Caleb Daniels scored 22 points to lift host Villanova past Oklahoma 70-66 Saturday in Philadelphia.
Eric Dixon added 12, Mark Armstrong contributed 10 and highly-touted freshman Cam Whitmore had seven points and three steals in his debut. Whitmore had been recovering from surgery on his right thumb.
Villanova (3-5), which snapped a four-game losing streak, played without Justin Moore (Achilles).
Grant Sherfield led Oklahoma (6-2) with 21 points while Jacob Groves and Tanner Groves added 14 apiece.
The Sooners had their six-game winning streak snapped.
Oklahoma led 20-9 when Bijan Cortes drained a 3-pointer from the corner with 13:18 left in the first half.
Daniels responded with a three-point play, Dixon added a bank shot in the low post and the Wildcats closed within six.
The Sooners went more than seven minutes without a field goal and Villanova capitalized as Jordan Longino drove to the basket and scored to cut the deficit to 20-16 with 7:01 remaining.
Tanner Groves missed a 3-pointer followed by a turnover on the next possession for Oklahoma.
Armstrong then dropped in a trey to close within 20-19.
Sherfield came back with a four-point play with 5:09 to go for a five-point advantage.
The Sooners went ahead 32-30 at halftime thanks in large part to Sherfield’s 12 points.
Daniels hit a 3-pointer from the wing with 17:46 remaining and the Wildcats took a 38-37 lead.
Tanner Groves received a pass from Cortes and threw down an alley oop dunk with 15:39 left for a 44-40 advantage.
Villanova went back ahead 45-44 after another 3-pointer from Daniels.
Tanner Groves fed Jacob Groves, who scored in the paint with 8:03 to go for a 54-51 Oklahoma lead.
Sherfield dropped in a 3-pointer with 6:41 remaining and the Sooners led 59-53.
Dixon hit two free throws to cap a 7-0 run and the Wildcats regained a 60-59 advantage with 4:04 remaining.
Oklahoma closed within 64-63 when Jalen Hill hit 1 of 2 free throws with 1:18 left.
Daniels responded with a 3-pointer with 58 seconds remaining for a 67-63 advantage.
Trailing 69-66 in the final nine seconds, Sherfield launched a 3-pointer, but it bounced off the rim.
–Field Level Media
