Villanova aims to keep building around Eric Dixon as it opens its Big East schedule
The Wildcats will take a four-game winning streak into the game against Seton Hall. Wooga Poplar has started to emerge as their second scoring option.
Villanova will take a 7-4 record into its Big East opener Tuesday night after a tumultuous nonconference slate, but the one constant for the Wildcats this season has been Eric Dixon.
Dixon leads NCAA Division I scorers with 25.8 points per game. Even during Villanova’s most disappointing losses in November, the team could consistently count on the sixth-year player to deliver points as a relentless power forward.
In his season debut against Columbia on Nov. 6, Dixon put up 33 points on 68.9% shooting, but Villanova wound up with a messy 90-80 loss. When the Wildcats lost to Maryland, 76-75, on Nov. 24, it was Dixon who supplied just over half of Villanova’s offense, scoring 38 points for a career high.
Dixon’s individual successes were often surrounded by wider concerns about the team’s disappointing start and unclear trajectory.
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“Honestly, if these early-season struggles had been beneficial in any way, it’s that we have had pressure to get things done,” Dixon said Thursday. “We’ve had pressure to show up night in and night out, to be tough, to be physical, and to be accountable for our teammates and coaches.”
Perhaps no player understands Villanova’s system better than Dixon, but having four transfer players and two freshmen in the rotation complicates things. Dixon’s primary focus has been on strengthening the team’s “connectivity as a unit.”
Now the Wildcats are riding a four-game winning streak heading into Tuesday’s home contest against 5-5 Seton Hall (7:30 p.m., Peacock).
“I feel like we’re a team that has to get a lot better,” coach Kyle Neptune said. “This is the time of year where teams have to rapidly improve and come together as a program, or someone else will. We have to be the type of team that has a growth mindset.”
Neptune mentioned the urgency for the team to “get better,” and his players echoed that thought. The last few games have provided a glimpse into what getting better looks like: spreading the floor, balancing out the offense, relying less heavily on Dixon to win games.
“Ever since that Cincinnati game [a 68-60 win], I think we figured out how hard we need to play, how together we need to be as a team,” senior guard Jordan Longino said. “It will be really important for [Dixon] and me to preach to the younger guys that this is a mental battle oftentimes more than it is physical. I think we’re getting better every game.”
Villanova leads the Big East in three-point percentage (.405) and stands just below UConn in field goal percentage (.484). The Wildcats could use some work on the defensive end. They are 10th in the Big East in field goal percentage defense (.427).
Dixon knows the team depends on him to lead the scoring every game. But he believes that a big part of Villanova’s improvement will be his developing chemistry on the court with teammates like guard Wooga Poplar.
The Miami transfer is Villanova’s second-leading scorer at 13.5 points per game. Poplar has shot 50% or better from the field in the last three games. His shooting will be an essential part of the package for Villanova in conference play.
“We have a lot of confidence in each other,” Dixon said. “I see [Poplar] work out a lot, he sees me work out a lot, so we both know each other is capable of making shots when it matters. We make a point to get each other the ball, and our relationship has gotten better on and off the court.”