Villanova scores 100 points in rout of DePaul | Villanova vs. DePaul Recap

VILLANOVA, PA—Villanova picked up where it left off against Butler in Indianapolis with a 44-point victory against DePaul. The Wildcats scored 100 points for the first time since November 16, 2021, against Howard. Villanova has won seven of its last eight contests.

Villanova defeated DePaul, 100-56, at a packed Finneran Pavilion on Saturday afternoon. Five Wildcats scored at least 10 points, including Eric Dixon, Jordan Longino, Wooga Poplar, Jhamir Brickus, and Kris Parker. Once again, Dixon led the Wildcats with 25 points against the Blue Demons. Longino finished the game with 19 points, including a career-high five threes.

Villanova defeated DePaul on Saturday afternoon at the Finneran Pavilion.

Wooga Poplar accumulated 17 points, three rebounds, and two assists. Poplar has scored 54 points in his last three contests. Jhamir Brickus was four-for-seven from the field with 11 points and 11 assists. Enoch Boakye, a senior from Brampton, Ontario, scored six points and accumulated 14 rebounds.

Villanova’s head coach, Kyle Neptune, discussed Villanova’s impressive effort against DePaul in his postgame press conference.

“Our guys came out and really locked in defensively,” Neptune said. “We went a while where we were flying around. I thought we followed the game plan to a T. Really, really impressed and proud of the way we defended tonight.”

The Wildcats had a great afternoon from behind the arc. Villanova converted 16 of its 27 three-point attempts (59%) and made 60% of its field goals on Saturday. Villanova won the rebounding battle, 42-32, and dominated the assist game, 24-8.

Villanova’s defense contained DePaul to 24 points in the final twenty minutes. DePaul converted 33% of its field-goal attempts. The Blue Demons knocked down only seven of their 27 (26%) three-point attempts. The Wildcats forced eight steals and finished the game with five blocks, including three blocks from Boakye.

Jacob Meyer, a sophomore from Covington, KY, scored 13 points while shooting three-for-14 from the field. Isaiah Rivera contributed 11 points, including three threes, off the bench. NJ Benson, a junior forward from Mount Vernon, IL, accumulated 10 points and six rebounds.

Key Takeaways

Turnover-Free Basketball

The Wildcats continued to limit turnovers against DePaul. They committed only seven turnovers against the Blue Demons. Villanova has allowed just 14 turnovers in its last three contests.

Including Saturday’s win against DePaul, Villanova averages just 9.9 turnovers per game. The Wildcats have committed only 25 turnovers in their four conference games for an average of 6.3 turnovers per contest.

Villanova’s Fantastic Play at Home

Villanova has won seven consecutive games at the Finneran Pavilion. The Wildcats are 8-1 at home in 2024-25. Their only loss at home was on November 6^th against Columbia in non-conference play.  The Wildcats averaged 82.6 points per game in their nine games at the Finn this season.

The Wildcats will play UConn at the Finn on Wednesday at 6:30pm.

Jordan Longino’s Career-High 19 Points

Jordan Longino, a senior from Doylestown, PA, scored a career-high 19 points against DePaul, including a career-high five threes. After struggling in the beginning of the season, Longino has scored at least 12 points in three of his last four games. He averages 9.5 points per game this season. In his last four games, Longino averaged 13.8 points per game. He is also nine-for-17 (53%) from behind the arc in this four-game stretch.

Jordan Longino dribbles the basketball for Villanova against the Blue Demons.

Longino talked about his mindset and career-high performance after today’s conference showdown against DePaul.

“It feels good to see the ball go in a little bit, but every game coming out, I have the same mentality,” Longino said.

With the blowout win over DePaul, Villanova improved to 10-5 overall in 2024-25. The Wildcats are 3-1 in conference play, with wins over Seton Hall, Butler, and DePaul.

Coach Neptune was pleased with his team’s performance against DePaul but admitted there is a lot of the season left.

“There’s still a long, long season to go,” Neptune said. “Teams are gonna get better. Everybody wants to be the best by the end of the season. Right now, we haven’t really done much. We’ve got to the point, where I think our guys are confident in what we’re looking to do. I think they’re connected, and now we just have to keep going.”

Villanova vs. UConn on Wednesday

Villanova’s next game will be on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. against #11 UConn at the Finn. WXVU’s live coverage starts at 6 p.m. with the pregame show.