HARTFORD, Conn. – In their first BIG EAST road game of 2022-23 the Villanova Wildcats gave No. 2 Connecticut all it could handle before falling, 74-66, Wednesday night at the XL Center. Caleb Daniels helped bring the 'Cats to within 58-56 of UConn with 3:36 to play but the Huskies held off the charge.
 
Daniels finished with 23 points to pace the Wildcats (7-6 overall, 1-1 BIG EAST) while redshirt junior Eric Dixon added 18 points and eight rebounds. Jordan Hawkins led Connecticut with 22 points.
 
"Obviously UConn is a very talented and well-coached team," stated Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune. "I thought they really made it tough defensively. They tried to get after us and made it a tough and nasty game. I was proud of the way our guys battled. It just wasn't enough."
 
A key stretch in the second half, when UConn forced five of what would become a season-high 18 Villanova turnovers, halted the momentum the Wildcats had gained while taking a 36-33 lead early in the second half.
 
"They got into us with their full-court pressure defense," stated Neptune. "Just had a couple of mishaps. I thought we still had a chance to fight back after that. It just wasn't enough."
 
A nifty lefthanded jump hook by Dixon gave Villanova the first bucket of the night but UConn got its transition offense going to spark a 10-2 burst that gave the Huskies a 10-4 lead at the first official timeout of the evening. But Villanova held UConn without a field goal over the next 3:07. A pair of Dixon free throws tied the game at 10 with just over 11 minutes to play in the first half.
 
Ten of the Huskies' first 12 field goal attempts were from beyond the 3-point arc (they made two).
 
A pivotal play in the first half came at the 8:12 mark. Brandon Slater's pump fake drew contact from UConn center Adama Sanogo on a 3-point attempt. The whistle blew, giving Sanogo his second foul of the night. When Slater converted all three free throws, Villanova was within 18-17.
 
But the Huskies used an 8-0 run – fueled by 3-pointers from Jordan Hawkins and Alex Karaban – to extend their lead to 26-19 with five plus minutes left in the period. While the Huskies heated up from long range, they chased the Wildcats off the perimeter, holding them without a 3-pointer in six attempts through 16:12 of the first half.
 
Villanova kept its cool in front of the crowd of 15,564 at the XL Center, narrowing the gap to 33-30 when Slater drained a 3-pointer with just under a minute to play in the first half. Two Jordan Longino free throws brought VU to within 33-32 and a defensive stop took the teams into the locker room with UConn holding the one-point advantage.
 
Dixon and Slater led Villanova with 10 points each over the first 20 minutes. Hawkins paced the Huskies with 16 points. The Wildcats also owned a 16-14 advantage on the glass.
 
Villanova scored the first four points of the second half but another 3-pointer by Hawkins was part of an 8-0 UConn run that put the Huskies up 41-36 at the 15:14 mark of the second half.
 
The full-court pressure applied by UConn forced five turnovers that helped ignite the Huskies' offense. The lead was 45-39 when the Wildcats signaled for a timeout with 14:18 to play in the second half. UConn pushed its margin to 49-39 before a Dixon triple cut the deficit to 49-42.
 
The Wildcats continued nipping at the Huskies' heels but were unable to string together a series of defensive stops as they did to close out the first half. UConn held a 55-47 lead with 8:13 to play after a short running jumper by Hassan Diarra.
 
A Daniels jumper with 4:07 left shaved the deficit to 58-53. A traditional 3-point play by Daniels cut the gap to 58-56 with 2:47 to play. But Sanogo scored on UConn's next possession to push the edge to 60-56 and Andre Jackson Jr. dropped in a corner 3-pointer to make it 63-56 as the clock ticked under two minutes to play.
 
From that point, it was a free throw battle and the Huskies took care of business there and walked off with their 14^th straight victory by a 74-66 score.
 
"We know we have great leadership on this team, especially with (Daniels and Dixon)," Neptune said. "We rely on them, especially defensively, and I thought they played a really good game there. They always lead our young guys."
 
The Wildcats were scheduled to return to Philadelphia following the game to begin getting ready to host Marquette on New Year's Eve at 2 p.m. at Finneran Pavilion (FS1 and the Villanova Sports Radio Network).