Who’s Villanova’s No. 2 option behind Eric Dixon? Wooga Poplar just raised his hand.

Villanova was starting to pull away from Lafayette midway through the second half of its season-opening win Monday night, but a quick 6-0 spurt from the Leopards cut Villanova’s lead to seven, 52-45, with nine minutes to go, and Kyle Neptune called timeout.

It was a nervy night at times for the new-look Wildcats, and they turned the ball over out of the timeout, one of their 17 giveaways. But on the ensuing inbound, Wooga Poplar stole the ball, dunked over a Lafayette defender, and bumped Villanova’s lead back up to nine. Exhale.

Playing without its best player, Eric Dixon, who was serving a one-game suspension, Villanova at times needed an adult in the room, and Poplar, a senior Miami transfer who played his high school basketball at the former Math, Civics, and Sciences Charter School, played that part just fine in his Wildcats debut. He finished with a game-high 20 points to go with 10 rebounds and a plus-16 rating. Villanova won, 75-63, and Poplar was a big reason why.

» READ MORE: Wooga Poplar drops double-double in season opener, leads Villanova past Lafayette

The Wildcats won’t want to play many games without Dixon, an obvious observation anyone could have predicted before the ball tipped on a critical 2024-25 Villanova season just after 8 p.m. on Monday. But if there was any game for Dixon to miss, maybe it was this one. Villanova knows what it has in its fifth-year forward. He will contend for Big East Player of the Year. He will probably be the sole reason they win a game or two or six along the way. What Neptune maybe didn’t know before Monday was who Dixon’s most reliable sidekick would be.

A one-game sample proves nothing, a theme that applies to so much of Monday’s win, but Poplar looked every bit the part of a versatile scoring wing that Villanova hasn’t had during Neptune’s first two seasons as head coach.

“Wooga Poplar is arguably one of the best shooters we’ve had here,” Neptune said. “Arguably one of the best athletes.”

Poplar made eight of his 13 shot attempts, including two three-pointers on three attempts. He shot 38.5% from three-point range last season at Miami. Poplar’s 10 rebounds marked just the fourth time he’s hit double-digits on the glass. He did turn it over four times but nearly evened that out with three steals.

» READ MORE: Three reasons for optimism, pessimism as Villanova begins its 2024-25 season

It was a homecoming for Poplar, who spent his formative years playing on outdoor courts on the north side of Philadelphia. He had about 15 people at the game Monday, he said, and forgot to add some of the people to his ticket list he was supposed to add.

“I’m just happy to be here,” he said.

Dixon will make his debut when Villanova continues its five-games-in-three-days start Wednesday at home vs. Columbia, but his absence Monday meant Villanova started four transfers and one returning player, Jordan Longino. No one who started for the Wildcats on Monday had played a single college minute with any of their fellow starters save for a few scrimmages and an exhibition. It showed. The Wildcats were periodically sped up by Lafayette’s pressure. They looked disjointed on some offensive possessions. They missed assignments on defense.

Some of that was to be expected. Look around the Big East on opening night. Providence beat Central Connecticut State by four. Xavier struggled with Texas Southern. DePaul needed overtime to beat Southern Indiana. Seton Hall squeaked by Saint Peter’s. Butler barely beat Missouri State. Of the eight Big East teams that opened their season Monday, three of them won by double digits, and Villanova was one of them.

All of that is anecdotal, and it’s to say that coming away feeling discouraged by a 12-point win as a 20-point favorite likely means you’re searching for reasons to be negative, a mindset that Neptune has probably earned by leading Villanova to two first-round NIT exits in two seasons.

But there was more good than bad for Villanova Monday, most notably from Poplar and Enoch Boakye, who had 10 points and 11 rebounds and is easily the most athletic center Villanova has had in years. Boakye was brought in from Fresno State to allow Dixon to play his more natural power forward position, and we’ll get a first look at what that looks like Wednesday night against Columbia (7 p.m., CBS Sports Network).

Poplar, though, provided the dangerous weapon on the wing that Villanova has desperately needed as it has teetered on the tournament bubble. Of all the possible X-factors, he’s the one with the most upside, the one that has the eyes of NBA scouts.

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Dixon and Longino are the last vestiges of Villanova’s Final Four past, but Poplar has Final Four experience, too.

“I just try to win and compete and be the best teammate I can,” Poplar said. “I try to do everything across the board.”

The kind of game that makes the public address announcer say his name often. Which brings us to that name. Wooga, the nickname his grandmother gave him (his given name is Nisine), is not pronounced woo-ga. It’s wuh-ga. The PA announcer might have to get used to that.

So might every Villanova fan.