Villanova loses again to Georgetown in the final seconds of the Wildcats’ regular season finale | Villanova vs. Georgetown Recap

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Villanova suffered another second-half collapse against Georgetown in its regular season finale at Capital One Arena.

Georgetown (17-13, 8-11 Big East) defeated Villanova (18-13, 11-9), 75-73, on Tuesday evening. The Wildcats held a nine-point lead with less than four minutes remaining, but Jayden Epps and the Hoyas stormed back to sweep the season series against Villanova.

Georgetown defeated Villanova on Tuesday night at Capital One Arena.

Epps, who scored four points during Georgetown’s 11-2 run, tied the game at 71 with 1:13 left. Jordan Burks made an easy slam dunk to give Georgetown a 73-71 lead. Jhamir Brickus responded with a driving layup to tie the game at 73. Epps made his own layup to give Georgetown a 75-73 advantage with five seconds remaining. Jordan Longino missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.

“Tough Big East battle on the road,” Villanova’s head coach, Kyle Neptune, said. “I thought our guys grinded. Unfortunately ended up a basket too short.”

Eric Dixon scored 24 points in 39 minutes for Villanova. All of Dixon’s 24 points were accumulated in the second half. Longino added 17 points while Brickus scored 10 on four-for-seven shooting. The Wildcats converted 46% of their field goals but only 29% of their three-point attempts.

Jayden Epps led the Hoyas with 20 points, including 15 in the final 20 minutes. Micah Peavy, a fifth-year senior guard from Cibolo, TX, accumulated 19 points, five rebounds, and three assists. Burks and Malik Mack also scored at least ten points against the Wildcats.

Georgetown had a much better shooting performance than Villanova. The Hoyas made 45% of their field goals and 45% of their 31 three-point attempts. Peavy and Epps combined for eight made threes.

Villanova won the rebounding battle, 34-29. It also finished the contest with only six turnovers. Both teams combined for 12 turnovers on Tuesday. Georgetown scored 13 fast-break points compared to Villanova’s three.

Key Takeaways

Villanova’s Worst Road Season since 2011-12

The Wildcats fell to 3-8 in road games this season. It is Villanova’s worst road record since 2011-12, when it won just two games at away venues. The Wildcats have allowed at least 40 points in the second half of seven of their 11 road games.

Coach Neptune discussed the Wildcats’ second-half struggles in his postgame press conference.

“Just some ill-advised turnovers by us,” Neptune said. “They switched their defenses up a lot, forced us into some turnovers down the stretch. We couldn’t handle that pressure and turned the ball over.”

Eric Dixon’s 24-point performance

Eric Dixon currently stands at 2,208 points, 14 points away from tying Scottie Reynolds for second place in program scoring history. He is 36 points away from becoming Villanova’s all-time leading scorer. Dixon also passed Collin Gillespie for most games played in a Villanova uniform with 157.

Villanova’s Regular Season comes to a disappointing ending

Villanova finished its regular season with 18 wins. The Wildcats have yet to win more than 18 games under Coach Neptune, but their 11 conference wins are the most victories in conference play under Coach Neptune.

The Road Ahead + Big East Tournament

With its loss against Georgetown, Villanova will be the sixth seed in the Big East Tournament in New York City next week. The Wildcats will play a first-round game on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.