Villanova Survives Second Half Onslaught, Drops No. 9 UConn

Villanova Men’s Basketball survived a furious second half comeback attempt by No. 9 UConn on Wednesday, Jan. 8, blanking the Huskies on four consecutive possessions in the final 49 seconds of play in order to eke out a 68-66 win at the Finneran Pavilion in easily the biggest game of head coach Kyle Neptune’s tenure.

Huskies’ leading scorer Alex Karaban missed a go-ahead three-point try with 24 seconds to play, then missed a jumper — courtesy of a Jordan Longino block — after the ensuing scrum for the rebound resulted in the possession arrow remaining with UConn. Another called jump ball turned into another gasp of breath for the Huskies, this time turning into a missed layup… and an offensive rebound. Longino fouled Karaban, who missed both shots at the charity stripe, and a Wooga Poplar free throw iced the game.

Villanova (11-5, 4-1 Big East) took a 32-25 lead into the half even though star forward Eric Dixon only managed five points in the opening 20 minutes. After a UConn timeout with 2:51 to play in the half, Poplar (whose 18 points helped the Wildcats weather Dixon’s early struggles) stole the ball from UConn’s Jayden Ross, then drilled a three at the other end to cap a 7-0 run and set the Wildcats’ raucous home crowd alight.

Eric Dixon Makes Second Half Adjustment

Dixon, who finished with 23 points, found his scoring groove out of the break, driving inside and drawing five fouls, forcing the Huskies into foul trouble, an Issue exacerbated by the absence of freshman forward Liam McNeeley. The Huskies figured things out too, however, feeding sophomore guard Solo Ball, who put up a team high 16 points, all of them in the second half.

Villanova pushed the lead to 46-34 off a Dixon and-one at the under 16 media timeout, but the Huskies cut the deficit to one with a 13-2 run capped by a Ball three-pointer. Another Ball triple gave UConn a 57-55 lead but once again, the Wildcats didn’t blink. Dixon tied things up with a layup, then Poplar later sank a three to put Villanova ahead for good.

Up next for the Wildcats is a road date with St. John’s, set to begin at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 11.