Two fighting big East troops will fight on Wednesday in Chicago when Villanova looks at its formidable one-two-way by Eric Dixon and Wooga Poplar when it faces Depaul.
Dixon is NCAA’s leading goal scorer until Monday at 24.2 points per match. Miami Transfer Poplar is fresh from a 24-point performance in a 62-60 home loss to Creighton.
Wildcats (12-10, 5-6 Big East) brings a three-game losing line to Depaul. Villanova has lost five of its last six matches, which followed an 8-1 run.
The fight has come despite the solid game of Dixon, a doctoral student that passed 2,000 career points in the last game and is in line with Eclipse Kerry Kittles (2 243 1992-96) as Villanova’s leading goal scorer.
Wildcats are in a four-way tie for fifth place in Big East with Georgetown, Xavier and Providence, and they look to play a shot at the conference’s potential fifth quay in the NCAA tournament. However, a second loss of a place in three matches put back Villanova’s season.
“It is a Big East game, which goes to high-level players and unfortunately we ended up on the other side where we wanted to end up,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said about the Creighton loss. “We’re ready for the next.”
Depaul (11-12, 2-10) can certainly relate, after losing eight of their last ten matches.
Blue Demons took up a victory 74-57 over Seton Hall on Sunday. The victory was the key of four players who scored dual numbers, including Missouri State Transfer NJ Benson’s third double double of the season with 17 points and 11 returns.
“Consistence in our next thing by pressing with him,” said Depaul coach Chris Holtmann about Benson. “Can he be consistent from exercise to exercise and games to play? From the beginning of the season he has probably grown as much as a player as maybe someone in the country.”
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