Eric Dixon scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half and Villanova held on for a 68-66 win over No. 9 UConn Wednesday night after the Huskies’ Alex Karaban missed two free throws with 3.1 seconds left in Villanova, Pa.

Wooga Poplar added 18 points for Villanova (11-5, 4-1 Big East), which led by 12 points in the second half.

Solo Ball scored 16 points to lead UConn (12-4, 4-1). The Huskies had won eight in a row. The Huskies played without star freshman Liam McNeeley, out with a right foot injury.

UConn had several chances to take the lead late, the last when Karaban was long on both free-throw attempts after being fouled by Jordan Longino.

NO. 10 TEXAS A&M 80, OKLAHOMA 78: Zhuric Phelps scored a career-high 34 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 19 seconds left, and the Aggies (13-2, 2-0 SEC) rallied from 18 down in the second half to beat the host Sooners (13-2, 0-2).

NO. 5 ALABAMA 88, SOUTH CAROLINA 68: Mark Sears scored 22 points — hitting of 4 of 6 3-pointers — to help the Crimson Tide (13-2, 2-0 SEC) beat the host Gamecocks (10-5, 0-2) for their seventh straight victory.

NO. 11 KANSAS 74, ARIZONA STATE 55: Zeke Mayo scored 23 points and the Jayhawks (11-3, 2-1 Big 12) held the visiting Sun Devils (10-4, 1-2) to 13 in the second half.

NO. 13 ILLINOIS 91, PENN STATE 52: Ben Humrichous scored a season-high 21 points, Morez Johnson Jr. had a career-high 20 points along with 11 rebounds and the host Illini (12-3, 4-1 Big Ten) beat the Nittany Lions (12-4, 2-3) for their fifth straight victory.

NO. 18 GONZAGA 93, SAN DIEGO 80: Ben Gregg scored 23 points and Khalif Battle added 20 to lead the Bulldogs (13-4, 4-0 West Coast) over the Toreros (4-13, 1-3) in Spokane, Wash.

NO. 23 MISSISSIPPI 73, ARKANSAS 66: Malik Dia scored 21 points to lead the Rebels (13-2, 2-0 SEC) over the Razorbacks (11-4, 0-2) for Ole Miss’ first win in Fayetteville, Ark., since 2015.

In women’s games:

NO. 9 OHIO STATE 84, NO. 25 MICHIGAN 77: Jaloni Cambridge scored 22 of her 29 points in the second half, leading the Buckeyes (15-0, 4-0 Big Ten) in a comeback win against the Wolverines (10-5, 1-3) in Ann Arbor, Mich.

NO. 7 CONNECTICUT 81, XAVIER 27: Azzi Fudd had 18 of her 23 points in the first half as the host Huskies (14-2, 5-0 Big East) rolled to an over the Musketeers (5-10, 0-4).

NEBRASKA 85, NO. 20 MICHIGAN STATE 80: Alexis Markowski scored a career-high 28 points and the Cornhuskers (12-4, 3-2 Big Ten) got their first win over a ranked team, topping the visiting Spartans (12-3, 3-3).