Villanova outlasts DePaul, 59-49, in low-scoring Big East battle | Villanova vs. DePaul Recap

CHICAGO, IL–Villanova did not play its best game on Wednesday, but the Wildcats did enough, especially defensively, to leave the Windy City with a victory against DePaul.

Villanova (13-10, 6-6 Big East) defeated DePaul (11-13, 2-11), 59-49, at Wintrust Arena. Jordan Longino led all scorers with 17 points. Eric Dixon finished the game with 14 points, just two points shy of tying John Pinone for eighth place in the program’s scoring history. Wooga Poplar contributed 12 points and six rebounds. The Wildcats made 46% of their field goal attempts and 47% of their three-point shots.

Villanova led for more than 36 minutes and outscored DePaul, 30-23, in the second half to secure the win in Chicago. The Wildcats built a strong lead in the early part of the second half, but they did not score in the final three minutes of the contest.

Villanova’s head coach, Kyle Neptune, stressed the importance of defense in his postgame press conference.

“At the end of the day, you’re gonna have games throughout the season where you’re struggling to make shots or offense is not clicking, but if you could defend the way we defended, you always give yourself a chance,” Neptune said.

David Thomas, a sophomore from McDonough, GA, led the Blue Demons with a season-high 16 points, including four threes. He also played a season-high 26 minutes. CJ Gunn, DePaul’s leading scorer, finished the game with 13 points and five rebounds. Besides Thomas and Gunn’s double-digit performances, DePaul did not have consistent depth scoring.

DePaul made only 31% of its field goals. The Blue Demons converted seven of their 36 three-point attempts for a 19% success rate.

DePaul was without Conor Enright, David Skogman, and Troy D’Amico. Enright, who averages more than seven points and six assists per game, underwent surgery earlier this week and will miss the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury.

Villanova committed 15 turnovers against the Blue Demons, including nine in the first half, but the Wildcats won the rebounding battle against DePaul, 38-33.

Key Takeaways

Jordan Longino continues to shine

With his 17-point performance, Jordan Longino, a senior from Doylestown, PA, scored at least ten points for the eighth time in the last ten games. He has averaged 15 points per game since January 1^st. He averages 11.8 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per contest in 2024-25.

Villanova’s defense steals the win

Villanova’s defense held DePaul to just 49 points on Wednesday evening, which tied the lowest-scoring performance for the Blue Demons in a game this season. The Wildcats outscored the Blue Demons, 159-105, in the two matchups to sweep the season series. The Wildcats’ perimeter defense contained DePaul to a less than 20% success rate from behind the arc.

Villanova has allowed less than 65 points in three of its last four contests. The Wildcats have allowed 67 points per game in their last six contests. Without the defensive struggles against Marquette in Milwaukee, where the Wildcats allowed 87 points, Villanova has allowed 63.4 points per contest during that stretch.

The Wildcats’ Second Road Victory

On Wednesday evening, Villanova earned its second road win of the season against DePaul. It’s the Wildcats’ first road victory since January 1^st against Butler.

Villanova vs. Xavier on Super Bowl Sunday

Villanova returns home for a Big East showdown against Xavier on Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia. Sunday’s game starts at 12pm. WXVU’s live pregame coverage begins at 11:30am.