Eric Dixon scored 31 points, Wooga Poplar had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Villanova gave No. 14 Cincinnati its first loss of the season with a 68-60 victory on Tuesday night.
The Wildcats (5-4) got a needed win for third-year coach Kyle Neptune, who has yet to lead the program to the NCAA Tournament in his first two seasons. Neptune also got the win two weeks after Villanova hired Eric Roedl as its new athletic director, a nice first impression under the new boss for a coach who needs all the wins he can get to move off the hot seat.
Jizzle James scored 19 points for the Bearcats (6-1).
The Wildcats had their lead cut to six points until Dixon, who played on the 2022 Final Four team, hit consecutive 3-pointers that made it 61-49.
Takeaways
Cincinnati: The Bearcats failed to start 7-0 for the second straight season.
Villanova: Even with the win, the Wildcats’ at-large hopes for March might already be dashed with losses to Columbia and Saint Joseph’s. They can hope to turn it around in the Big East portion of the schedule.
Key moment
Villanova’s Tyler Perkins buried a 3 to cap an early 13-2 run in the first half, and Jhamir Brickus hit a 3 at the halftime horn for a 37-28 lead.
Key stat
The Bearcats shot only 38% overall from the floor after making at least 50% of their shots in the first five games, their longest streak since 2002.
Up next
The Bearcats host Howard on Sunday, and Villanova plays city rival Temple on Saturday in the Big 5 Classic at the Wells Fargo Center.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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