Dixon heats up in 2nd half to lead Villanova to 68-66 win over No. 9 UConn

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VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — Eric Dixon scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half and Villanova held on for a 68-66 victory over No. 9 UConn on Wednesday night after the Huskies' Alex Karaban missed two free throws with 3.1 seconds left.

Wooga Poplar added 18 points for Villanova (11-5, 4-1 Big East), which led by as many as 12 points in the second half.

Solo Ball scored 16 points to lead UConn (12-4, 4-1). The Huskies had won eight in a row since dropping all three games in the Maui Invitational in November.

The Huskies played without star freshman Liam McNeeley, out with a right foot injury.

UConn had several chances to take the lead late, the last when Karaban was long on both free-throw attempts after being fouled by Jordan Longino. Karaban finished with 10 points.

The teams played on Villanova’s campus in front of fans for the first time since Jan. 5, 1995. They did meet at Villanova’s Pavilion on Feb. 20, 2021 without fans during the pandemic. Normally, the matchup is played at the home of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers.

UConn: It wasn’t likely that the Huskies were going to go undefeated in the Big East, especially without McNeeley. UConn still is the class of the conference.

Villanova: After missing the NCAA tournament in each of the last two seasons under coach Kyle Neptune, the Wildcats are squarely back in the conversation.

The game was tied at 59 when Poplar hit a 3 with just under five minutes to play to put Villanova ahead for good.

Dixon shot 12.5% in the first half when he missed 7 of 8 field goals. Dixon entered shooting 53.4% from the field and leading the country in scoring at 25.9 points per game. Dixon’s teammates shot 57.1% (12 of 21) in the opening 20 minutes.

UConn: At Georgetown on Saturday.

Villanova: At St. John’s on Saturday night.

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