup brought the onslaught to a brief halt, then Longino made two more threes to spark a 9-0 run, setting a career high of 19 points while going a perfect 5-for-5 from three.

Kris Parker drew a foul with 27.4 seconds to play, draining both free throws to hit the century mark, and queueing Neptune to sub former walk-on Collin O’Toole into the game.

Up next for the Wildcats is a home date with  No. 11 UConn, starting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 8.

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