Observations from Villanova’s 75-65 loss to DePaul

Villanova flew to the Midwest this week to play two of the bottom four teams in the Big East, likely needing to win both of them.

After watching a 75-65 loss to DePaul on Tuesday night, it’s fair to say the Wildcats will be pretty lucky to head home with one win.

An already rocky season got even rockier in Chicago, where a 22-game winning streak against the Blue Demons — the longest active streak in a Power 5 conference — came to an end on a night when the Wildcats were sloppy with the basketball and inefficient on both ends of the floor.

It was a recipe for disaster and marked Villanova’s first loss to DePaul since January 2008. The Wildcats fell below .500 on the season (8-9) and are now 2-4 in Big East Conference play.

Here are some observations from the defeat.

During what ended up being a critical 18-5 DePaul run over 6 minutes, 30 seconds, Villanova turned the ball over four times, got beaten to nearly every loose ball, and ran stagnant offense to allow DePaul to jump out to a 50-41 lead.

Villanova, which was one of the better teams in the country taking care of the basketball just a few weeks ago, is trending in the wrong direction when it comes to turnover margin. Eighteen turnovers vs. UConn were at least a bit explainable, given the Huskies’ athleticism and press.

But Villanova turned it over 14 times Tuesday night, including nine times in the first half. DePaul outscored Villanova off turnovers, 19-8. It was a 10-point game.

» READ MORE: What should Villanova’s Justin Moore do? We asked NBA scouts.

The loose-ball issue was a theme in the second half. DePaul grabbed six offensive rebounds after halftime, en route to 11 second-chance points on the night.

During one critical defensive possession, with Villanova trailing by five with two minutes to go, DePaul forward Eral Penn grabbed a rebound from fifth-year forward Brandon Slater, who failed to box out. Penn put the rebound back in the hoop for a seven-point DePaul lead.

Combined with too often going under screens and getting lost on switches ... it wasn’t a pretty one for Villanova.

This isn’t a new problem for Villanova. Eric Dixon is a great basketball player and has been Villanova’s most consistent offensive player this season. But what Dixon is not is a true center, no matter how capable he is of playing bigger than his size at times (see: last season vs. UConn big man Adama Sanogo).

DePaul’s Da’Sean Nelson, listed at 6-foot-8 and 205 pounds, had a monster game for the Blue Demons. He scored 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting. Nearly all of his shots, save for a second-half three-pointer, came at or around the rim.

“He was stronger than us,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune told reporters after the game. “He bullied us.”

Part of the reason Villanova continues to allow a high percentage of shots around the rim to go in is because of Dixon’s size — he’s listed at 6-8 but might be a little shorter — and the fact that he doesn’t have a backup. Reserve big man Nnanna Njoku is out with a foot injury, but even when he was healthy he wasn’t in the rotation.

Villanova did have some success at the end of the first half with Dixon on the bench. The Wildcats used Slater in the middle of a 2-3 matchup zone, closed the half on an 8-2 run, and led, 31-30, at the break.

» READ MORE: Can Villanova still make the NCAA Tournament? We asked bracket expert Joe Lunardi.

Dixon scored 13 of his team-high 22 points in the first half, all inside the three-point arc. But when DePaul went on its second-half run, Villanova abandoned the basket. The Wildcats settled for three-pointers, some of them not in the flow of the offense.

When Dixon stopped the 18-5 run with a dunk, it was Villanova’s first two-point shot in almost six minutes. This on a night when its threes weren’t falling. The Wildcats shot 7-for-25 from three-point range. Caleb Daniels was 3-for-13 from deep.

The lone bright spot for Villanova was the continued offensive outbursts from freshman star Cam Whitmore.

The television broadcast mentioned that 17 NBA teams were represented in the building, and the potential lottery pick gave them plenty to look at.

Whitmore scored 16 points on 7-for-13 shooting, though he turned the ball over four times.

Before DePaul’s big run, Whitmore drove left from the right wing on DePaul’s Javon Johnson, got a step on the defender, got into the middle of the lane and, with his right hand, powered in a one-handed dunk.

That wasn’t the only impressive display of athleticism from Whitmore. Midway through the first half, Whitmore finished off a fast break in transition with a pretty Euro step.

Sophomore wing Jordan Longino was on Villanova’s trip to Chicago and Indianapolis (the Wildcats play Butler on Friday), but the school announced Tuesday that Longino will be out for at least the next two weeks.

Longino, who is averaging 6.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 24.1 minutes, suffered a hamstring strain during last week’s win over Georgetown. He will be reevaluated in two weeks.

Longino had played in all 15 Villanova games before the injury and played at least 23 minutes in each of Villanova’s previous four games before Georgetown.

Villanova’s rotation was already short with Njoku’s foot injury, Justin Moore (Achilles) still working his way back to potentially playing, and Angelo Brizzi (transfer) leaving the program. On Tuesday, the Wildcats had eight scholarship players available. And they definitely missed Longino’s minutes.

The rotation was basically seven players deep. Sophomore forward Trey Patterson played 11 minutes and showed some tenacity on the boards, though he also got beaten inside for a few baskets. Freshman sharpshooter Brendan Hausen played just four minutes and attempted one shot, a desperation heave in the final seconds.

Villanova stayed in Chicago on Tuesday night and will travel to Indianapolis on Wednesday. The Wildcats play Butler on Friday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Butler lost by 16 at St. John’s on Tuesday night. The Bulldogs have conference wins over DePaul and Georgetown, but their average margin of defeat in their five Big East losses is 21 points.

If you thought Tuesday night was bad ...