Villanova had the opportunity for a potentially season-altering win on Sunday as it took on a tough Maryland team on a neutral court in Newark, NJ at the Empire Classic. For much of the game, it appeared the ‘Cats would indeed secure that win, only to see it slip through their fingers in a heartbreaking 76-75 defeat.

“I thought we came out with great fight to start the game,” Kyle Neptune said. “I thought Maryland did a great job getting into us in the second half, took some of the momentum and carried it throughout the rest of the second half. Made some timely shots, made some plays at the rim, got some offensive rebounds. In a one-possession game they were just one possession better than us.”

Villanova played arguably its best half of the season. The Wildcats shot 50% overall and 40% from three and had advantages in points off turnovers (13-6) and second chance points (8-4). More importantly, after struggling throughout the season to mitigate opponents’ strengths and exploit their weaknesses, Villanova fared incredibly well in areas that Maryland not only excelled in, but were elite in nationally.

Maryland entered the game turning the ball over on just 12.3% of its possessions, the eighth best mark in the country; Villanova forced turnovers on 32.4% of Maryland’s first-half possessions. The Terrapins were also ranked eighth in opponent turnover percentage (25.2%), and ‘Nova was able to limit giveaways to 21.9% of its possessions. Maryland was an elite two-point defensive team, ranking 14th in the country holding opponents to 40.4% on shots inside the arc; Villanova hit 9-15 2PA (60%). While the ‘Cats were able to outperform Maryland in many of the Terrapins strengths, they also didn’t allow Maryland to gain an advantage in areas that had been weaknesses…specifically the three-point line, where Maryland entered shooting 30.4%, as ‘Nova limited the Terrapins to just 20% in the first half.

Villanova was unable to sustain that effort in the second half however. The big blow came in the form of a 17-3 Maryland run over six minutes midway through the period that turned a 52-42 ‘Nova lead into a 59-55 deficit. The Wildcats were able to steady themselves and retake the lead with a 7-0 push, after which the teams played within a possession of each other for the final six minutes. The lead changed hands seven times over the final 3:08, with Maryland taking a one-point advantage with 19 seconds to go. Villanova had two chances for the win, with Tyler Perkins missing an open three with four seconds left and Eric Dixon missing a three at the buzzer.

At one point in the second half, Maryland was 10-12 (83.3%) on two-point attempts, while holding a 10-0 advantage in second chance points and a 7-0 edge in points off turnovers. Villanova managed to shoot just 43.8% in the second half, including a dismal 21.4% from three, while Maryland hit 58.6% overall and 44.4% from three. Villanova gave up 10 offensive rebounds to Maryland in the period, leading to 16 second chance points.

“Stops end when you get a rebound,” Neptune said. “I thought they got way too many second chance opportunities, especially early in the second half, that kind of gave them some life and we just didn’t get it done defensively.”

Dixon was phenomenal in the loss, scoring a career-high 38 points. But only one other Wildcat reached double figures (Jhamir Brickus with 11), and Dixon’s heroics proved to not be enough.

There was plenty to like about Villanova’s performance, particularly in the first half, and also lingering concerns. Regardless, moral victories aren’t particularly helpful or meaningful at this point, and ‘Nova will be left to lament letting this one slip away despite leading for 33:33 to just 4:12 of lead time for Maryland.

“One time boxing out, one time getting a loose ball, one missed assignment here or there could have been the difference in the game,” Neptune said.

“They made more plays than we did,” Neptune continued. “I thought they came out in the second half, did a great job pressing, getting into us, didn’t let us run our offense. They took it to us in the second half and we didn’t make enough plays down the stretch.”