Coming off a Saturday afternoon loss to Creighton (16-6, 9-2 Big East), Villanova men’s basketball (12-10, 5-6 Big East) will be back in action on Tuesday night in Chicago for a matchup with DePaul. The following weekend, the ‘Cats will return to Philadelphia for a Sunday afternoon game against Xavier.
DePaul
DePaul has struggled over the last several seasons in the bottom tiers of the Big East. The Blue Demons recently won their first conference game for the first time in two years, defeating Georgetown, 73-68, on Jan. 17. DePaul currently sits second to last in the conference standings, just above Seton Hall.
Blue Demons head coach Chris Holtmann is in his first season as head coach.
DePaul hired Holtmann after the conclusion of the 2023-2024 season. Before DePaul, he was the head coach for three seasons at Big East foe Butler and served as head coach at the Ohio State University for seven seasons.
DePaul’s most consistent players this year include sophomore guard Jacob Meyer, junior guard Conor Enright and senior guard Isaiah Rivera. Meyer is one of the Blue Demons’ leading scorers, averaging 12.6 points per contest.
In its first meeting with DePaul, Villanova dominated. The Wildcats trounced the Blue Demons, 100-56, which was their largest margin of victory this season. Dixon dropped 25 points and dished out four assists in his 29 minutes on the court. Meanwhile, Meyer led the Blue Demons with 13 points.
Despite the blowout win, Villanova cannot afford to take its upcoming rematch with DePaul lightly. Both meetings last season ended with lopsided victories, but in the Big East Tournament, DePaul nearly upset Villanova in a narrow, first-round loss, 58-57.
Xavier
Xavier is 13-8 overall and 5-5 in the Big East. The Musketeers recently upset No. 25 UConn, defeating the Huskies, 76-72, on Jan. 25.
Head coach Sean Miller is now in the fourth season of his second coaching stint at Xavier.
Graduate guard Marcus Foster, junior guard Ryan Conwell and senior forward Lassina Traore are the Musketeers’ most dangerous players.
Conwell leads the team in scoring averaging 16.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.
The ‘Cats lost in their first meeting this season with the Musketeers in Indianapolis, 69-63, on Jan. 14.
Longino and Dixon both dropped 18 points, but a career-best 34 points from Conwell was the difference-maker in Xavier’s victory. With Conwell’s scoring, the Musketeers also went on a 7-0 run to end the game.
Keys to the game
In the second half of the season, Longino has been more consistent, averaging 15.6 points per game. Dixon has had some struggles for Villanova, but had a solid game against Creighton on Saturday, scoring 17 points. Dixon still leads the NCAA in scoring, with 24.2 points per game.
Senior guard Wooga Poplar has been consistent, but after getting ejected against Georgetown on Jan. 20, he struggled over the next two games. Fortunately for Poplar and Villanova, the struggles were short-lived.
Poplar had his best outing as a Wildcat against Creighton on Saturday, finishing with a season-high 24 points and five steals.
All three of Villanova’s primary scorers will need to have big games if the ‘Cats want to build momentum. Seven guaranteed games are left, and each game will either strengthen or stain the Wildcats’ tournament resume.
The Wildcats lead the all-time series against DePaul, 25-1. They also lead the all-time series with Xavier, 18-6.
Tip-off against DePaul is scheduled for Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. (Wintrust Arena, FS1) and tip-off with Xavier is set for noon on Feb. 9 (Wells Fargo Center, FS1).
