Villanova basketball lost to St. John’s, 80-68, in Madison Square Garden.
Villanova basketball was coming over a massive 68-66 win over No.9 UConn. The Wildcats had won eight of their last nine games and was looking to carry that momentum into Madison Square Garden. St. John’s, however, also had won eight of its last nine games and was ready to tally up another win. The Johnnies now have won nine of their last ten games. In their three losses, the worst point margin was only three points. St. John’s is proving themselves to be an NCAA tournament that can make a run with head coach Rick Pitino.
Takeaway #1: Foul trouble
Villanova was in foul trouble from the tip and it cost them.
The Wildcats had a season-high 29 personal fouls, putting St. John’s in its double bonus for both halves of the game. Villanova’s previous season-high in fouls was 25 against Temple on Dec. 7.
Graduate forward Enoch Boayke collected two fouls early in the first half and was forced to head to the bench. His size has been a crucial part of Villanova’s defensive improvement in recent games.
After highlight rebounds in the second half, Boakye collected two more fouls. He went to the bench again in foul trouble.
Boakye had two back-to-back games with 14 rebounds a piece. His physicality sometimes does not even show up on the box score. Boakye creates massive amounts of pressure and disruption in the paint.
If he can stay out of foul trouble, Villanova’s defense looks completely different.
St. John’s junior guard RJ Luis Jr. finished with a season-high 30-point, 10-rebound double-double. The performance was one point shy of a career-high.
Takeaway #2: Wooga Poplar is on fire
Senior guard Wooga Poplar had a slow start to the season much like the rest of the team.
As more teams attempt to shutdown graduate forward Eric Dixon, Villanova has needed someone to step up and score in his place. Dixon had his second-worst scoring performance of the season, finishing with 18 points.
Poplar finished with a season-high 22 points. He is the first Wildcat to lead the team in scoring besides Dixon. Through Big East play, Poplar is averaging 16.2 points and 17.2 rebounds. He has four double-doubles this season.
Poplar has been an incredible pickup for Villanova. He is a wing that can play on the perimeter or in the paint. He embodies the Villanova attitude, willing to put his body on the line to win games.
With 2:35 left in the game, Poplar slammed down a dunk to cut St. John’s lead to one point. He kept the Wildcats in a game against an elite St. John’s defense, however, it was not enough.
Takeaway #3: St. John’s defense continues to dominate
St. John’s entered the game with the sixth-best defense in the country, according to KenPom.
The Johnnies put their defense on full display, outrebounding the Wildcats, 44-28. Luis led the team with 10 rebounds.
More notably, St. John’s limited Eric Dixon to just 18 points – the second-worst scoring performance of his season. Teams have struggled to shut down Dixon this season especially when other Wildcats are contributing offensively.
Dixon averages 51.6% on field goals this season. Against St. John’s, he was held to 32% from the field.
The team has now won nine of their last ten games. In the Johnnies’ three losses, two games were decided by one point, and one game was decided by three. The team’s 14-3 is somewhat deceiving.
Up next for Villanova (11-6, 4-2): at Xavier (10-7, 2-4) – Jan. 14 at 6:30 p.m.
Up next for St. John’s (14-3, 5-1): vs. Georgetown (12-4, 3-2) – Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Madison Square Garden