OMAHA, Neb. — Eric Dixon made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 28 seconds left in overtime to finish his 32-point night and Villanova held off No. 12 Creighton 68-66 on Wednesday in the Big East opener for both teams.
“It was a great team win,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said. “We had some good spurts in the first half but couldn’t make some shots, and we went through some droughts in the second half. Our guys, to their credit, kept getting stops. I thought that was a key in our victory”
The Bluejays (9-3) led by double digits until midway through the second half before Villanova (8-4) rallied to tie it and force overtime.
Alexander made two free throws to put Creighton up 66-65 with 42 seconds left. After a timeout, Villanova set up a play to have Dixon work around a screen and take a pass from Jordan Longino. Dixon got the ball in the corner and hit his 3 as Kalkbrenner closed in on defense.
“We’ve gotten a lot of offense out of that play,” Dixon said, “and they had trust in me.”
Baylor Scheierman had a chance to tie it with seven seconds left but missed the front end of a one-and-one, and he missed a long 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Trey Alexander scored all eight of Creighton’s points in overtime and finished with 16 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Scheierman also had 16 points and Ryan Kalkbrenner added 14.
Creighton coach Greg McDermott yells to the team during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Villanova onWednesday, Dec. 20, 2023, in Omaha, Neb. Credit: AP/Rebecca S. Gratz
“This is a game I felt we should have controlled a little better,” Alexander said. “We were up double digits at half. We have to do a better job of not turning the ball over, making sure we capitalize on situations we get offensive rebounds and play the way we know how.”
Creighton led by 14 early in the second half before hitting a cold spell. The Wildcats chipped away to tie it at 56 with under four minutes left when a defensive breakdown allowed…
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