Villanova gets going in second half, puts away Seton Hall

NEW YORK -- Eric Dixon scored all 19 of his points in the second half, including 11 during a decisive run, as sixth-seeded Villanova got past 11th-seed Seton Hall 67-55 in the opening round of the Big East tournament on Wednesday night.

The Wildcats (19-13) advanced to a quarterfinal matchup against third-seeded UConn after controlling most of their encounter with the Pirates.

Villanova led by 18 points at halftime but the margin was down to eight early in the second half before Dixon took over.

After picking up two fouls and going scoreless in the opening 20 minutes, Dixon hit two 3-pointers, converted a 3-point play and sank a layup as Villanova scored 13 straight points to open a 50-29 lead with 12:38 left.

Dixon made 4 of 14 shots for the night and hit 9 of 10 at the foul line. The team went 20 of 30.

Wooga Poplar posted 13 points and 10 rebounds as Villanova shot 45.5 percent. Tyler Perkins contributed 11 points for the Wildcats, who hit 7-of-15 attempts from 3-point range and survived committing 16 turnovers.

Isaiah Coleman led all scorers with 25 points, but the Pirates (7-25) ended the worst season in school history on a seven-game losing streak.

Prince Aligbe added 10 for Seton Hall, which shot 43.4 percent and committed 15 turnovers.

The Wildcats opened a 15-4 lead on a jumper by Perkins with about 13 1/2 minutes left, and Poplar's 3-pointer made it 25-6 with 9:53 left. Villanova's offense slowed a little when Dixon picked up his second foul with 8:50 left, but the Wildcats still led 35-17 at halftime.

The Pirates opened the second half on a 12-2 run, including seven points in a row at one point, to get within 37-29 on a jumper by Emmanuel Okorafor with 15:52 left.

After Dixon's burst, the Wildcats finished it when Perkins made a steal and turned it into an easy dunk for a 59-39 lead with 7:49 left.

--Larry Fleisher, Field Level Media