Ryan Conwell and Xavier push past Villanova in the second half | Villanova vs. Xavier Recap
Written by David Szczepanski on January 14, 2025
CINCINNATI, OH—Villanova entered Tuesday’s contest in Cincinnati looking to quickly shake off a tough loss to St. John’s on Saturday in New York City. Instead of getting back in the win column against Xavier, Villanova sparked more doubt in its March Madness chances with a six-point loss. The Wildcats failed to hold on to their eight-point lead at halftime.
Xavier defeated Villanova, 69-63 at the Cintas Center. Eric Dixon finished the game with 18 points. He was six-for-16 from the field, including three-for-five from behind the arc. Dixon tied Josh Hart for 10th place in Villanova’s scoring history with 1,921 points. Jordan Longino had one of the best games of his career with 18 points, including three threes.
Villanova converted 43% of its field goals. The Wildcats were 8-for-21 (38%) from behind the arc.
Ryan Conwell, a junior from Indianapolis, IN, led all scorers with 34 points. Despite playing with four fouls for most of the second half, he accumulated 28 points in the final twenty minutes.
Villanova’s head coach, Kyle Neptune, discussed Conwell’s 34-point performance in his postgame press conference.
“He just really got it going,” Neptune said. “Made some tough ones, but we just failed to stay connected to him enough.”
Dayvion McKnight and Zach Freemantle combined for 20 points. They were six-for-18 from the field. Xavier made 41% of its field goal attempts. However, the Musketeers knocked down 10 of their 25 three-point attempts for a 40% success rate.
Key Takeaways
Villanova’s Second Half Troubles
The Wildcats led Xavier at halftime, 32-24. However, Villanova’s defense allowed 45 points in the second half. Villanova has been outscored by its opponents, 130-104, in the second half of its last three games. The Wildcats have allowed at least 40 points in the second half to their last three opponents.
Turnover Problems against Xavier
Villanova had 29 turnovers in its last five games, an average of 5.8 per game. However, the Wildcats finished the game with 14 turnovers against the Musketeers.
Coach Neptune acknowledged Villanova’s turnover issues against Xavier and the factor that late, costly turnovers played in Cincinnati.
“Definitely a factor,” Neptune said. “They did a good job getting in to our guys, forcing us into some areas that we didn’t want to be in. I thought they were very physical.”
Villanova’s Bench + Tyler Perkins’ Struggles
Villanova’s bench continued to struggle. The Wildcats scored only two bench points against the Musketeers. Tyler Perkins, one of Villanova’s main bench contributors, was 0-for-five from the field against Xavier. He was eight-for-32 (25%) from the field in his last six games. Perkins has scored more than two points just once in the last six games.
With the disappointing loss to Xavier, Villanova fell to 11-7 overall in 2024-25. They are now 4-3 in conference play.
Coach Neptune discussed Villanova’s mindset moving forward and when the Wildcats will move past this disappointing loss.
“Immediately,” Neptune said. “This is what it is in the Big East. I think everybody is going through the schedule right now. You got a couple of days and then you are going right back to it, so no difference for us.”
Neptune also stressed the difficulty of Big East games on the road.
“It’s the Big East,” Neptune said. “You’re going against good teams. You’re on the road, teams aren’t going to go away. So it’s got to be a full 40 minutes.”
The Wildcats are now 1-4 in away games this season.
The Road Ahead Leads to South Philly
Villanova’s next chance to rebound will be on Friday night at 7pm against Providence in South Philadelphia. WXVU’s live coverage from the Wells Fargo Center starts at 6:30pm.
