Eric Dixon’s career day paces Villanova in win over Creighton, Ryan Kalkbrenner

How do you beat a team with one of the best 7-footers in the country when your center is a mere 6-foot-8?

Have that 6-8 center step out and then step up.

Matched up with Creighton Goliath center Ryan Kalkbrenner, Eric Dixon put up his best performance of his Villanova career. He scored a career-high 31 points to lead Villanova to a 79-67 win over No. 19 Creighton at Wells Fargo Center, Villanova’s second consecutive win over a ranked team.

With the win, Villanova improved to 5-1 in its last six games, the last five with Justin Moore and Jordan Longino back from injury. The Wildcats have gotten hot at the right time — and the rest of the Big East has taken notice.

“Nobody wants to see that team in the Garden,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “Nobody.”

Dixon’s 31 were the most points by a Villanova player this season. He went 11 for 15 from the field, setting a personal best with six threes.

Cam Whitmore finished with 17, and Mark Armstrong added 11. Moore had eight points and a career-best eight assists.

Kalkbrenner did some damage, scoring 18 on 7-of-9 shooting. Arthur Kaluma had 19, but the rest of the Bluejays struggled. Creighton (18-11, 12-6 Big East) shot 39% as a team, 19.2% from three.

Villanova (15-14, 9-9) turned Creighton’s size advantage into a disadvantage. The Wildcats picked on the 7-1 Kalkbrenner defensively, forcing him to guard the perimeter. Dixon was hot early, making two threes in the first three minutes of the game, and when Kalkbrenner started biting on pump fakes, Dixon and other Wildcats drove past him into the paint.

“We’ve got one of the elite defensive players in the country at the rim, and Villanova was able to turn our defense inside out with Dixon’s ability to stretch the floor,” McDermott said. “... They did a great job of attacking us, and Dixon making the early threes set the tone for the game.”

The first 15 minutes were Villanova’s best shooting performance of the season. The Wildcats went on a 25-8 run midway through the first half, capitalizing on their own hot shooting and a 12 consecutive missed threes from the Bluejays.

Creighton made a run in the second half, shaving a 17-point lead to seven, but a Dixon three and a three-point play put the game out of reach once more.

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While Creighton missed open looks, Villanova’s defense was impressive, showing that the 85-72 loss at Providence was a blip in a run of seven games where the Wildcats have allowed no more than 67 points.

Creighton had just six turnovers, but its 24 point total in the first half was its second-lowest scoring half of the season. It was held below its season average in rebounds and to just 14 second chance points.

“I just thought our guys played hard,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said.

Villanova plays its final Big East road game of the season on Tuesday at Seton Hall (8:30 p.m., FS1), before finishing with UConn (21-7, 10-7) on Saturday at Wells Fargo Center (7:30 p.m., Fox29).

A win over Seton Hall (16-13, 9-9) virtually would clinch the No. 6 seed for Villanova, meaning it will play at 8 p.m. Wednesday in the Big East tournament. The Wildcats would need to win out and UConn lose at home to DePaul to move into fifth place and receive a bye.