Has Butler figured out secret to beating Villanova?
It might be safe to ask, after Butler became just the second team to sweep a season series against Villanova in the four-year history of the reconfigured Big East, whether the Bulldogs have established a template for beating the Wildcats.
It might be safe to ask, after Butler became just the second team to sweep a season series against Villanova in the four-year history of the reconfigured Big East, whether the Bulldogs have established a template for beating the Wildcats.
Perhaps they have, at least on their defensive end of the court. The second-ranked Cats couldn't find many easy shots Wednesday night and went scoreless in the second half for 6 minutes, 32 seconds, an 18-0 stretch for Butler that sparked a 74-66 victory, snapping 'Nova's 48-game winning streak at the Pavilion.
The Wildcats (26-3, 13-3 Big East) were held nearly 12 points below their 77.8-point average entering the game. They have scored fewer points just three times, including a season low in their 66-58 loss to the Bulldogs last month in Indianapolis.
During its dry spell, Villanova missed six straight shots, including three contested layups, and turned the ball over twice. The team shot just below 44 percent for the game, 41.4 percent in the second half, and hit just 6 of 24 shots from three-point range while turning the ball over 15 times.
In both wins, the Bulldogs bodied up effectively on the Wildcats, and usually used more than one defender to stop Josh Hart's drives to the hoop. Hart, 'Nova's national player of the year candidate, went 10 of 29 in two games against Butler, including a 7-for-18 night at the Pavilion.
Jay Wright said Butler is a matchup problem for his team.
"Defensively, they just guard us really well," the 'Nova coach said. "They force us into turnovers. Their physicality defensively, we don't handle well. That's the second time we turned the ball over [against Butler]. We didn't get any assists and couldn't really get any offensive rebounds, either."
The Cats had just eight assists on 25 baskets Wednesday night, compared with seven on 19 field goals at Butler. Jalen Brunson led the Wildcats on Wednesday with 24 points but had five turnovers against two assists. In his previous three games, Brunson's totals were 21 assists and six turnovers.
The Bulldogs also hurt the Wildcats with three-point baskets. Normally a middle-of-the-pack team in the conference from long distance, Butler got three-pointers from five players and finished the game 10 for 25. Kelen Martin, the visitors' high scorer with 22 points, and Avery Woodson each hit three deep shots.
"It's one of the things defensively in terms of execution that we didn't do a good job of," Wright said. "We lost Woodson a couple of times. We lost Martin a couple of times, once in transition and once just straight-up playing him and backing off of him, just little things like that."
Rebounding also was a problem for the Wildcats. Playing for the fourth straight game without Darryl Reynolds (rib injury), they were beaten on the boards, 19-13, in the second half.
Villanova's next chance to win the Big East title outright will be Saturday on senior day at the Pavilion against Creighton. The Bulldogs, who are the only other team with a chance to win the league, are at Xavier on Sunday.
While a third contest between Villanova and Butler - a likely championship matchup in the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden - would be must-see, the odds would seem to be against it. The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds have not met in the Big East finals since 2004, when UConn (2) knocked off Pitt (1).
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