Villanova Wildcats at UConn Huskies
· Big East Tournament - Quarterfinal
UConn uses late run to beat Villanova 73-56 in Big East Conference Tournament quarterfinal
The third-seeded Huskies (23-9) move on to play No. 2 seed Creighton in a Friday semifinal. The Bluejays had to go to a second overtime before beating 10th-seeded DePaul 85-81. The Blue Demons were aiming for the school's first semifinal appearance in the tournament. Top-seeded and sixth-ranked St. John's plays No. 5 seed Marquette in the other semifinal.
UConn didn't take the lead in the second half until Karaban made two free throws for a 49-48 advantage with 9:09 remaining. Eric Dixon had a three-point play to tie the game at 51 with eight minutes left. Karaban hit a 3-pointer to cap a 7-0 run and the Huskies outscored the Wildcats 22-5 down the stretch.
Wooga Poplar scored 15 on 7-for-9 shooting to lead sixth-seeded Villanova to a 36-31 advantage at halftime. The Wildcats missed 19 of 24 shots after the break.
Villanova's Eric Dixon needed 17 points to break Kerry Kittles' school record of 2,243 career points. He finished with eight on 2-for-15 shooting and will have to hope the Wildcats earn a spot in a postseason tournament to break it.
Karaban finished a rebound shy of a double-double for UConn. Liam McNeeley totaled 12 points and seven rebounds. Samson Johnson didn't miss a shot and matched Solo Ball with 11 points.
Poplar led all scorers with 25 points. Jordan Longino added 10 points for Villanova.
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Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 56 - 73 |
| 2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 56 - 73 |
| 2nd 0:29 | Wooga Poplar made Free Throw. | 56 - 73 |
| 2nd 0:29 | Wooga Poplar made Free Throw. | 55 - 73 |
| 2nd 0:29 | Foul on Solo Ball. | 54 - 73 |
Statistics
 VILL |
 CONN |
|
|---|---|---|
| 15-47 | FG | 26-45 |
| 31.9 | Field Goal % | 57.8 |
| 7-21 | 3PT | 8-20 |
| 33.3 | Three Point % | 40.0 |
| 19-25 | FT | 13-15 |
| 76.0 | Free Throw % | 86.7 |
| 22 | Rebounds | 31 |
| 7 | Offensive Rebounds | 3 |
| 15 | Defensive Rebounds | 28 |
| 5 | Assists | 17 |
| 6 | Steals | 4 |
| 1 | Blocks | 3 |
| 7 | Turnovers | 10 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
| 7 | Total Turnovers | 10 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 6 | Points Off Turnovers | 7 |
| 2 | Fast Break Points | 4 |
| 10 | Points in Paint | 34 |
| 12 | Fouls | 15 |
| 9 | Largest Lead | 19 |
Game Information
Location: New York, NY
Attendance: 19,812 | Capacity:
2024-25 Big East Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. John's | 18-2 | - | 31-5 |
| Creighton | 15-5 | 3 | 25-11 |
| UConn | 14-6 | 4 | 24-11 |
| Marquette | 13-7 | 5 | 23-11 |
| Xavier | 13-7 | 5 | 22-12 |
| Villanova | 11-9 | 7 | 21-15 |
| Georgetown | 8-12 | 10 | 18-16 |
| Butler | 6-14 | 12 | 15-20 |
| Providence | 6-14 | 12 | 12-20 |
| DePaul | 4-16 | 14 | 14-20 |
| Seton Hall | 2-18 | 16 | 7-25 |