Villanova kicked off an important day for Philadelphia fans with an 80-68 win over Xavier on Sunday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center.
After capitulating to Xavier (14-10 overall, 6-7 Big East), 69-64, on Jan. 14, Villanova (14-10, 7-6) responded with a double-digit victory, despite 17 lead changes, in which it claimed fifth place in the Big East.
The Super Bowl Sunday crowd at the Wells Fargo Center didn’t reach its usual volume, while some fans arrived at the South Philadelphia arena swapping their Villanova blue for Eagles green.
“I was proud of the way our guys competed,” Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune said. “Besides a couple of plays in transition, I thought we played a pretty complete defensive game. Then, in the second half, we made some tough shots as well. I thought we would be in a good spot, either way, because of the way we defended.”
Graduate guard Eric Dixon scored a team-high 24 points for the Wildcats in a giant second half, after scoring just two points in the first twenty minutes.
Villanova put its offense largely in the hands of senior guard Wooga Poplar, who scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Tyler Perkins was also an offensive threat, scoring a season-high 20 points and claiming five boards. It was a notable performance for Perkins, who did not score in the previous meeting with Xavier.
“I was just out there trying to do what I can do, whether that’s talking, energy, bringing the juice,” Perkins said. “I try to bring so much more to the table than making threes, making shots, so when I wasn’t scoring I was focused on rebounding and helping my teammates.”
For Xavier, senior guard Dante Maddox Jr. and graduate forward Zach Freemantle led the way in scoring, with 24 points and 18 points, respectively. The Wildcats contained junior guard Ryan Conwell to three points, after he dropped a career-high 34 points in the previous meeting.
During a tight first half, the Musketeers successfully limited Dixon’s shooting. The NCAA leading scorer didn’t have a field goal until 12 minutes and 36 seconds into play. Dixon finished the first half going 1-for-4 from the field and 0-for-2 from three.
While Xavier closed in on Dixon, Poplar took hold of the offense for Villanova. Poplar dropped 13 points in the first half with four rebounds and four steals.
Senior forward Enoch Boakye also chipped in offensively while fending off the 6-foot-9 Freemantle. He scored eight points with five rebounds.
After a layup from graduate guard Jhamir Brickus rolled off the rim, Perkins grabbed an offensive rebound and put in a basket to tie the score, 33-33, at the half.
The Wildcats continued to feed shots to Poplar, who passed the 20-point threshold with a shot in the paint under four minutes into the second half.
Meanwhile, Dixon began to work his way around Xavier’s defense, more focused on creating plays than adding to the stat sheet. He scored 22 points in the second half alone while completing 6-of-6 from the foul line.
“They were running guys at me in the first half, but I thought gradually I began to get a feel for what they wanted to do,” Dixon said. “It’s always good to see the ball go through the basket.”
As the Musketeers got into foul trouble, Villanova began to break away on the scoreboard. Dixon grabbed an offensive rebound as Xavier’s shot clock expired, throwing the ball to Perkins downcourt. Perkins’ layup gave Villanova an eight-point advantage, forcing Xavier to call a timeout as the last five minutes approached.
Dixon looked more like himself in the second half. He sank a three to stretch Villanova’s lead to double-digits with exactly four minutes left. The Wildcats expanded their lead in a solid final three minutes.
“In the last ten minutes of the game, [Villanova] overwhelmed us, in particular Dixon,” Xavier head coach Sean Miller said. “They wore us down. When Tyler Perkins is on the court as a productive offensive player, that makes the matchup with Dixon even more problematic [for us.]”
Next up is a home matchup against No. 12 St. John’s (21-3, 12-1 Big East) on Wednesday, Feb. 12 (6 p.m., FS1).
The Red Storm has surged in national rankings since their previous meeting with the Wildcats, in which St. John’s won, 80-68, on Jan. 11.
