The Wildcats inch ever closer to the bubble with a key late season win against a conference foe
The Villanova Wildcats took on the Butler Bulldogs for the second time in 24 days, this time at the Finneran Pavilion.
The Bulldogs were able to take the first meeting in a double overtime thriller, which saw Villanova cough up multiple chances to win the game at Hinkle Fieldhouse, including squandering a double-digit lead.
This time, the Wildcats didn’t have any let downs and were able to even the season series, taking down the Bulldogs 72-62.
After rolling his ankle in the previous game versus Georgetown, Mark Armstrong was in the starting lineup and an effective primary ball handler, finishing with four points and two assists in 20 minutes.
TJ Bamba got the scoring started for the Wildcats with a three ball on Villanova’s opening possession following a sturdy defensive stand resulting in a Butler shot clock violation. 22 first “quarter” points were the most from the Wildcats since their November 17th, 2023 game versus Maryland.
As bubble watch puts tremendous pressure on every game from here on out, it was impetus of Villanova to start fast, and that they did.
Justin Moore found his legs again towards the end of the Georgetown game, connecting on two threes in the second half of that contest. That momentum carried over to this one as Moore connected on three first-half threes.
The Wildcats would take a 44-35 halftime lead.
The second half was much slower out of the gate, with both team combining for five points through the first four minutes.
The pace would inevitably pick up to the same speed as the first half, as Villanova and Butler would go back and forth trading buckets for a prolonged stretch midway through the half.
Butler would get within two but were never able to overcome the Villanova attack, especially down the stretch.
The Bulldogs were led by Jahmyl Telfort who finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. Familiar foe Posh Alexander tacked on 15 points, six rebounds and three assists. Pierre Brooks rounded out the double digit scorers with ten points.
The Wildcats had their streak of holding opponents under 57 points snapped against KenPom’s 41st ranked offense. Although the arbitrary streak is over, it was still a good defensive showing from Villanova, especially to close out the second half. Holding Butler to under 63 points is a feat only reached by a handful of teams thus far this year.
Brendan Hausen continued his hot shooting streak finishing with 13 points on 4-of-6 from the field. This is Hausen’s fifth straight game scoring in double figures, as he is proving to be one of the more formidable scorers in the entire conference.
Justin Moore has also been coming into his own of late. After dealing with a myriad of physical setbacks, Moore is starting to look like the player who was selected to the preseason all-conference team. Moore finished with 13 points in 30 minutes.
Everybody is seemingly clicking for Villanova in some capacity of late, but the glue that holds this team together is undoubtedly Eric Dixon. Late in the second half Butler inexplicably sent single coverage his way. Dixon did what he does, and came out the other end on top, finishing with 22 points and six rebounds.
The pace has really picked up of late for the Wildcats. In the segments where the Fox broadcast cuts into the huddle, the defense and rebounding message rings true, but a new message of creating mismatches in transition is falling on eager ears.
Villanova will be off until Saturday night, where they face an extremely tall task, facing the number one team in the country at their home court. The game will be ESPN’s featured location on College Gameday.
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