Villanova knocks down No. 14 North Carolina in OT and advances to Battle 4 Atlantis title game

Thursday’s matchup didn’t have quite the stakes of the last one. One was for a national championship in front of 74,000 spectators in a football stadium. The other was a Turkey Day semifinal in a converted ballroom in the Bahamas.

Still, Villanova and North Carolina played like it was March.

It took overtime to decide the first matchup between the two programs since Kris Jenkins’ buzzer-beater to win the 2016 NCAA title, but Villanova (4-1) defeated No. 14 North Carolina (4-1), 83-81, to advance to the Battle 4 Atlantis championship game.

In a win over Le Moyne two weeks ago, redshirt senior forward Eric Dixon was held scoreless. He went 0-for-3 from the field, but it wasn’t a bad shooting day — Villanova needed Dixon’s spacing and rebounds, not his points.

Against North Carolina, the Wildcats needed Dixon to score. Score he did.

Dixon scored 20 of Villanova’s 32 first-half points and kept the Wildcats in it, even when other players struggled to hit shots. Dixon finished with 34 points, a career-high, and 10 rebounds.

“Eric Dixon’s been getting double-teamed all year,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said, smiling. “Now we see why.”

It also was a milestone day for Dixon. With a four-point play in the first half, Dixon scored his 1,000th point at Villanova.

As good as Dixon was on offense, he was nearly as impactful on defense. He was a big part of why North Carolina’s Armando Bacot, a preseason all-American, was held to just eight points. However, Bacot still snagged 18 rebounds.

“At the end of the day, Eric Dixon kicked our tail,” North Carolina coach Hubert Davis said. “... He just dictated everything on both ends of the floor.”

Villanova outscored North Carolina, 15-13, in overtime. Nine of Villanova’s 15 came on free throws.

Graduate guard Justin Moore led the Wildcats with five points in overtime, adding to his 16 total points. Sophomore guard Mark Armstrong scored four in overtime, hitting a key layup and two free throws in the final minute. He finished with 10 points.

“Honestly, as a coach, looking at those guys in the huddle gave me confidence,” Neptune said. “They weren’t rattled at all. They just kept coming.”

The 2016 title game had nine ties and nine lead changes. The 2023 edition had 19 ties and 23 lead changes. In this latest installment, the teams were tied for nine minutes of game time.

After Villanova took an 18-14 lead in the first half (with Dixon scoring 12), the Tar Heels countered with a 13-0 run to take what looked like a commanding lead. Instead, the Wildcats reeled off a 10-0 run of their own.

Midway through the second half, Carolina seemed to be pulling away with a 10-2 run. At the 10-minute mark, the Tar Heels led by eight, but a 12-2 Villanova run tied it up again.

Neither team scored from the three-minute mark until there were 34 seconds left in regulation when North Carolina’s Cormac Ryan hit a three from the corner to tie it. A three from Dixon went in and out, but a well-defended three from RJ Davis hit the back iron.

Both teams matched the other’s physicality. However, the officials kept both sides honest. The teams combined for 52 fouls; 22 for Villanova and 30 for North Carolina.

The fouls allowed Villanova to take advantage of perhaps its greatest strength: free throws. The Wildcats led the nation in free throw shooting each of the last two years, shooting 83.0% and 82.0%, and their performance from the charity stripe Thursday could lead to a three-peat. The Wildcats were 32 for 36 (88.9%) including 9-for-10 in overtime. Three Tar Heels also fouled out.

Villanova has never lost in the Battle 4 Atlantis, winning the title in 2013 and 2017. On Friday, the Wildcats will play Memphis (4-0) or No. 20 Arkansas (4-1) at 3:30 p.m. (ESPN) in search of a third tournament championship.