Villanova Sees Season End in Overtime Loss to UCF

Villanova Men’s Basketball saw their season come to an end at the College Basketball Crown tournament in Las Vegas on Saturday, April 5, falling 104-98 to UCF in overtime.

Two days after a furious second half effort against USC in the quarterfinals, the Wildcats couldn’t complete another come from behind win.

Knights’ guard Darius Johnson led the field with 42 points, including 10 in the extra period to close Villanova out. Wooga Poplar and Eric Dixon scored 32 and 29 points for the Wildcats, while Tyler Perkins added 18 off the bench.

Fouls proved an issue for both teams from the start: Villanova made 19-of-21 free throws in the first half alone and 32-of-37 on the day. The Knights, for their part, went 14-of-18 and 29-of-40, respectively. Three point defense also proved problematic for the Wildcats, who allowed 15 buckets from beyond the arc… albeit on an ugly 35 attempts.

While the Wildcats went blow for blow with UCF in a first half characterized by back and forth play, they only led for 14 seconds of that time, always playing catch-up. The Knights made their first three shots, racing out to an 8-3 lead, and although Wooga Poplar — who scored 20 points in the first half — nailed a three with 8:36 to play in the half, putting Villanova in front 29-28, UCF snatched the lead right back on the way to a 48-44 halftime deficit.

That triple came amidst a run where Poplar scored nine in a row for the Wildcats, carrying his team and keeping them in the game.

Villanova Battles Back

The Knights started the second half on a tear from beyond the arc, sinking four threes in barely five minutes to go ahead 64-53. A 15-6 Wildcats run saw Dixon wake up, putting together an 8-2 stretch on his own to help close Villanova within a possession.

Secondary scoring got into the action as the Wildcats came back:Enoch Boakye drew a foul with 5:23 to play, putting Villanova in front 75-74 with a pair of free throws, then Tyler Perkins made threes on consecutive possessions soon thereafter to take a six point lead.

Jhamir Brickus made three of four free throws in the last 20 seconds of regulation, his lone miss allowing Johnson to tie the game at 88 with a three. Poplar missed a layup with half a second to play, sending the game to overtime.

UCF began the extra period on a 5-0 run, leading 96-90 after a Johnson and-1. Villanova closed within two points twice, including on a Dixon triple with 34 seconds to play, but they drew no closer.

The Wildcats’ season ends with a 21-15 record as the college careers of Eric Dixon, Wooga Poplar, Jhamir Brickus, Jordan Longino and Enoch Boakye all draw to a close. Villanova secures $50,000 in NIL prize pool money as a Crown semifinalist.