With 2:49 remaining, Jordan Longino hits a wild, probing mid-range shot to keep Villanova’s lead at 10, 59-49. Longino has 15.

With Dixon’s first three-pointer of the night on four attempts, Villanova has extended the lead to double digits, 57-47, with 4:25 left for DePaul to mount a comeback.

With DePaul down nine, Layden Blocker slashed for a dunk to cut it to seven with 5:14 remaining. DePaul is up to 12 offensive rebounds, leading to second chance points from Gunn the previous possession.

DI basketball’s leading scorer, Villanova forward Eric Dixon, scores a layup and a pair of free throws to extend the Wildcat lead to nine, 48-40.

8:14 remains.

Despite a trifecta of three-pointers from the Blue Demons in the half, the Wildcats are shooting 54.5% in the same eight minutes. Poplar and Longino are up to a combined 27 points.

12 minutes to go.

In just his third appearance of the calendar year, freshman guard Chris Riddle steps up big for the Blue Demons with a corner three. It was his first shot attempt since Dec. 17. DePaul trails 35-40.

After the Blue Demons opened up the second half with two straight three-pointers, they have missed seven straight. CJ Gunn’s fifth steal a moment ago resulted in a missed turnaround jumper from the DePaul forward.

Wildcat guard Wooga Poplar has seven points in the half already as Villanova leads 38-32 with 14:53 left to go.

After a three-pointer and a layup, David Thomas has reached a new season high of 11 points in just 12 minutes of play. He is 3-5 from deep, a stark improvement over his season total of 1-11.

The sophomore leads Blue Demon scorers; Gunn is second with five points and three rebounds.

However, The Wildcats lead 29-26 in large part due to guard Jordan Longino, who also has 11 points. Though DePaul has only shot 31% on 11-35 shooting, they have kept it close by forcing nine turnovers and holding Villanova to mediocre shooting (42%).

DePaul is 4-17 against Villanova all-time at home and has only defeated the Wildcats once in the last 15 years.

DePaul guard David Thomas, who has played a combined 13 minutes in the last three games, hits two three-pointers to keep it close as Villanova goes up 21-19.

There have been six lead changes. 4:22 remains.

After a vicious CJ Gunn slam on a fastbreak, Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune calls a timeout with 7:51 remaining in the first half.

It was DePaul’s second straight bucket after a possession in which the Blue Demons collected three offensive rebounds, with NJ Benson finally putting in a putback layup to complete the hectic sequence.

DePaul leads 15-14.

With 11:39 left in the half, DePaul is 3-14 from the floor and 0-7 from deep. Layden Blocker leads the team with four of DePaul’s six points as the Blue Demons trail by one point.

However, their defense has held the Wildcats to 3-11 shooting and six turnovers. They average only 10 turnovers per game.

DePaul forced 4 turnovers over the course of two minutes and 35 seconds but have started slow from the floor (1-8 so far). Villanova leads 5-2 five minutes in.

DePaul starters:

Isaiah Rivera, guard

Layden Blocker, guard

CJ Gunn, guard

Jacob Meyer, guard

NJ Benson, forward

Villanova starters:

Jhamir Brickus, guard

Wooga Poplar, guard

Jordan Longino, guard

Enoch Boakye, forward

Eric Dixon, forward

As The DePaulia’s Nick Palazzolo reported, DePaul guard Conor Enright will miss the remainder of the 2024-25 season after it was determined that he would need surgery for a shoulder injury he sustained in December.

Enright leads the team in minutes per game and assists per game.

Troy D’Amico, another Blue Demon that is a perennial starter (22 starts in 23 games) is also out with a right leg injury, while forward David Skogman will miss a third straight game with a lower leg injury. He has started 14 games on the season.