Eric Dixon scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half to propel host Villanova to a 68-66 upset of No. 9 UConn Wednesday night.
In a raucous atmosphere in Villanova’s on-campus gym, Wooga Poplar added 18 points as the Wildcats (11-5, 4-1 Big East) snapped the Huskies’ eight-game winning streak.
UConn (12-4, 4-1) had a chance to take the lead with 3.1 seconds left but Alex Karaban, who entered the game shooting 81.4 percent from the free throw line, missed two foul shots with the Huskies down by one.
In winning for the eighth time in its last nine games, Villanova weathered a UConn rally from 12 points down in the second half, which earned the Huskies a brief lead, 57-55, when Solo Ball hit a 3-pointer with 8:38 left.
But the Wildcats quickly regained the lead for good on layups by Dixon and Jordan Longino.
Longino added 12 points as Kyle Neptune gained his first win over a top-10 team in his three seasons as Villanova’s coach.
Dixon, who entered Wednesday leading the nation in scoring (25.9 points per game), recovered after hitting just 1 of 8 shots in the first half. The 6-foot-8, 265-pound grad student did it by driving inside after spending most of the first half on the perimeter.
Ball scored all 16 of his points, which included four 3-pointers, in the second half to spark the rally for the two-time defending national champions.
Jaylin Stewart scored 14 points for the Huskies, Hassan Diarra delivered 11 points and nine assists and Karaban finished with 10 points.
After Poplar and Dixon each hit a 3-pointer, Jhamir Brickus’s step-back jumper from the elbow gave the Wildcats a 67-61 lead with 2:22 left.
It was Villanova’s final field goal, but the Wildcats held on after UConn missed three shots in the final 24 seconds.
In a tightly contested first half, neither team led by more than four points until Villanova closed the period with an 11-2 run.
Tyler Perkins came off the bench to trigger the burst with a driving layup, then he blocked a shot and made a fastbreak feed to Kris Parker for a layup. Perkins followed with a pass to Poplar for a corner 3.
Two free throws by Dixon with 3 seconds left gave the Wildcats a 32-25 lead at the break. The Huskies went the final 5:11 of the half without a field goal.
–Field Level Media
