Eric Dixon scored 31 factors, Wooga Poplar had 12 factors and 10 rebounds and Villanova handed No. 14 Cincinnati its first lack of the season with a 68-60 victory Tuesday night time.
The Wildcats (5-4) received a wanted win for third-year coach Kyle Neptune, who has but to guide this system to the NCAA Tournament in his first two seasons. Neptune additionally received the win two weeks after Villanova employed Eric Roedl as its new athletic director, a pleasant first impression beneath the brand new boss for a coach who wants all of the wins he can get to get away from the new seat.
Jizzle James scored 19 factors for the Bearcats (6-1).
The Wildcats noticed their lead reduce to 6 factors till Dixon, who performed on the 2022 Final Four group, hit three consecutive 3-pointers to make it 61-49.
Takeaway
Cincinnati: The Bearcats did not get off to a 7-0 begin for the second straight season.
Villanova: Even with the win, the Wildcats’ total hopes for March could already be dashed by losses to Columbia and Saint Joseph’s. They can hope to show the tables on the Big East portion of the schedule.
Key second
Villanova’s Tyler Perkins hit a 3-pointer to cap a 13-2 run within the first half, and Jhamir Brickus hit a 3-pointer at halftime for a 37-28 lead.
Key statistic
The Bearcats shot simply 38 p.c total from the ground after making at the very least 50 p.c of their photographs of their first 5 video games, their longest streak since 2002.
Next
The Bearcats host Howard on Sunday, and Villanova performs cross-town rival Temple on Saturday The 5 great classics on the Wells Fargo Center.
Associated Press reporting.
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