Villanova Survives USC as Eric Dixon Scores 24 Second Half Points

Villanova Men’s Basketball advanced to the College Basketball Crown semifinals on Wednesday, April 3, sneaking past USC 60-59 thanks to 24 second half points from Eric Dixon.

The Wildcats trailed by as much as 12 after the Trojans caught fire to open the second half, but Dixon clawed them back into it before putting them ahead for good.

Even with interim head coach Mike Nardi calling the shots, Villanova saw the worst of their tendencies from the Kyle Neptune era pop up once again.

A  Wooga Poplar three gave him ten points in the first 12 minutes and put the Wildcats ahead 23-21. However, they didn’t make a shot from the field for the next 5:59, their last on the way into the half, allowing USC to take a 31-27 lead.

That scoring drought continued into the second half with just one basket, an Enoch Boakye layup, before the under 16 minute media timeout as the Trojans reeled off a 10-2 run, all of the points coming from senior forward Saint Thomas. That woke up Dixon who scored seven in a row, single handedly putting up a 12-2 run to trim the Wildcats’ deficit to two. Wooga Poplar sank a layup to knot the game 43-43 then Dixon put Villanova in front, prompting a timeout from Trojans head coach Eric Musselman.

The last ten minutes saw six ties and three lead changes. Dixon sank a three-pointer with 2:07 to play to make it 59-57, then drew a foul with 18 seconds left to win it. While he went 1-for-4 on shots from the charity stripe during the final seconds, the Wildcats managed to survive.

Villanova secures a $50,000 NIL prize purse, advancing to the semifinals against UCF at 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 5.