Villanova’s offense does a vanishing act as its NCAA hopes fade even more in loss to UConn
The Wildcats are now 1-6 in Quad 1 games, leaving their March Madness hopes in peril.
To those only glancing at the Tuesday night box score, Villanova’s 66-59 loss to UConn at the XL Center doesn’t look that bad. Sure, the loss likely blocks off the Wildcats’ path to an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament, but a seven-point game in which the back-to-back champion Huskies were 8½-point favorites after suffering the worst loss of their season at Seton Hall looks respectable.
Look a little further into that box score. Villanova (15-12, 8-8 Big East) led, 53-39, with 11 minutes, 58 seconds to play. The 14-point advantage was among the largest in a game this season for the Wildcats. Then UConn (19-8, 11-5) closed the game on a 27-6 run over the final 10:54, and all that dominance didn’t matter.
A late-game Villanova vanishing act is a familiar story to anyone keeping up with the Wildcats this season. Villanova was outscored, 14-3, over the final 2:35 of its Jan. 11 loss at St. John’s. The Wildcats went scoreless on their final nine possessions in a 64-63 loss to Georgetown at the Finneran Pavilion nine days later.
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Those collapses were not as prolonged and dramatic as the meltdown in Hartford. Eric Dixon, who finished with 17 points on 3-for-13 shooting, and Wooga Poplar, who led the Wildcats with 19 points on 7-for-21 shooting, were the only Villanova players to score in the final 10 minutes. Villanova finished with nine turnovers, five of which occurred in that time frame.
“They did a good job coming after us, being physical,” Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune said. “They took us out of what we wanted to do. Good job on their part.”
The Huskies’ late-game defensive intensity jammed Villanova’s offense. The Wildcats shot 8-for-25 from the field in the second half, including 3-for-12 on three-pointers. Dixon was limited to five points in the second half. Senior guard Jordan Longino was scoreless in the second half after tallying 13 points in the first half.
“They really sank on [Dixon],” Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune said. “They were physical with him. They pressed, which made it hard for us to get him the ball. They did a good job defensively all game long.”
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The Wildcats could only stand and watch as UConn freshman forward Liam McNeeley and junior center Tarris Reed Jr. combined for 17 of the game’s final 21 points in the final six minutes. McNeeley, who missed the season series’ first meeting with an ankle injury, led all scorers with 20 points. Reed added 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
The loss almost certainly takes Villanova out of the conversation for an at-large NCAA bid. The Wildcats briefly appeared on ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s bubble after their 73-71 upset of No. 9 St. John’s, but fell off it after their 75-62 loss to Providence on Saturday.
The Wildcats’ matchup with No. 16 Marquette (20-6, 11-4) on Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center is the team’s only remaining opportunity to build its resumé with a Quadrant 1 win. After Tuesday’s loss however, Villanova is 1-6 in such games.
Villanova’s only chance to crash March Madness is to win the Big East tournament. For the Wildcats to receive a first-round bye in the tournament, they need to finish in the top five of the Big East standings. Xavier (17-10, 9-7), which defeated Butler, 76-63, on Tuesday, holds a one-game lead over Villanova for fifth in the conference.
Villanova has four regular-season games remaining. The Wildcats face Marquette on Friday, travel to Seton Hall (7-19, 2-13) on Feb. 26, host Butler (12-14, 5-10) at the Pavilion on March 1 before closing the regular season with a trip to Georgetown (15-10, 6-8) on March 4.
If it fails to make the NCAA’s field of 68, Villanova likely will receive an invitation to Fox Sports’ inaugural College Basketball Crown. The Big East’s two best teams that miss the NCAA Tournament receive automatic bids to the 16-team CBC, which serves as a competitor to the National Invitation Tournament. The CBC is from March 31-April 6 in Las Vegas.