Dixon heats up in 2nd half to lead Villanova to 68-66 win over No. 9 UConn
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) Eric Dixon scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half and Villanova held on for a 68-66 victory over No. 9 UConn on Wednesday night after the Huskies' Alex Karaban missed two free throws with 3.1 seconds left.
Wooga Poplar added 18 points for Villanova (11-5, 4-1 Big East), which led by as many as 12 points in the second half.
Solo Ball scored 16 points to lead UConn (12-4, 4-1). The Huskies had won eight in a row since dropping all three games in the Maui Invitational in November.
The Huskies played without star freshman Liam McNeeley, out with a right foot injury.
UConn had several chances to take the lead late, the last when Karaban was long on both free-throw attempts after being fouled by Jordan Longino. Karaban finished with 10 points.
The teams played on Villanova’s campus in front of fans for the first time since Jan. 5, 1995. They did meet at Villanova’s Pavilion on Feb. 20, 2021 without fans during the pandemic. Normally, the matchup is played at the home of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers.
UConn: It wasn’t likely that the Huskies were going to go undefeated in the Big East, especially without McNeeley. UConn still is the class of the conference.
Villanova: After missing the NCAA tournament in each of the last two seasons under coach Kyle Neptune, the Wildcats are squarely back in the conversation.
The game was tied at 59 when Poplar hit a 3 with just under five minutes to play to put Villanova ahead for good.
Dixon shot 12.5% in the first half when he missed 7 of 8 field goals. Dixon entered shooting 53.4% from the field and leading the country in scoring at 25.9 points per game. Dixon’s teammates shot 57.1% (12 of 21) in the opening 20 minutes.
UConn: At Georgetown on Saturday.
Villanova: At St. John’s on Saturday night.
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Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
20:00 | Samson Johnson vs. Eric Dixon (Samson Johnson gains possession) | |||
19:46 | Solo Ball misses three point jump shot | |||
19:44 | Jhamir Brickus defensive rebound | |||
19:16 | Jhamir Brickus turnover (bad pass) | |||
19:01 | +2 | Samson Johnson makes two point dunk (Alex Karaban assists) | 2-0 | |
18:35 | +2 | Wooga Poplar makes two point jump shot | 2-2 | |
18:09 | +3 | Jaylin Stewart makes three point jump shot (Solo Ball assists) | 5-2 | |
17:48 | Wooga Poplar misses three point jump shot | |||
17:46 | Jhamir Brickus offensive rebound | |||
17:38 | Eric Dixon misses three point jump shot | |||
17:36 | Solo Ball defensive rebound | |||
17:26 | Alex Karaban misses three point jump shot | |||
17:24 | Jhamir Brickus defensive rebound | |||
17:16 | +3 | Jordan Longino makes three point jump shot (Jhamir Brickus assists) | 5-5 | |
16:39 | Huskies turnover (shot clock violation) | |||
16:29 | +3 | Jhamir Brickus makes three point jump shot | 5-8 | |
16:04 | +2 | Jaylin Stewart makes two point jump shot (Hassan Diarra assists) | 7-8 | |
15:48 | Samson Johnson personal foul | |||
15:48 | TV timeout | |||
15:45 | Jaylin Stewart blocks Eric Dixon's two point layup | |||
15:43 | Hassan Diarra defensive rebound | |||
15:33 | +2 | Alex Karaban makes two point layup (Jaylin Stewart assists) | 9-8 | |
15:06 | Eric Dixon misses two point jump shot | |||
15:04 | Hassan Diarra defensive rebound | |||
14:45 | Enoch Boakye personal foul | |||
14:30 | +3 | Jaylin Stewart makes three point jump shot (Hassan Diarra assists) | 12-8 | |
13:57 | +3 | Eric Dixon makes three point jump shot | 12-11 | |
13:44 | Jaylin Stewart misses three point jump shot | |||
13:43 | Samson Johnson offensive rebound | |||
13:43 | Samson Johnson turnover (bad pass) | |||
13:43 | +2 | Wooga Poplar makes two point layup | 12-13 | |
13:08 | Hassan Diarra turnover | |||
12:48 | Eric Dixon misses two point jump shot | |||
12:48 | Tarris Reed Jr. defensive rebound | |||
12:36 | +2 | Jaylin Stewart makes two point layup (Hassan Diarra assists) | 14-13 | |
12:07 | Jhamir Brickus misses two point jump shot | |||
12:05 | Tarris Reed Jr. defensive rebound | |||
11:55 | Aidan Mahaney misses three point jump shot | |||
11:53 | Tyler Perkins defensive rebound | |||
11:26 | Tyler Perkins misses two point jump shot | |||
11:24 | Wildcats offensive rebound | |||
11:22 | Wildcats turnover (shot clock violation) | |||
11:22 | TV timeout | |||
11:06 | Alex Karaban turnover (Jordan Longino steals) | |||
10:48 | +2 | Jordan Longino makes two point jump shot | 14-15 | |
10:24 | +2 | Tarris Reed Jr. makes two point layup (Alex Karaban assists) | 16-15 | |
9:56 | Tarris Reed Jr. blocks Tyler Perkins's two point layup | |||
