Sixers, Villanova Grind Out Needed Wins as Eagles Prepare for Panthers

In partnership with

Happy Hump Day. For one random Tuesday night last night, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Villanova Wildcats turned the calendar back to, like, 2022, when both teams could be counted on to post regular season wins. From the looks of both teams, we probably shouldn’t get used to it.

As ever, though, the Eagles are our lead story. Everywhere you look, someone is picking the Eagles to win and cover. So it’ll probably be a field goal game. Let’s be careful out there.

In the email today:

• 👀 What They’re Saying About Eagles/Panthers

• 😡 Sixers Survive Nick Nurse's Foolishness, Beat Hornets

• ⛪️ Dixon Carries Villanova (Again) to Win Over Cincinnati

  • 📆 This Day in Philly Sports History

  • 📊 Poll

  • 🔗 Links

  • 📺 Coming Up

The best Eagles coverage is always local, but it’s helpful to get a national perspective as well.

Here’s a look at what they’re saying about your Birds against the Panthers this week:

From CBS Sports: Eagles will cover the (-12.5 point) spread

“Philly has six covers over its last seven games, while Carolina has covered just five times all season. The Eagles are riding an eight-game outright winning streak thanks to incredible balance, as the only NFL to rank in the top seven of the four major stats of points scored, yards gained, points allowed and yards allowed. They haven't committed a turnover in three straight, which means extra offensive possessions versus the NFL's worst defense.

“Bryce Young has shown improvement since returning to the lineup, but he can't fix Carolina's defense, which ranks dead-last in points allowed, rushing defense and third-down defense. Saquon Barkley just had over 100 rushing yards versus a Baltimore defense which allows the fewest yards per carry, so the [CBS Sports computer] model expects him to feast on the Panthers, with nearly 6.0 yards per carry and 140 scrimmage yards. Carolina's No. 29 scoring offense won't be able to keep up as Philadelphia (-12.5) wins by more than two touchdowns.”

From Sporting News: Eagles 38 - Panthers 14

“The Eagles are the top rushing offense in the NFL with feature back Saquon Barkley on a single-season record pace. The Panthers got worse as the league's absolute worst run defense last week. Nothing needs to give here, and the Panthers will also have trouble with Jalen Hurts by air and by ground on the road. Bryce Young has played well of late but runs into a buzzsaw defense in Philly.”

From Pro Football Network: Eagles 30 - Panthers 17

“There is little doubt that Philadelphia to win outright is the right side to be on, but there’s very little value in the moneyline in this game, even as part of a parlay. Laying 13 points is a lot, but the Eagles have won four of their last seven by more than that margin, and barring a late score from the Baltimore Ravens this week, would have beaten another top-10 team in our rankings by double digits.”

From The Arizona Republic: Eagles 30 - Panthers 16

“The Eagles are the biggest favorite of the week and for good reason. This team is rolling (eight straight wins). Jalen Hurts and company will make it nine straight after this game.”

40-55 In US? Add 20% To $200k+ Retirement Savings Today

• Ensure your savings last throughout retirement

• Shield your savings from unpredictable market swings

• Add 20% growth immediately to your retirement savings

See if you qualify

The Sixers led the Charlotte Hornets 80-69 through three quarters last night. Clearly, whatever was happening through the first three quarters was working.

The Sixers had preserved their 11-point halftime lead. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Tell you what wasn’t broke:

Another great game for the breakout rookie. Ride the hot hand, right? Wrong.

McCain finished the game with those same stats save for one more missed field goal. Coach Nick Nurse hauled McCain off for Kelly Oubre Jr. with 8:33 left in the fourth quarter and the Sixers up nine.

McCain never saw the floor again. Here are some guys who played in those last 8:33: Oubre Jr., KJ Martin, Caleb Martin and Kyle Lowry’s rotting corpse. In a related story, the Hornets LED THE GAME by one with 1:32 left.

You’re telling us. Oubre Jr. played 29 minutes. Caleb Martin played 24 minutes. KJ Martin played 22 minutes. Nurse found 75 minutes for those three, and played McCain (who was lighting it up) 22 minutes.

Paul George (29 points) and Tyrese Maxey (21 points) scored 23 of the Sixers’ 30 points in the fourth quarter. The veterans saved Nurse’s skin and carried the team to a needed W.

Seriously. Part of the Nick Nurse Experience is that on occasion he’s going to show you that he’s the smartest guy in the room by doing something incredibly dumb.

Last night, Nurse and the Sixers survived the coach’s hubris. The lot of them shouldn’t make a habit of it.

It’s probably past time we had a conversation about Eric Dixon.

Through four seasons at Villanova, Dixon had experienced the very high (starting on a Final Four team) and the awfully low (starting on a top seeded NIT team which lost in the first round).

Villanova was understandably delighted that Dixon decided to return for his fifth season of eligibility. Numbers like these don’t often show up in the transfer portal.

Dixon averaged roughly 16 points and 6.5 rebounds in his third and fourth seasons at Villanova. It was good enough for second team All-Big East honors in both seasons, but not quite good enough to make Dixon a lottery pick. Hence his return for Season Five.

And what a season the man is having.

Dixon entered play last night averaging 25 points and those same 6.5 boards per game this season. Through nine games, the Wildcats are averaging nearly 78 points per game.

We aren't math majors, but that’s Dixon scoring pretty close to a third of his team’s points on any given night. Occasionally, he scores more than half.

Beyond the NIL money, there is something in this for Dixon. Putting up serious numbers, even on a middling team, has the potential to spike Dixon’s draft stock.

Trouble is, Villanova is 5-4 and hasn’t played a single conference game yet. There aren’t many games against the likes of NJIT, Penn and Rider on the rest of the Wildcats’ schedule.

Dixon is going to have to continue to play way above his previously established level for Villanova to just be competitive in the loaded Big East.

The Wildcats are fortunate not to have to answer the question of what they would do without Eric Dixon this season.

📆 This Day in Philly Sports History

On December 4, 2006: “Jeff Garcia baby, he’s our baby!”

📊 Poll

Results from Tuesday:

🔗 Links

• ⚾️ Phillies fans of a certain age are beyond excited for the upcoming Mike Schmidt documentary.

• 🙄 Three-loss Alabama is somehow going to end up in the NCAA College Football Playoff.

• 💰️ We don’t represent Big Dom, but if we did we would have advised him to grab that bag.

• 💵 Speaking of which, Stephen A. Smith is in line for a massive ESPN payday.

• ✝️ Jameis Winston asked for divine intervention against pick-sixes.

📺 Coming Up

Games before our next send.

December 4, 2024

• Magic at Sixers, 7:30 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia)

Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow.

Be sure to follow On Pattison on social media:

• Follow on X

• Follow on Instagram

• Follow on Facebook