On Thursday, April 3, Villanova men’s basketball narrowly defeated the University of Southern California, 60-59, to advance to the semifinals of the College Basketball Crown.
Villanova is now guaranteed at least a $50,000 NIL prize for making it to the semifinals.
With 1.9 seconds left in regulation, the game was tied, 59-59. Graduate forward Eric Dixon converted one of two free throws to seal the win for the Wildcats.
Dixon broke the program’s all-time scoring record against Colorado and is now separating himself from second place on the list. On Thursday night, he scored 24 of his 28 points in the second half to bring the Wildcats back from a nine-point deficit.
“[Dixon and I] had a little talk at the end of the first half,” interim head coach Mike Nardi said. “I just said to him, ‘Look, you’re hesitating a little bit too much. You’ve got some open looks. Take your shots.’ Just let him go to work. He made great decisions tonight.”
USC forward Saint Thomas, who scored 14 points against Tulane, scored four of USC’s opening six baskets.
The Wildcats went on a three-minute scoring drought but it was snapped by Dixon’s first four points of the game.
Poplar had back-to-back scores off a three-pointer and a score off a steal to give the Wildcats the lead. A three from graduate guard Jhamir Brickus gave the Wildcats a 10-0 run.
USC junior guard Desmond Claude ended Villanova’s scoring run. He scored six points to cut Villanova’s lead down to just two points.
After a back-and-forth scoring battle to close out the first half, Villanova went on a six-minute scoring drought. USC was able to capitalize and take a 31-27 lead entering halftime.
Poor shot selections cost the Wildcats early in the second half. The Trojans quickly stretched their lead to nine points. The lead quickly grew to USC’s largest of the game, 12 points off a mix of bad shots and turnovers from Villanova.
With 15:17 left in the game, Dixon dropped in a layup which kicked off the eventual game-winning run.
Dixon scored 14 points during a 16-2 Villanova run. The run was capped off by a Dixon and-one and allowed Villanova to regain the lead and set up an entertaining final eight minutes of basketball.
After seeing the Trojans tie the game, a step back and ankle-breaker from Brickus put the Wildcats back in front. But a second consecutive and-one from Agee tied the game with 5:05 to play.
The game came down to the final 18 seconds. Dixon was fouled and headed to the line to go 1-2 from the charity stripe. USC got a chance to take the lead while it trailed by one point.
The Trojans failed to capitalize on Dixon’s missed free throw and sent him back to the line which ultimately sealed the game.
“I just want to say one thing defensively about Eric,” Nardi said. “End of the game. Switching, getting the stops. He got that last rebound, which was huge for our team. We always talk to our guys about defending and rebounding, and that really sealed the game for us. That’s a big-time play for him. So, I appreciate that.”
The Wildcats now prepare for a Saturday afternoon matchup with the University of Central Florida at the T-Mobile Arena (FOX 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT).
The winner will head to the championship game on Sunday against the winner of the other semi-final game, Boise State and Nebraska.
