In a tight game with a dramatic ending, Villanova defeated Providence (9-10, 3-5 Big East), 75-73, at the Wells Fargo Center. 

Graduate forward Eric Dixon led all scorers with 23 points. Dixon is now 10th on the program’s all-time scoring list with 1,944 points, passing former Wildcat Josh Hart (1,921 points).

“Eric Dixon is the best player in the country,” Providence head coach Kim English said. “He’s going to be a first-round draft pick. He’s just the best player in college basketball right now.” 

Senior guard Wooga Poplar also finished the game with a double-double, scoring 15 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Poplar now has five double-doubles this season.

The ‘Cats found more success from mid-range than the paint. The opening seven points for Villanova were all scored from mid-range or three-point range. Villanova went on to shoot 43% from the field goal range in the first half.

For the majority of the first half, Longino was the Wildcats’ primary threat on offense. Dixon, who leads the nation in scoring, had a quiet first half but still managed to put up 11 points. 

The Friars eventually got over their shooting slump from earlier in the half. After being down by nine, Providence tied the game at 23 with 3:53 left in the half. Come halftime, Providence would take its first lead of the game at 37-32. 

The second half began with the Wildcats in possession. A layup from Brickus trimmed the Providence lead to 37-36. 

Two minutes into the second half, senior forward Enoch Boakye converted on two free throws and gave the Wildcats a 38-37 lead. 

While it looked as if the Wildcats were starting to take control, the Friars started to gain back the momentum they had at the end of the first half. 

“[Providence] made it really tough… those dudes are fighters over there,” Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune said. “I thought a couple of times we were going to extend our lead, and I thought we had it going, but they just kept coming back.”

The Wells Fargo Center crowd brought the energy until the final buzzer. Villanova is 10-1 when playing at home.

“The crowd was definitely into it,” Brickus said. “I feel like they brought great energy and I can’t wait for us to be back [at the Wells Fargo Center].”

A tomahawk dunk by Poplar and a drive to the basket by Dixon further ignited the crowd, but baskets on the opposite quickly silenced it. 

Dixon and Poplar both made key contributions on defense late in the game. Poplar’s chase-down block with 3:30 on the clock sent Dixon flying into the stands to win back possession. 

Bricks would then hit a crucial jumper with 2:15 left to give the Cats a five-point lead. The Friars would answer right back on a floater from redshirt junior guard Corey Floyd. This was followed by a game-tying three from redshirt sophomore guard Justyn Fernadez. Out of a Villanova timeout, Dixon’s attempt from three was unsuccessful. But the ball fell right to sophomore guard Tyler Perkins, whose layup gave the ‘Cats the lead with 42.7 to play. 

“I call [Perkins] the battery,” Neptune said. “He’s a guy that brings a lot of energy and a lot of juice to our team. For our program, he always brings the energy in the locker room, in practice, in games, on the bench…” 

The Friars were trailing Villanova, 75-73, and had possession of the ball with three seconds left. Graduate guard Jabri Abdur-Rahim missed Providence’s final shot attempt that would lead to Villanova inbounding the ball right as the clock ran out. 

“This is the Big East,” Neptune said. “ I always say it… from top to bottom this is the best league with high-level coaches. Every night you know it’s going to be a game and this is no different. I’m glad our guys pulled it out.”

Villanova’s focus will now shift to Monday night when it will take on Georgetown (12-6, 3-4 Big East) at the Finneran Pavilion (6 p.m., FS1).