9:54 | Jayden Ross defensive rebound | |||
9:35 | Alex Karaban misses three point jump shot | |||
9:34 | Josiah Moseley defensive rebound | |||
9:34 | Eric Dixon misses two point jump shot | |||
9:34 | Josiah Moseley offensive rebound | |||
9:34 | Ahmad Nowell personal foul | |||
9:34 | Jordan Longino misses three point jump shot | |||
9:32 | Jayden Ross defensive rebound | |||
9:17 | Tarris Reed Jr. turnover (Jhamir Brickus steals) | |||
9:11 | Eric Dixon misses three point jump shot | |||
9:09 | Ahmad Nowell defensive rebound | |||
9:02 | +3 | Jayden Ross makes three point jump shot (Ahmad Nowell assists) | 19-15 | |
8:42 | +2 | Enoch Boakye makes two point dunk (Jhamir Brickus assists) | 19-17 | |
8:25 | Enoch Boakye personal foul | |||
8:06 | Aidan Mahaney misses three point jump shot | |||
8:04 | Jordan Longino defensive rebound | |||
8:01 | Tarris Reed Jr. personal foul | |||
7:52 | +2 | Jordan Longino makes two point layup (Eric Dixon assists) | 19-19 | |
7:33 | +2 | Tarris Reed Jr. makes two point layup (Solo Ball assists) | 21-19 | |
7:10 | Jhamir Brickus misses three point jump shot | |||
7:08 | Wooga Poplar offensive rebound | |||
6:59 | +2 | Kris Parker makes two point dunk (Jhamir Brickus assists) | 21-21 | |
6:28 | Ahmad Nowell misses three point jump shot | |||
6:26 | Wooga Poplar defensive rebound | |||
6:15 | Eric Dixon misses three point jump shot | |||
6:13 | Solo Ball defensive rebound | |||
5:52 | Tarris Reed Jr. offensive foul | |||
5:52 | Tarris Reed Jr. turnover (offensive foul) | |||
5:51 | TV timeout | |||
5:39 | Wooga Poplar turnover (traveling) | |||
5:11 | +2 | Samson Johnson makes two point hook shot (Hassan Diarra assists) | 23-21 | |
4:50 | Kris Parker turnover (Solo Ball steals) | |||
4:19 | Huskies turnover (shot clock violation) | |||
4:05 | Kris Parker misses three point jump shot | |||
4:03 | Huskies defensive rebound | |||
3:43 | Solo Ball misses three point jump shot | |||
3:41 | Samson Johnson offensive rebound | |||
3:31 | Samson Johnson misses two point hook shot | |||
3:29 | Jhamir Brickus defensive rebound | |||
3:12 | +2 | Tyler Perkins makes two point layup (Kris Parker assists) | 23-23 | |
3:01 | Tyler Perkins blocks Solo Ball's two point layup | |||
2:59 | Tyler Perkins defensive rebound | |||
2:51 | +2 | Kris Parker makes two point layup (Tyler Perkins assists) | 23-25 | |
2:51 | Huskies 30 second timeout | |||
2:51 | TV timeout | |||
2:32 | Jayden Ross turnover (Wooga Poplar steals) | |||
2:24 | +3 | Wooga Poplar makes three point jump shot (Tyler Perkins assists) | 23-28 | |
1:57 | Tyler Perkins shooting foul (Hassan Diarra draws the foul) | |||
1:57 | +1 | Hassan Diarra makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 24-28 | |
1:57 | +1 | Hassan Diarra makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 25-28 | |
1:43 | +2 | Wooga Poplar makes two point layup | 25-30 | |
1:21 | Alex Karaban turnover (Eric Dixon steals) | |||
1:03 | Jordan Longino misses two point jump shot | |||
1:01 | Josiah Moseley offensive rebound | |||
0:45 | Wooga Poplar misses three point jump shot | |||
0:43 | Samson Johnson defensive rebound | |||
0:34 | Jaylin Stewart misses three point jump shot | |||
0:32 | Josiah Moseley defensive rebound | |||
0:26 | Wildcats 30 second timeout | |||
0:07 | Samson Johnson personal foul | |||
0:03 | Jaylin Stewart shooting foul (Eric Dixon draws the foul) | |||
0:03 | +1 | Eric Dixon makes regular free throw 1 of 2 | 25-31 | |
0:03 | +1 | Eric Dixon makes regular free throw 2 of 2 | 25-32 | |
0:00 | End of period |
Time | Team | Play | Score | |
---|---|---|---|---|
19:45 | +3 | Jordan Longino makes three point jump shot (Eric Dixon assists) | 25-35 | |
19:27 | Solo Ball misses three point jump shot | |||
19:25 | Jaylin Stewart offensive rebound | |||
19:15 | +2 | Hassan Diarra makes two point layup (Jaylin Stewart assists) | 27-35 | |
18:51 | Wooga Poplar misses three point jump shot | |||
18:49 | Huskies defensive rebound | |||
18:48 | Enoch Boakye personal foul | |||
18:33 | +2 | Hassan Diarra makes two point layup | 29-35 | |
18:08 | +2 | Eric Dixon makes two point layup (Jhamir Brickus assists) | 29-37 | |
18:08 | Jaylin Stewart shooting foul (Eric Dixon draws the foul) | |||
18:08 | +1 | Eric Dixon makes regular free throw 1 of 1 | 29-38 | |
17:58 | Solo Ball misses three point jump shot | |||
17:56 | Hassan Diarra offensive rebound | |||
17:50 | +3 | Solo Ball makes three point jump shot (Alex Karaban assists) | 32-38 | |
17:20 | Eric Dixon misses three point jump shot | |||
17:18 | Alex Karaban defensive rebound | |||
17:15 | Samson Johnson offensive foul | |||
17:15 | Samson Johnson turnover (offensive foul) | |||
16:59 | Wooga Poplar misses two point layup | |||
16:57 |