Villanova basketball traveled to Providence on Saturday night to play a must-win game in order to keep tournament hopes alive, but lost to the Friars, 75-62.
Villanova basketball was coming off an 73-71 upset win over No. 9 St. John’s, but it could not keep the momentum going. The loss means Villanova basketball’s chances of a spot in March Madness are small yet again. Practically every regular season game of the season was a must-win for the Wildcats, and with two games against ranked opponents looming, a win against the Friars was one of the easiest games on the schedule.
The loss ties Villanova’s largest losing margin of the season at 13 points (lost by 13 against Marquette).
Takeaway #1: Villanova basketball learns it can’t win without scoring
The Wildcats started scoring too late. Villanova basketball could not score with tournament hopes on the line, especially early in the game. The team had several scoring droughts, with two lasting over five minutes.
“I thought [Providence] threw a hard punch at us to start the game, and we just never recovered,” Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune said. “I just give them a lot of credit. Offensively, their game plan, they made a lot of adjustments from the last game.”
In the first half, Villanova shot 1-10 (10%) on three-pointers. It was a complete breakdown of one of the top 20 offensive teams in the country. Many Wildcats missed wide-open shot opportunities, and it cost them.
HALF: Providence 36, Villanova 24
Villanova shot 1-10 (10%) from three while Providence hit 9-16 (56.3%).
Dixon: 9pts, 5reb, 1-6 3FG
Longino: 8pts, 2astJayden Pierre has 11 points for the Friars on 4-8 from the field.
— Dylan Johnson (@bydylanjohnson) February 15, 2025
Graduate forward Eric Dixon led the team with nine points but shot 1-6 on three-pointers. Over the recent stretch of games, Dixon has been quiet in the first half, with the majority of his scoring coming in the second half. Against Providence, it was no different, except Dixon could not score in the second half efficiently either.
Dixon, the team’s leading scorer, finished the game with 15 points and nine rebounds. At one point, he was averaging over 26 points per game. In Dixon’s last five games, he has crossed the 20-point threshold once.
The trio of Dixon, senior guard Wooga Poplar and senior guard Jordan Longino accounted for 51 of Villanova’s 62 points. Poplar and Longino both scored 18 points each.
Villanova had its second-worst three-point performance of the season, hitting only 26.3% (5-19) from three. The Wildcats entered the game, leading the Big East in three-point percentage with 40.2%.
Takeaway 2: Providence hot from beyond the arc
The Friars took advantage of Villanova basketball’s poor perimeter defense and dropped three-pointer after three-pointer. Providence finished the game shooting 48.1% (13-27) from three.
“They adjusted to our style and got the shots that we sometimes give up,” Neptune said.
It was one of its best three-point performances in conference play.
Junior guard Jayden Pierre scored a bulk of the Providence three-pointers, dropping in five of his nine three-point attempts. Pierre also led the team in scoring with 19 points.
Providence saw a hole in Villanova’s defense and took it, scoring almost half its points from deep.
Takeaway #3: Villanova basketball foul trouble
The Wildcats gave up too many bad fouls that left them chasing the Friars for the entire game.
However, that was not the case in the first half. The Wildcats only gave up five fouls and to Providence’s seven. It was a non-issue until the second half came around.
Villanova was able to go on its largest run of the game in the second half. The 10-0 run helped the Wildcats cut the lead to single digits. With 11:39 left to play, a nine-point deficit was not the worst spot to be in, as Providence led by 22 points at one point in the game.
The fouls, however, began to eat at Villanova. The Wildcat gave up 15 fouls in the second half. A couple of the fouls came in the game’s final minutes. Besides those fouls, Providence picked up its double bonus and used it to build a large lead and run away with the game.
Villanova’s future again has a question mark next to it. Only time will tell what will happen to the team who once ran the Big East.
Up next for Villanova (15-11, 8-7): at UConn (17-8, 9-5) – Feb. 18 at 6:30 p.m. EST
Up next for Providence (12-14, 6-9): at Georgetown (15-10, 6-8) – Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. EST