Final Score: Villanova 100, DePaul 56
 
Overview
 
The Wildcats carried the momentum from a New Year's Day win at Butler directly into an impressive first half. Villanova recorded the first 13 points of the afternoon, stretched the margin later in the period, and were never really headed the rest of the way by DePaul (9-6 overall, 0-4 BIG EAST).
 
Eric Dixon's 25 points stretched to seven a streak of 25 or more points in a contest by the fifth year forward. Senior Jordan Longino added 19 points while Wooga Poplar contributed 17 points and three rebounds.
 
What most cheered head coach Kyle Neptune though, was a strong defensive effort that limited the Blue Demons to 20-of-60 shooting from the field (.333), including 7-of-27 from long distance (.259).
 
"Our guys were really locked in defensively," noted Neptune. "There were some stretches where we were flying around. I really thought we followed the game plan to a T. I am really impressed and proud with how we defended today."
 
Picked Right Up
 
After outscoring Butler 22-1 to rally past the Bulldogs on Wednesday night at Hinkle Field House, the Wildcats made sure to bring that same energy into this one. The Wildcats held the Blue Demons without a field goal for the first 4:14 to grab a 13-0 lead. Dixon supplied six of the points while Nova converted 6-of-9 from the field in that span.
 
Jacob Meyer scored DePaul's first three points of the day at the line after being fouled on a 3-point attempt. The Blue Demons cut the deficit to 18-8 before a Jordan Longino 3-pointer off terrific ball movement – with the assist to Tyler Perkins – helped VU to a 21-8 edge after 8:10 of the first half.
 
Wooga Warmed Up
 
Midway through the half the Wildcats got a giant boost from Poplar. It was capped by a steal and thunderous dunk at the other end that gave VU a 30-14 lead. When the Philadelphia native drained a 3-pointer from the right corner off the seventh assist of the day for Jhamir Brickus, Villanova was on top 40-20.
 
Blue Demons Made a Push
 
The Blue Demons put together a 9-0 burst over 2:20 in the final three minutes of the first half to narrow the Villanova lead to 45-32.
 
But a well-executed feed from Brickus found Dixon open atop the key and the Willow Grove, native dropped in the 3-pointer to give Villanova a 48-32 advantage at intermission. The lead would not dip below that number over the final 20 minutes.
 
The 14 points over the first 20 minutes by Dixon paced Villanova. Meyer led the Blue Demons with 11 points.
 
Second Act
 
A 14-0 spurt midway through the second half – this one highlighted by more defensive stops and crisp offensive execution – helped Villanova extend its advantage to 68-38 through the first 7:50 of the period. During that stretch Dixon collected his 800^th career carom.
 
Also of note in the period was that Brickus recorded his 11^th assist of the day, establishing a new career high. Another career best came from Longino, who dropped in all five of his attempts from beyond the 3-point arc.
 
The final was 100-56. It was the first time Villanova hit the century mark in points since a 100-81 win over Howard on Nov. 16, 2021. It was the most points scored in a BIG EAST game by the Wildcats since a 100-90 victory over Marquette at the Wells Fargo Center on Jan. 7, 2018.

The 'Cats 24 assists were the most in a game since a Feb. 10, 2021 win over Marquette at Finneran Pavilion.
 
What They Said
 
Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune: "Our team has had a pretty good run offensively. We have a lot of guys who have multifaceted games. Maybe 1-9 we've got guys that can score the ball. But when we defend like that, we give ourselves a chance each time out."
 
"We're not even officially halfway through the season so there's a long way to go. Teams are going to get better. Other coaches are talking about the same things we're talking about. Everyone wants to be the best they can be at the end of the season. Right now, we really haven't done much. I do think we've gotten to the point where our guys are confident in what we do. We've just got to keep going."
 
Poplar asked if perhaps the win at Butler could become a turning point: "I feel like a win is a win. We just take it day by day, trying to get better every day throughout the season."
 
Longino on his career high 19-point effort: "I got hot today but I try to come into every game with a confident mentality. My teammates and coaches have been trying to instill that confident mentality in me. Obviously, it feels good to see the ball go in a little bit. But the big thing is coming in with the confidence mentality in every game."
 
Up Next
 
The Wildcats return to Finneran Pavilion Wednesday night when the two-time NCAA champion Connecticut Huskies pay a visit. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. for a contest that will air on FS1 and the Villanova Sports Network on IHeart (Fox Sports Philadelphia Radio).