INDIANAPOLIS -- — Eric Dixon's 28 points helped Villanova defeat Butler 73-65 on Wednesday night.

Dixon shot 10 for 20 (5 for 10 from 3-point range) and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line for the Wildcats (9-5, 2-1 Big East Conference). Wooga Poplar scored 18 points while going 7 of 13 (2 for 5 from 3-point range) and added 15 rebounds. Jordan Longino shot 3 for 7 (1 for 3 from 3-point range) and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line to finish with 12 points.

Jahmyl Telfort led the way for the Bulldogs (7-7, 0-3) with 25 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals. Pierre Brooks added 10 points for Butler. The loss was the Bulldogs' sixth straight.

Dixon scored 11 points in the first half and Villanova went into halftime trailing 31-30. Dixon's 17-point second half helped Villanova finish off the eight-point victory.

NEXT UP

Both teams play again on Saturday. Villanova hosts DePaul and Butler travels to play St. John's.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.