It was truly a tale of two halves in Omaha Wednesday night. When the dust settled, the good half outweighed the bad half for Villanova as the Wildcats earned a 68-66 overtime win over No. 12 Creighton.

"I thought it was a great team win," Kyle Neptune said. "Our guys kept getting stops, I thought that was the key in our victory tonight."

An 11-day layoff did little to ease Villanova's offensive struggles, as the 'Cats struggled mightily at that end in the first half against the Bluejays. 'Nova shot just 28% overall and an ice-cold 1-10 from three. The Cats hit just 8-22 (36%) on two-point attempts. Eric Dixon scored 15 points while the other eight Villanova players who played combined to score nine. Villanova had not one, but two, stretches in which it one of its last 10 shots.

Despite those issues, Villanova was within striking distance for much of the half, even leading for 3:08 and generally finding itself within a possession or two when trailing. However, a 10-3 run over the half's final 4:42 sent the Bluejays into the break with a 10-point lead and all the momentum.

The 10-point deficit was particularly discouraging because Villanova had to like the way the game was going. Creighton shot just 42.9% overall and 33.3% from three (entered shooting 38.7% for the season). The Bluejays hit 50% of their two-point attempts, but were connecting on 62.5% of such tries coming into the game. Creighton had seven turnovers to Villanova's six, and the pace was to Villanova's advantage. The offensive woes were so bad, however, that they offset all that other good work the 'Cats had done.

'Nova opened the scoring in the second half with a three, but the encouraging start was quickly doused as Creighton scored the next seven points to take its biggest lead of the game at 14 with 17:05 to play. With what we had seen from 'Nova over the first 23 minutes of the game, it was tough to envision a comeback taking place.

But the 'Cats kept grinding, slowly chipping away at the lead despite Creighton's efforts to keep them at arm's length. 'Nova finally got within two possessions with 9:35 to play, within four at the nine-minute mark and within a basket 8:32 to go. Overall it was a 9-0 run over 2:15 that took the deficit from 11 down to two. The 'Cats were able to pull even at 56 with 4:06 remaining, but were never able to take the lead.

Villanova was able to get a pair of stops in the last 10 seconds, one after a bizarre officiating decision that ignored an obvious shot clock violation and awarded Creighton the ball on an out-of-bounds call, and the game headed to overtime.

After Creighton opened the scoring in overtime with a two-point jumper, a Dixon three gave Villanova its first lead since 15:30 in the first half (6-3). The teams traded scores and one-point leads for much of the overtime period before Dixon stepped up again, this time with another three with 28 seconds to go that put the 'Cats up two. Villanova managed consecutive stops on the next two Creighton possessions, but missed the front end of one-and-one free throws each time, giving the Bluejays one last chance with five seconds to play. But a long three would bounce harmlessly off the rim and the 'Cats escaped with a huge comeback win.

"We have a lot of reads out of that play," Neptune said of Dixon's game-winning three. "He made his decision and ended up making the shot."

The second half was a complete reversal from the first, as 'Nova shot 55.6% overall, including 11-18 (61%) on two-point attempts and 44.4% from three.

"Our guys just made the reads," Neptune said of the offensive turnaround. "Most of our sets are reads for our guys. They just made the reads they made, ended up making some plays going towards the rim. I thought we shared the ball better in the second half."

Creighton, meanwhile, hit just 33.3% overall and 10% from three.

"I thought that (three-point defense) was the key," Neptune said. "They’re a tough team, they’re great offensively. We just wanted to try to stay in front of them as much as we can. I thought our guys did a great job."

Villanova's defense was fantastic all night, holding Creighton to 39.7% overall and 20.8% from three. Creighton committed 16 turnovers, which Villanova turned into 13 points.

"I thought we did a good job sprinting back, making sure we got our defense set," Neptune said of the defensive effort. "We know that’s something they do a great job of, so I was proud of the way our guys got back and got our defense set."

Dixon was fantastic Wednesday night, finishing with 32 points and six rebounds. It was Dixon's second 30+ point performance of the season (34 against North Carolina).

"We all know Eric Dixon’s a great scorer," Neptune said of his big man's performance. "But defensively, to go out there and be the anchor of our defense and to play the bulk of the game, 37 minutes, I thought he was unbelievable in ball screen coverages, unbelievable in the post. He rebounded. He did a little bit of everything. Scoring as much as he scored, I thought the other stuff he did was just as important."

"It’s never pressure to score on this team," Dixon said. "We have guys it can be anybody’s night any night. It happened to be me tonight. I think we all take comfort in knowing we don’t have to go out and score to be effective. It just happened to be my night."

It's hard to overstate the importance of the win for Villanova. A win over the No. 12 team in the country is always going to go a long way. One on the road even more so. Furthermore, in the current landscape of the Big East, any wins against UConn/Marquette/Creighton have to be viewed as a bonus (especially on the road) and now Villanova already has one. It essentially gives a boost to Villanova's ceiling while also giving the 'Cats a little breathing room on their path to trying to secure an NCAA tournament bid.

The 'Cats will look to build on the big win on Saturday against DePaul.